Saint Emmeram's Abbey

Coordinates: 49°0′55″N 12°5′34″E / 49.01528°N 12.09278°E / 49.01528; 12.09278
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Imperial Abbey of St. Emmeram
Reichsabtei Sankt Emmeram (German)
1295–1803
Coat of arms of Saint Emmeram's Abbey
Coat of arms
Status
Archbishopric¹
1803
• Ceded to Bavaria on
    Imperial collapse

January 6, 1806
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Electorate of the Palatinate
Principality of Regensburg
Today part of
Imperial Abbeys
were mediatised simultaneously.
Small section of the extensive St. Emmeram's buildings
Main inner courtyard
Map of the site in 2014

Saint Emmeram's Abbey (German: Kloster Sankt Emmeram or Reichsabtei Sankt Emmeram) was a Benedictine monastery founded around 739 at Regensburg in Bavaria (modern-day southeastern Germany) at the grave of the itinerant Frankish bishop Saint Emmeram.[1] The original abbey church is now a parish church named St. Emmeram's Basilica. The other buildings on the site form a large complex known as Schloss Thurn und Taxis or Schloss St. Emmeram, which has served as the main residence of the Thurn und Taxis princely family since the early 19th century.

History

When the monastery was founded in about 739, the

bishops of Regensburg were abbots in commendam, a common practice at the time which was not always to the advantage of the abbeys concerned. In 975, Saint Wolfgang of Regensburg, then bishop of Regensburg and abbot of St. Emmeram's, voluntarily gave up the position of abbot and severed the connection, making the abbots of St. Emmeram's independent of the bishopric. He was one of the first German bishops to do this, and his example in this was much copied across Germany in the years following. The first independent abbot was Ramwold (later the Blessed Ramwold). Both he and Saint Wolfgang were advocates of the monastic reforms of Gorze
.

Saint Wolfgang, who was made bishop in 972, ordered that a library be constructed at St. Emmeram shortly after his arrival in Regensburg. An active scriptorium had existed at St. Emmeram in the Carolingian period, but it is not known whether it occupied a special building, and it appears that relatively few manuscripts, of poor quality, were produced there during the early tenth century.[2] Over time, some works in the scriptorium were copied by monks, some works were preserved from the Carolingian period, and others were acquired as gifts.[2] The library became well supplied with works by early Christian writers such as Saint Augustine, as well as by ancient writers such as Virgil and Seneca. In addition to works that had an overt religious or inspirational purpose, the library held a large collection of manuscripts used in the monastery school, focusing on subjects such as logic, arithmetic, rhetoric, grammar, and even astronomy and music.[2] By the early eleventh century, the library at St. Emmeram had acquired a reputation for its collection. Neighboring libraries began requesting to borrow books for copying. An eleventh-century librarian at the monastery, Froumund of Tegernsee, referred to the book room as a bibliotheca, a term implying an extensive manuscript collection.[2] St. Emmeram's scriptorium in the Early Middle Ages became a significant centre of book production and illumination, the home of works such as the sacramentary of Emperor Henry II (produced between 1002 and 1014) and the Uta Codex (shortly after 1002).

In 1295, the

Imperial abbey, an independent sovereign power subject directly to the emperor
).

After a decline in its significance during the 16th century, the abbey enjoyed a resurgence in the 17th and 18th centuries under abbots

Münchner Akademie. St. Emmeram's had a long tradition of scientific enquiry dating from the Middle Ages, in witness of which the monastery preserved the astrolabe of William of Hirsau
.

In 1731, the abbots were raised to the status of Princes of the Empire (

Reichsfürsten). Between 1731 and 1733, there followed the magnificent Baroque refurbishment (by the Asam brothers
) of the abbey church, which had been repeatedly burnt out and repaired.

In 1803, St. Emmeram's Abbey (along with the

Carl Theodor von Dalberg. In 1803, he donated a large garden at the abbey to the Royal Bavarian Botanical Society of Regensburg for construction of a botanic garden that was maintained until 1855.[3][4] After the Treaty of Paris of 1810, the entire Principality of Regensburg was transferred to Bavaria
.

The treasures of St. Emmeram's Abbey (for example, the

Residenz) and its valuable library (including Muspilli, the Codex Aureus of St. Emmeram, and Dialogus de laudibus sanctae crucis) were mostly removed to Munich.[5]

Schloss Thurn und Taxis

Schloss Thurn und Taxis

In 1812, the secularized monastic buildings were granted to the Princes of Thurn und Taxis, who converted the abbey into a palatial residence known from then on as Schloss Thurn und Taxis, also called Schloss St. Emmeram. It is the largest private residence in Germany, with 517 rooms and a floor area of 21,460 m2 (231,000 sq ft).[6]

The residence with its park in Regensburg's city center covers five hectares.[7] The Thurn und Taxis princely family still uses the Schloss as its primary residence,[6] thus it can be considered to be the family seat.

St. Emmeram's Basilica

St. Emmeram's Basilica

The abbey church became a parish church, to which

Saint Denis. The west transept has a painted wooden ceiling depicting Saint Benedict of Nursia. The crypt of Saint Wolfgang is beneath the choir of Saint Denis. Next to Saint Denis's altar in the northern aisle is the tomb of Emma, Queen of the East Franks
(died 876), let into the wall. The high altar dates from 1669. The tower has six bells.

  • Central nave of the church and apse with high altar and two side altars
    Central nave of the church and apse with high altar and two side altars
  • Large square pillars of the Ramwold church building from around 980/1000
    Large square pillars of the Ramwold church building from around 980/1000
  • Wolfgang Crypt in the west building (c. 1050)
    Wolfgang Crypt in the west building (c. 1050)
  • Painted wooden ceiling depicting Saint Benedict of Nursia
    Painted wooden ceiling depicting Saint Benedict of Nursia

Notable burials

St. Rupert's church

St. Rupert's church

Saint Michael
dated from 1713. The nave is decorated with pictures of the miracles of Saint Rupert.

Abbots

Bishops of Regensburg (abbots ex officio)

  • Gaubald (739–761)
  • Sigerich (762–768)
  • Sintpert
    (768–791)
  • Adalwin (792–816)
  • Baturich (817–847)
  • Erchanfrid (c. 847–864)
  • Ambricho (c. 864–891)
  • Aspert (891–894)
  • Tuto (c. 894–930)
  • Isangrim (930–941)
  • Gunther (942)
  • Michael (c. 942–972)
  • Wolfgang (972–975)

Abbots

  • Blessed
    Ramwold
    (975–1001)
  • Wolfram (1001–1006)
  • Richolf (1006–1028)
  • Hartwich (1028–1029)
  • Burkhard (1030–1037)
  • Ulrich I (1037-1042)
  • Erchanbert (1042–1043)
  • Peringer I (1044–1048)
  • Reginward (1048–1060 ?)
  • Eberhard I (c. 1060–1068)
  • Rupert (1068–1095)
  • Pabo (1095 – c. 1106)
  • Reginhard (c. 1106–1129?)
  • Engelfrid (1129–1142)
  • Pabo (2nd time) (1142–1143)
  • Berthold I (1143–1149)
  • Adalbert I (1149–1177)
  • Peringer II (1177–1201)
  • Eberhard II (1201–1217)
  • Ulrich II (1217–1219)
  • Berthold II (1219–1235)
  • Wulfing (c. 1235 – c. 1247)
  • Ulrich III (1247–1263)
  • Friedrich I von Theuern (1263–1271)
  • Ulrich IV von Prunn (1271)
  • Haimo (1272–1275)
  • Wolfgang I Sturm (1275–1279)
  • Wernher (1279–1292)
  • Karl (1292–1305)
  • Heinrich von Winzer (1305–1312)
  • Baldwin Kötzl (1312–1324)
  • Adalbert II (Albert) von Schmidmühlen (1324–1358)
  • Alto von Tannstein (1358–1385)
  • Friedrich II von Weidenberg (1385–1395)
  • Johannes I Hauner (1395–1402)
  • Ulrich V Pettendorfer (1402–1423)
  • Wolfhard Strauß (1423–1452)
  • Hartung Pfersfelder (1452–1458)
  • Konrad Pebenhauser (1459–1465)
  • Michael Teuer (1465–1471)
  • Johannes II Tegernpeck (1471–1493)
  • Erasmus I Münzer (1493–1517)
  • Ambrosius I Münzer (1517–1535)
  • Leonhard Pfenningmann (1535–1540)
  • Erasmus II Nittenauer (1540–1561)
  • Blasius Baumgartner (1561–1575)
  • Ambrosius II Mayrhofer (1575–1583)
  • Hieronymus I Weiß (1583–1609)
  • Hieronymus II Feury (1609–1623)
  • Johannes III Nablaß (1623–1639)
  • Placidus Judmann (1639–1655)
  • Coelestin I Vogl (1655–1691)
  • Ignatius von Trauner (1691–1694)
  • Johannes IV Baptist Hemm (1694–1719)
  • Wolfgang II Mohr (1719–1725)

Prince-Abbots

  • Anselm Godin de Tampezo (1725–1742)
  • Johann V Baptist Kraus (1742–1762)
  • Frobenius Forster (1762–1791)
  • Coelestin II Steiglehner (1791–1803; died 1819)

Notes

  1. ^ Sankt Emmeram is sometimes referred to as Sankt Emmeran
  2. ^ a b c d Kyle, Joseph D. (1980). The Monastery Library at St. Emmeram (Regensburg). The Journal of Library History, Vol. 15, No. 1 (Winter, 1980), pp. 1-21. University of Texas Press.
  3. ISBN 9783866463004
    .
  4. ^ "History". Regensburg Botanical Society. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  5. ^ "Dialogue in Praise of the Holy Cross". World Digital Library. 1170. Retrieved 2014-06-03.
  6. ^
    ISBN 9781908843708
    . Retrieved May 23, 2018.
  7. ^ "Schloss Thurn und Taxis Gartenschau, Ratisbonne". FoiresInfo (in French). June 21, 2018. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
  8. ^ Old church layout Archived 2005-12-31 at the Wayback Machine (JPEG image)

References

  • Kallmünz, 1992. St. Emmeram in Regensburg. Geschichte - Kunst - Denkmalpflege. Thurn und Taxis-Studien 18.
  • Morsbach, P. (photos: A. Bunz), 1993: St. Emmeram zu Regensburg. Ehem. Benediktiner-Abteikirche. Großer Kunstführer Nr. 187. Schnell & Steiner: Regensburg.
  • 1803 – Die gelehrten Mönche und das Ende einer 1000-jährigen Tradition. Exhibition guide. Bischöfliches Ordinariat Regensburg: Regensburg, 2003.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Saint Emmeram's Abbey.

49°0′55″N 12°5′34″E / 49.01528°N 12.09278°E / 49.01528; 12.09278

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