Maulbronn Monastery

Coordinates: 49°0′4″N 8°48′46″E / 49.00111°N 8.81278°E / 49.00111; 8.81278
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Maulbronn Monastery
Kloster Maulbronn
Maulbronn Abbey, circa 2017
Maulbronn Abbey, c. 2017
Maulbronn Monastery is located in Germany
Maulbronn Monastery
Location in Germany, Baden-Württemberg
Maulbronn Monastery is located in Baden-Württemberg
Maulbronn Monastery
Maulbronn Monastery (Baden-Württemberg)
General information
LocationMaulbronn, Germany
Coordinates49°0′4″N 8°48′46″E / 49.00111°N 8.81278°E / 49.00111; 8.81278
Website
www.kloster-maulbronn.de
Official nameMaulbronn Monastery Complex
CriteriaCultural (ii), (iv)
Reference546rev
Inscription1993 (17th Session)

Maulbronn Monastery (German: Kloster Maulbronn) is a former

UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993.[1]

The monastery was founded in 1147 and experienced rapid economic and political growth in the 12th century, but then hardship in the late 13th century and the 14th century. Prosperity returned in the 15th century and lasted until Maulbronn was annexed by the Duchy of Württemberg in 1504. Over the 16th century, the Cistercian monastery was dissolved and replaced with a Protestant seminary. It also became the seat of an important administrative district of the Duchy and later Kingdom of Württemberg.

The complex, surrounded by turreted walls and a tower gate, today houses the Maulbronn town hall and other administrative offices, and a police station. The monastery itself contains an Evangelical seminary and a boarding school.

History

Imperial Monastery of Maulbronn
Reichsabtei Maulbronn
Location of Maulbronn Monastery
StatusImperial Abbey
History 
• Abbey founded
1147
• Placed under Imperial protection
1156
• Annexed by Württemberg
1504
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Bishopric of Speyer
Duchy of Württemberg

In 1138, a

Archbishop of Trier.[9]

The new abbey at Maulbronn soon began a period of steady economic growth and legal security with the backing of both Bishop Henneberg, a supporter of the Cistericans and the

Frederick I in a 1156 that listed Maulbronn's possessions as comprising eleven farmsteads, portions of eight villages, and numerous vineyards. The monastery's holdings were again confirmed by Pope Alexander III in 1177; by then, Maulbronn owned seventeen farmsteads.[13]

The 13th and 14th centuries were periods of strife for Maulbronn,

vögte, or protectors. There was persistent conflict with the Enzbergs, however,[15] and one dispute in 1270 even saw the monastery temporarily suppressed. Emperor Charles IV transferred the vogtei of Maulbronn to the Electoral Palatinate in 1372, but this act drew the monastery into the power struggle between the Palatinate and the expanding County of Württemberg.[3]

Prosperity returned to Maulbronn in the 15th century.[3][16] Its abbots demonstrated the monastery's wealth in 1450, when it made easily the largest contribution of any Cistercian abbey that year to Cîteaux Abbey, the order's seat.[17] In 1464, Maulbronn assumed the debts of Pairis Abbey in Alsace and incorporated it as a priory.[3][16] Maulbronn also came to control the convents of Mariental [de], Rechtenshofen [de], Lichtenstern [de], Heilsbruck [de], and Koenigsbruck. The number of monks at Maulbronn peaked at one hundred thirty-five in the 1460s and only dipped below one hundred again at the end of the century.[3] In 1492, Emperor Maximilian I withdrew the vogtei of Maulbronn from the Palatinate. Maximilian I additionally forbade any further fortification of the abbey, and ordered its existing works demolished.[16]

Annexation by Württemberg

View of Maulbronn from the north in 1683 by Andreas Kieser [de]

In 1504, during the War of the Succession of Landshut, Ulrich, Duke of Württemberg took Maulbronn after a seven-day siege. Ulrich subsequently had Maulbronn's vogtei transferred to him, effectively annexing the monastery and its territories into the Duchy of Württemberg. In 1525, the monastery was occupied by peasants participating in the German Peasants' War in 1525[18] and the monks were expelled.[19]

Duke Ulrich adopted the

Imperial Diet of the Holy Roman Empire decided in the Cistercians' favor at the 1548 Augsburg Interim,[21] which followed the defeat of Ulrich and the other Protestant princes in the Schmalkaldic War. Ulrich was ordered to restore the Württemberg's monasteries and convents and, though he tried to delay their restoration,[22] the Cistercians returned to Maulbronn in 1548. After the 1555 Peace of Augsburg restored religious peace in the Empire, however, Christoph, Duke of Württemberg was able to fully reform the Duchy.[23]

In 1556, Christoph reformed the monasteries. Following a program created by one of his advisors, Johannes Brenz, he established Protestant seminaries in thirteen of Württemberg's monasteries. Maulbronn's holdings were absorbed into the Duchy and organized into a new administrative district. A Protestant Valentin Vannius [de], a former monk at Maulbronn,[24] was appointed abbot and thus the head of Maulbronn's seminary in 1558.[3]

Two Lutheran colloquys were held at Maulbronn, in 1564 and 1576.[3]

The Thirty Years' War forced the monastery school to close until 1656.[25]

During the

Nine Years War, Maulbronn was part of the defensive network of the Eppingen lines, built from 1695 to 1697 by Louis William, Margrave of Baden-Baden.[26]

In the later years of the 17th century, Duke Louis III tasked his court architect, Georg Beer [de], with renovating the monastery for the seminary. In that time, Louis III had a hunting lodge built on the monastery grounds, likely designed by Beer.[27]

Secularization and preservation

Maulbronn Monastery was finally secularized by King Frederick I in 1806.[25]

Efforts to preserve and restore the medieval character of the monastery complex began in 1840.[25]

The monastery school was taken over by the Nazi Party in 1941. It was reopened in 1945–46.[25]

Tourism

The Paradise and the fountain in the lavatorium appear on the 2013 German Bundesländer series 2 euro coin.[28] 30 million of these coins were minted in Berlin, Munich, Stuttgart, Karlsruhe, and Hamburg.[29] An average of 235,000 persons visit the monastery each year as of 2019.[30]

Grounds and architecture

This is a map of the monastery complex
Map of the monastery complex

The architectural history of the Maulbronn Monastery complex is still not fully understood.[31] The monastery was constructed in the 12th century in a Romanesque style,[32] though little of the 12th century work – the portal and its original doors – has been preserved.[32] The specific style used, called the "Hirsau style", was native to Swabia and is characterized by uniform pillars and the rectangular frames around the Romanesque arches.[33] Near the end of the 12th century the architecture of the Cistercians became influenced by Gothic architecture, and the order began disseminating it from northeastern France.[34] From 1210 to 1220,[35] an anonymous architect trained in Paris erected the first example of Gothic architecture in Germany at Maulbronn's narthex, the southern portion of its cloister, and the monks' refectory.[34][36][b] The Late Gothic came to Maulbronn from the late 13th century to the mid-14th century, and again in the German Romantic era of the late 19th century.[32] There is a very limited amount of Renaissance architecture at Maulbronn, represented primarily by Duke Ludwig's hunting manor.[3]

The monastery as a whole survives due mostly to the

Dukes of Württemberg.[38]

The monastery was protected by a stone wall, a drawbridge gate, and five towers.[39] The origins of these structures is in the 13th century.[11]

Western courtyard

Photograph of the gate (left of center, background) and flanking buildings. The closest, on the right, is the Frühmesserhaus.
Entrance area, western courtyard

The complex is still entered through the gatehouse, at its southwest corner, though the drawbridge is no longer present. The

lead pipe found here suggests that there used to be a well nearby.[40] East of the gate is the Fruchtkasten, today a concert hall. It was built in the 13th century and then totally rebuilt and enlarged in 1580 for the storage and use of wine-making equipment.[42]

To the north of the gate is the monastery's administrative and economic buildings. Along the western wall of the monastery are what used to be the blacksmithy and

Renaissance style structure. Just north of the city hall is the Haberkasten, used as a granary, and adjacent to that is the workplace and residence of the monastery's chief baker. Finally, there are three half-timber buildings. The first is the Speisemeisterei, next to the sawmill, and the third is the Bursarium, built in 1742 as the cemetery office but used as a police station and notary as of 2019. The middle building, built in 1550, was a servant's quarters.[42]

Abbey

Map of the monastery engraved on a metal plaque
Plan of the monastery. In English: 1. Paradise, 2. Lay brothers' Church, 3. Monks' church, 4. Cloister, 5. Sacristy, 6. Chapter house, 7 and 15. Corridors, 8. Frateria, 9. Great cellar, 10. Calefactory, 11. Monk's refectory, 12. Lavatorium, 13. Kitchen, 14. Lay brother's refectory, 15. Cloister entryway, 16. Cellarium, 17. Lay brothers' passage, 18. Corridor building, 19 and 20. Hospital

At the center of the monastery complex is the abbey, where the monks and lay brothers lived and prayed. The monastery had strict divisions between the two groups. This was so even in the church,

coats of arms of nobles who donated to the monastery's construction.[49] The donor chapels, built within rather than outside the church,[11] and vaulted Gothic roof, replacing the original flat and timber roof, were added when the church was renovated in the late 15th century.[43] The altar, likely of South German make, depicts the Passion of Jesus and was once gilded and painted. Those pieces of the set that remain have since 1978 sat on a sandstone slab in the chapel.[50]

The church's narthex is Germany's oldest example of Gothic architecture – the "Paradise",

groin vaults are supported by seven slender double-column pillars installed in 1869.[54][37] Opposite the corridor to the cloister from the lay refectory is the cellarium, now a display of stonemasonry paraphernalia.[31]

On the north side of the cloister is the lavatorium, where monks washed before meals and for ablution. The majority of the fountain within dates to 1878; only the base bowl is original. The five Gothic windows were added from 1340 to 1350 and the half-timber structure above the lavatorium was built around 1611 in a style similar to that of Heinrich Schickhardt [de].[55] The vaults of the lavatorium were painted with a depiction of Maulbronn's founding myth.[56] Across from the fountain house is the monks' refectory,[55] where the full brothers ate their meals and listened to a reading of the Bible. This building was possibly also built by the Master of the Paradise, as evidenced by the Early Gothic elements of its interior. The ribbing of the vaults was painted red in the 16th century.[54] The kitchen that supplied the two refectories is located between them, but arranged such to keep smoke and odors away from the rest of the monastery.[41]

Although the Cistercian Order banned heated rooms,[38] Maulbronn has a calefactory that was heated by lighting a fire in a vaulted chamber underneath the calefactory. Smoke was funneled outside and the heat rose into the calefactory through the 20 holes in its floor.[57] It was the only heated room in the monastery.[31]

Panoramic photograph of the chapter house, east wall
Chapter house, east wall

Attached to the center of the eastern side of the cloister is the chapter house, where monks could break their oaths of silence. Three pillars hold up the room's star vaults, which are clad in red frescoes from 1517. One of the captstones for the pillars depicts, unusually, eight eagles. The keystones of the vaults depict the Four Evangelists, the Lamb of God, and an angel blowing a trumpet. At the southeast corner of the chapter house is a small chapel in a bay window.[58]

A staircase on the east side of the cloister leads to the monks' dormitory.[53]

A corridor on the eastern side of the cloister goes to a Late Gothic connecting building, built by lay brother Conrad von Schmie, leading to the monastery hospital, the Ephorat. The connecting building is decorated with a mural depicting

Virgin Mary. From the symbolism, it is thought this space was used as a Marian chapel, a scriptorium, or a library.[53] After Maulbronn's acquisition by the Dukes of Württemberg, the hospital was renovated as the abbot's residence and gained its name from the abbot's title, "Ephorus".[59]

Eastern courtyard

Duke Louis III's hunting lodge.

In 1588, Duke Louis III built a lustschloss over the cellar of an earlier building, likely the abbot's residence. During the existence of the Oberamt Maulbronn [de], Louis III's lustschloss was its administrative office. Nearby are the ruins of the Pfründhaus, where donors who had bought a life pension from the monastery resided. The building was erected in 1430 and used as a poorhouse in the 19th century until it was destroyed by fire in January 1892.[59]

In the southeast corner of the complex is the Faustturm, the tower where Johann Georg Faust is alleged to have lived while staying at the monastery in 1516.[60]

Water system

As was customary with Cistercian monasteries,[61] Maulbronn stands on top of a sophisticated water management system.[62] By draining the wetlands around the monastery and digging a series of canals,[61] the monks created some 20 ponds and lakes. A local stream, the Salzach, was diverted to flow under the monastery to form its sewerage.[63] The water levels in these lakes could be controlled, allowing Maulbronn's monks to power their mill,[64] but also to raise fish and eels.[65][c] In one of these ponds, the Aalkistensee, the monks could raise up to 5000 carp.[66] Much of the system remains in use and is part of Maulbronn's UNESCO inscription.[63][67] The water system has been under study by Baden-Württemberg's Office for the Preservation of Monuments [de] since 1989.[68]

Museums

Pictured here is a scale model of the monastery complex
Scale model of the monastery complex in the monastery museum

The cooperage, near the gatehouse, is the visitor center. On the ground floor is a diorama of the monastery complex and on the second floor is a museum room detailing post-monastic life at Maulbronn. The nearby Frühmesserhaus displays a three-panel display made by the monks of Maulbronn documenting its foundation and attached circumstances.[69][70]

Within the monastery complex is a three-part literary museum, "Besuchen-Bilden-Schreiben",

Herman Hesse. Finally, "Write" showcases the works of the monks at Maulbronn and a library spanning 800 years and 50 writers.[72]

The abbey's cellarium houses a lapidarium and exhibit detailing the construction methods used at Maulbronn.[69]

School

The ancient quarters now house a boarding school, the Evangelische Seminar Maulbronn,[73] operated by the Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Württemberg.

Panorama photograph of Maulbronn Monastery's western courtyard, facing the abbey

Maps

Maulbronn Monastery
Map
100m
110yds
none
19
18
17
16
15
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1

Kloster Maulbronn
1
Church
2
Cellarium (storage cellar)
3
Kreuzganggarten (cloister garden)
4
Ephorat
5
Faustturm (tower)
6
Mühlturm (mill tower)
7
Speisemeisterei (food mastery)
8
Police station (former Bursarium)
9
Mühle (mill)
10
Eichelboden Melkstall (milking barn)
11
Haspelturm (tower)
12
Speicher (storage)
13
Haberkasten
14
Schmiede (forge)
15
Gasthaus (guest house)
16
Klostertor (gate)
17
Küferei (cooperage)
18
Stadthalle (town hall, former mews)
19
Weingartmeisterei (vineyard mastery)

Abbots

List of Catholic Abbots of Maulbronn[74]

  • 1138-c.1178 Diether
  • c.1216–1219 Conrad I
  • 1232 Gozwin
  • 1234–1243 Sigfrid I
  • 1244–1251 Berthold I Munt
  • 1253 H.(einrich I)?
  • 1254 Gottfrid
  • 1257–1268 Egenhard
  • 1268 Albrecht I
  • 1276–1277 Hildebrand
  • 1280 Walther
  • 1281–1285 Sigfrid II
  • 1287–1292 Rudolf
  • 1294–1299 Conrad II
  • 1302–1305 Reinhard
  • c.1306 Albrecht II
  • before 1313 Wilent
  • 1313–1325 Heinrich II von Calw
  • 1330–1353 Conrad III von Thalheim
  • c.1358 Berthold II Kuring
  • c.1359 Ulrich von Ensingen
  • 1361–1367 Johannes I von Rottweil
  • 1376–1383 Albrecht III von Rieringen
  • 1383 Marquard
  • 1384–1402 Heinrich III von Renningen
  • 1402–1428 Albrecht IV von Detisheim
  • 1428–1430 Gerung von Wildberg
  • 1430–1439 Johann II von Gelnhausen
  • 1439–1445 Johann III von Worms
  • 1445–1462 Berthold II von Roßwag
  • 1462–1467 Johann IV von Wimsheim
  • 1467–1472 Nikolaus von Bretten
  • 1472–1475 Albrecht V
  • 1475-c.1488 Johann V von Laudenburg
  • 1488–1491 Stephan Detinger
  • 1491–1503 Johann VI von Bretten (1st reign)
  • 1503–1504 Johann VII von Umbstadt
  • 1504–1512 Michael Scholl von Baihingen
  • 1512–1518 Johannes VIII Entenfuß
  • 1518–1521 Johann VI von Bretten (2nd reign)
  • 1521–1547 Johannes IX von Lienzingen
  • 1547–1557 Heinrich IV von Nördlingen
  • 1557 Johannes X Epplin von Waiblingen

(1558–1630 Württemberger Lutheran administrators)[75]

  • 1630–1642 Christoph Schaller von Sennheim
  • 1642–1648 Bernhardin Buchinger von Kiensheim

(1648 Württemberg control restored)[76]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The etymology of the name "Mulenbrunnen," the root of Maulbronn, reveals that the monastery was likely founded at the site of a spring and a watermill.[6][8]
  2. ^ This architect is thought from his mason's mark, a half-moon, to have also worked on Walkenried Abbey, Ebrach Abbey, and Magdeburg Cathedral.[37]
  3. ^ Cistercians were forbidden from eating meat, but consuming fish was allowable as they were classified as "river vegetables." Maulbronn's monks raised fish, especially mirror carp, in different bodies of water depending on their species, size, and age, and then sold them to surrounding communities.[65]

Citations

  1. ^ Mueller & Stober 2009, p. 3.
  2. ^ Mueller & Stober 2009, p. 10.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Klöster in Baden-Württemberg: Maulbronn.
  4. ^ Klöster in Baden-Württemberg: Eckenweiher.
  5. ^ Gillich 2017, p. 275.
  6. ^ a b Mueller & Stober 2009, pp. 11–12.
  7. ^ Maulbronn Monastery: Maulbronn Monastery.
  8. ^ Maulbronn Monastery: Milestones.
  9. ^ Mueller & Stober 2009, pp. 10–13.
  10. ^ Mueller & Stober 2009, pp. 11, 12, 21, 90.
  11. ^ a b c d Schütz 2004, p. 310.
  12. ^ Mueller & Stober 2009, p. 21.
  13. ^ Mueller & Stober 2009, pp. 12, 21–22.
  14. ^ Mueller & Stober 2009, pp. 14, 20, 23.
  15. ^ Mueller & Stober 2009, pp. 23, 90.
  16. ^ a b c Mueller & Stober 2009, p. 16.
  17. ^ Mueller & Stober 2009, pp. 16, 90.
  18. ^ Mueller & Stober 2009, pp. 16–17, 24.
  19. ^ Maulbronn Monastery: Valentin Vannius.
  20. ^ Patrico 2017, p. 189.
  21. ^ Mueller & Stober 2009, p. 17.
  22. ^ Patrico 2017, p. 193.
  23. ^ Mueller & Stober 2009, pp. 17, 24.
  24. ^ Mueller & Stober 2009, pp. 17, 25–26, 27.
  25. ^ a b c d Mueller & Stober 2009, p. 91.
  26. ^ Maulbronn Monastery: Eppingen Lines.
  27. ^ Mueller & Stober 2009, pp. 26–27.
  28. ^ European Union Journal, 28 December 2013.
  29. ^ Maulbronn Monastery: 2-Euro Coin.
  30. ^ City of Maulbronn: Stadtgeschichte Maulbronn.
  31. ^ a b c d e Maulbronn Monastery: Hermitage and Church.
  32. ^ a b c Maulbronn Monastery: History of Design.
  33. ^ Schütz 2004, pp. 310–11.
  34. ^ a b Burton & Kerr 2011, pp. 77–79.
  35. ^ Schütz 2004, pp. 312–13.
  36. ^ Maulbronn Monastery: World Heritage Site.
  37. ^ a b Schütz 2004, p. 312.
  38. ^ a b Jeep 2001, p. 508.
  39. ^ Burton & Kerr 2011, p. 75.
  40. ^ a b Maulbronn Monastery: West Entrance.
  41. ^ a b Maulbronn Monastery: Kitchens.
  42. ^ a b Maulbronn Monastery: Courtyard and Outbuildings.
  43. ^ a b Maulbronn Monastery: Monastery Church.
  44. ^ Maulbronn Monastery: Crucifix.
  45. ^ Maulbronn Monastery: Grenzing Organ.
  46. ^ Maulbronn Monastery: Madonna.
  47. ^ a b Maulbronn Monastery: Choir Stalls.
  48. ^ Schütz 2004, p. 311.
  49. ^ Burton & Kerr 2011, p. 81.
  50. ^ Maulbronn Monastery: High altar reliefs.
  51. ^ Burton & Kerr 2011, p. 79.
  52. ^ Maulbronn Monastery: Paradise.
  53. ^ a b c Maulbronn Monastery: Cloister.
  54. ^ a b c Maulbronn Monastery: Refectories.
  55. ^ a b Maulbronn Monastery: Fountain House.
  56. ^ Maulbronn Monastery: Founding Legend.
  57. ^ Kinder 2002, p. 279.
  58. ^ Maulbronn Monastery: Chapter House.
  59. ^ a b Maulbronn Monastery: Eastern Courtyard.
  60. ^ Maulbronn Monastery: Doctor Faustus.
  61. ^ a b Burton & Kerr 2011, p. 69.
  62. ^ Baden-Württemberg: Kloster Maulbronn.
  63. ^ a b Maulbronn Monastery: Water Management.
  64. ^ Maulbronn Monastery: Surrounding Area.
  65. ^ a b Maulbronn Monastery: Fish Farming.
  66. ^ Maulbronn Monastery: Cookbook.
  67. ^ UNESCO: Maulbronn Monastery Complex.
  68. ^ Baden-Württemberg: UNESCO-Welterbestätte Kloster Maulbronn.
  69. ^ a b Maulbronn Monastery: Monastery Museums.
  70. ^ Maulbronn Monastery: Founders Panel.
  71. ^ City of Maulbronn: Besuchen-Bilden-Schreiben.
  72. ^ Maulbronn Monastery: Literary Museum.
  73. ^ "Evangelisches Seminar Maulbronn – Leben und Lernen im Weltkulturerbe".
  74. ^ Rothenhäusler 1886, p. 50.
  75. ^ Rothenhäusler 1886, p. 48.
  76. ^ Rothenhäusler 1886, p. 49.

References

Online references

German Federal, state, and municipal governments
  • "Milestones". Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten. Retrieved 18 April 2020.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Maulbronn Monastery complex.
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