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Saint Blaise Abbey (german: Kloster Sankt Blasien) was a
Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...
monastery in the village of St. Blasien in the
Black Forest The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is t ...
in
Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
.


History


9th–12th centuries

The early history of the abbey is obscure. Its predecessor in the 9th century is supposed to have been a cell of
Rheinau Abbey Rheinau Abbey (Kloster Rheinau) was a Benedictine monastery in Rheinau in the Canton of Zürich, Switzerland, founded in about 778 and suppressed in 1862. It is located on an island in the Rhine. History The foundation of the abbey, on a strategic ...
, known as ''cella alba'' (the "white cell"), but the line of development between that and the confirmed existence of St Blaise's Abbey in the 11th century is unclear. At some point the new foundation would have had to become independent of Rheinau, in which process the shadowy Reginbert of Seldenbüren (died about 962), traditionally named as the founder, may have played some role. The first definite abbot of St Blaise however was Werner I (1045?–1069). On 8 June 1065 the abbey received a grant of immunity from Emperor Henry IV, although it had connections to the family of the
anti-king An anti-king, anti king or antiking (german: Gegenkönig; french: antiroi; cs, protikrál) is a would-be king who, due to succession disputes or simple political opposition, declares himself king in opposition to a reigning monarch. OED "Anti-, ...
Rudolf of Rheinfelden Rudolf of Rheinfelden ( – 15 October 1080) was Duke of Swabia from 1057 to 1079. Initially a follower of his brother-in-law, the Salian emperor Henry IV, his election as German anti-king in 1077 marked the outbreak of the Great Saxon Revolt an ...
. Between 1070 and 1073 there seem to have been contacts between St. Blaise and the active
Cluniac The Cluniac Reforms (also called the Benedictine Reform) were a series of changes within medieval monasticism of the Western Church focused on restoring the traditional monastic life, encouraging art, and caring for the poor. The movement began wi ...
abbey of Fruttuaria in Italy, which led to St. Blaise following the Fruttuarian reforms, introducing lay-brothers or "conversi" and probably even the reformation of the abbey as a
double monastery A double monastery (also dual monastery or double house) is a monastery combining separate communities of monks and of nuns, joined in one institution to share one church and other facilities. The practice is believed to have started in the East ...
for both monks and nuns (the nuns are said to have re-settled to Berau Abbey by 1117).
Bernold of Constance Bernold of Constance (c. 1054–Schaffhausen, September 16, 1100) was a chronicler and writer of tracts, and a defender of the Church reforms of Pope Gregory VII. Life He was educated at Constance under the renowned teacher Bernard of Const ...
(''ca'' 1050–1100) in his histories counts St Blaise alongside Hirsau Abbey as leading Swabian reform monasteries. Other religious houses reformed by, or founded as priories of, St Blaise were: Muri Abbey (1082), Ochsenhausen Abbey (1093), Göttweig Abbey (1094),
Stein am Rhein Stein am Rhein (abbreviated as Stein a. R.) is a historic town and a municipality in the canton of Schaffhausen in Switzerland. The town's medieval centre retains the ancient street plan. The site of the city wall, and the city gates are preserve ...
Abbey (before 1123) and
Prüm Abbey Prüm Abbey is a former Benedictine abbey in Prüm, now in the diocese of Trier (Germany), founded by the Frankish widow Bertrada the elder and her son Charibert, Count of Laon, in 721. The first abbot was Angloardus. The Abbey ruled over a va ...
(1132). It also had significant influence on the abbeys of
Alpirsbach Alpirsbach () is a town in the district of Freudenstadt in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated in the Black Forest on the Kinzig river, south of Freudenstadt. Because of the local brewery “Alpirsbacher Klosterbräu“, the monastery ...
(1099),
Ettenheimmünster Ettenheim ( gsw, label= Low Alemannic, Äddene) is a town in the Ortenaukreis, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. History Ettenheim was founded in the 8th century by Eddo, bishop of Strasbourg, and the was founded at about that time. Ettenheim recei ...
(1124) and
Sulzburg Sulzburg is a town in the district Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the western slope of the Black Forest, 20 km southwest of Freiburg. Sulzburg had a long tradition of continuous Jewish settlemen ...
(''ca'' 1125), and the priories of Weitenau (''ca'' 1100), Bürgeln (before 1130) and Sitzenkirch (''ca'' 1130). A list of prayer partnerships, drawn up about 1150, shows how extensive the connections were between St Blaise and other religious communities. During the course of the 12th century however the zeal of the monks cooled, as their attention became increasingly focussed on the acquisition, management and exploitation of their substantial estates, which by the 15th century extended across the whole of the
Black Forest The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is t ...
and included not only the abbey's priories named above, but also the nunnery at Gutnau and the livings of Niederrotweil, Schluchsee, Wettelbrunn, Achdorf, Hochemmingen, Todtnau, Efringen, Schönau, Wangen, Plochingen, Nassenbeuren and many others.


13th–17th centuries

The original '' Vogtei'' (protective lordship) of the Bishops of Basle was shaken off quite early: a charter of the Emperor Henry V dated 8 January 1125 confirms that the abbey possessed imperial protection and free election of their ''
Vogt During the Middle Ages, an (sometimes given as modern English: advocate; German: ; French: ) was an office-holder who was legally delegated to perform some of the secular responsibilities of a major feudal lord, or for an institution such as ...
''. Nevertheless, the office afterwards became a possession of the Zähringer, and after their extinction in 1218, was held at Imperial will and gift under the Emperor Frederick II. While this may well have preserved a certain bond with the Emperor, there seems to have been no question of St Blaise's having the status of a ''" Reichskloster"''. From the mid-13th century the ''Vögte'' (protective lordship) were Habsburg which this drew St. Blaise increasingly into the
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n sphere of influence. The ties to the Empire remained, however: the abbey was named between 1422 and 1521 in the lists of imperial territories and the
Swabian Circle The Circle of Swabia or Swabian Circle (german: Schwäbischer Reichskreis or ''Schwäbischer Kreis'') was an Imperial Circle of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1500 on the territory of the former German stem-duchy of Swabia. However, it di ...
tried in vain in 1549 to claim St Blaise as an imperial abbey. The four imperial lordships which St Blaise's had acquired by the end of the 13th century — Blumegg, Bettmaringen, Gutenburg and Berauer Berg — in fact formed the nucleus of the ''
reichsunmittelbar Imperial immediacy (german: Reichsfreiheit or ') was a privileged constitutional and political status rooted in German feudal law under which the Imperial estates of the Holy Roman Empire such as Imperial cities, prince-bishoprics and secular prin ...
'' lordship of
Bonndorf Bonndorf is a town in the Waldshut district in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated in the southern Black Forest, 14 km southeast of Titisee-Neustadt. It comprises the villages Boll, Brunnadern, Dillendorf, Ebnet, Gündelwangen, Ho ...
, constituted in 1609, from which the
Prince-Abbot A prince-abbot (german: Fürstabt) is a title for a cleric who is a Prince of the Church (like a Prince-bishop), in the sense of an ''ex officio'' temporal lord of a feudal entity, usually a State of the Holy Roman Empire. The territory ruled ...
s derived their status in the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...
.


17th century – present

The abbey was dissolved in the course of secularisation in 1806 and the monastic premises were thereupon used as one of the earliest mechanised factories in Germany. The monks however, under the last Prince-Abbot Dr Berthold Rottler, found their way to St. Paul's Abbey in the Lavanttal in
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, where they settled in 1809. From 1934, the remaining buildings have been occupied by the well-known Jesuit college, the Kolleg St. Blasien.


St Blaise's "Cathedral"

The abbey church burnt down in 1768, and was rebuilt as a Neoclassical round church by the architect
Pierre Michel d'Ixnard Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...
, with an enormous dome 46 metres across and 63 metres high (the third-largest in Europe north of the
Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Swi ...
), during the years up to 1781 under the Prince-Abbot Martin Gerbert. It was consecrated in 1784.Johann Baptist Weiß ''Festrede, gehalten am 8. Tage der Feierlichkeiten bei Einweihung der neuen Kirche zu St. Blasien''. St. Gallen, 1784 (Official speech given on the 8th day of the celebrations for the consecration of the new church at St. Blasien) It remains as the Dom St Blasius, or "St Blaise's Cathedral" (so called because of its size and magnificence, not because it is a cathedral in any ecclesiastical or administrative sense). ''Dom'' properly denotes or means an important church (as the main church of a town or a city), not a cathedal (seat of a bishop), ''Kathedrale'' in German. The effects of another catastrophic fire in 1874 were only finally remedied in the 1980s.


Gallery

File:Dom_zu_St_Basien_(Kupferstich).jpg, Painting of the Abbey, 1783 File:Dom_St._Blasien,_September_2020.jpg, St Blaise Abbey File:Dom_zu_St._Blasien_1.jpg, Front of the Abbey File:St._Blasien_Dom_St._Blasius_Innen_Kuppel_5.JPG, The Abbey Dome


Abbots of St. Blaise in the Black Forest

* Beringer von Hohenschwanden (945-974) * Ifo (974-983) * Siegfried (983-1021) * Bernard (1021–1045) * Werner I (1045–1069) * Giselbert (1068–1086) * Otto I (1086–1108) * Rustenus (1108–1125) * Berthold I (1125–1141) * Gunther of Andlau (1141–1170?) * Werner II of Küssaberg (1170–1178) * Theodebert of Bussnang (1178–1186) * Manegold of Hallwil (1186–1204) * Hermann I of Messkirch (1204–1222) * Otto II (1222–1223) * Hermann II (1223–1237) * Heinrich I (1237–1240) * Arnold I (1240–1247) * Arnold II (1247–1276) * Heinrich II of Stadion (1276–1294) * Berthold II (1294–1308) * Heinrich III (1308–1314) * Ulrich (1314–1334) * Petrus I of Thayingen (1334–1348) * Heinrich IV of Eschenz (1348–1391) * Konrad (1391) * Johannes I Kreutz (1391–1413) * Johannes II Duttlinger (1413–1429) * Nikolaus Stocker (1429–1460) * Petrus II Bösch (1460–1461) * Christopher of Greuth (1461–1482) * Eberhard von Reischach (1482–1491) * Blasius I Wambach (1491–1493) * Georg (Buob?) of Horb (1493–1519) Buob * Johannes III Spielmann (1519–1532) * Gallus Haas (1532–1540) * Johannes IV Wagner (1540–1541) * Caspar I Müller von Schöneck (1541–1571) * Caspar II Thomae (1571–1596) * Martin I Meister (1596–1625) * Blasius II Münster (1625–1638) * Franz I Chullots (1638–1664) * Otto III Kübler (1664–1672) * Romanus Vogler (1672–1695) * Augustin Simon Eusebius Finck (1695–1720) * Blasius III Bender (1720–1727) * Franz II Schächtelin (1727–1747) * Coelestin Vogler (1747–1749) * Meinrad Troger (1749–1764) * Martin II Gerbert (1764–1793) * Moritz Ribbele (1793–1801) * Berthold III Rottler (1801–1806)


Burials

* Adelaide of Savoy, Duchess of Swabia * Berthold I, Duke of Swabia


Footnotes


Sources

* Braun, J. W. (ed.), 2003. ''Urkundenbuch des Klosters Sankt Blasien im Schwarzwald. Von den Anfängen bis zum Jahr 1299; Teil I: Edition; Teil II: Einführung, Verzeichnisse, Register'' (= ''Veröffentlichungen der Kommission für Geschichtliche Landeskunde in Baden-Württemberg: Reihe A, Quellen; Band 23''), Stuttgart. * Buhlmann, M., 2004. : ''Benediktinisches Mönchtum im mittelalterlichen Schwarzwald. Ein Lexikon. Vortrag beim Schwarzwaldverein St. Georgen e.V., St. Georgen im Schwarzwald, 10. November 2004, Teil 2: N-Z (= Vertex Alemanniae, H.10/2)'', pp. 76ff. St. Georgen. * Ott, H., 1963. ''Studien zur Geschichte des Klosters St. Blasien im hohen und späten Mittelalter'' (= Veröffentlichungen der Kommission für geschichtliche Landeskunde in Baden-Württemberg; Reihe B, Band 27). Stuttgart. * Ott, H., 1965. ''Die Vogtei über das Kloster St. Blasien seit dem Aussterben der Zähringer bis zum Übergang an das Haus Habsburg'', in: ''Zeitschrift für die Geschichte des Oberrheins'', Band 113 (NF 74), pp. 30–44. * Ott, H., 1969. ''Die Klostergrundherrschaft St. Blasien im Mittelalter. Beiträge zur Besitzgeschichte'' (= Arbeiten zum Historischen Atlas von Südwestdeutschland, Bd.4). Stuttgart. * Quarthal, F. (ed.), 1987. ''Germania Benedictina, Bd.5: Die Benediktinerklöster in Baden-Württemberg'', 2nd ed., pp. 146–160. St. Ottilien.


External links

*
St Blaise's Cathedral and the Jesuit community

Aerial View of the Monastery Complex

Sculpture in St Blaise's Abbey Church
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Blaises Abbey In The Black Forest 1806 disestablishments Burial sites of the House of Habsburg States and territories established in 1609 Benedictine monasteries in Germany Jesuit education Monasteries in Baden-Württemberg Church buildings with domes Religious organizations established in the 1600s Roman Catholic cathedrals in Baden-Württemberg Christian monasteries established in the 17th century Former states and territories of Baden-Württemberg St. Blasien Hotzenwald 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Germany