St Peter's Abbey in the Black Forest or St. Peter's Abbey, Schwarzwald (german: Kloster St. Peter auf dem Schwarzwald) is a former

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. Peter im Schwarzwald, in the district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald,

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

The monastic community of St. Peter's was the

house monastery A house monastery, family monastery or dynastic monastery (german: Hauskloster) is a Christian monastery that has a particular relationship with a noble family. Often, but not always, what subsequently became the house monastery was founded by t ...

and burial place of the Zähringen family. It was founded in Weilheim, in or before 1073, but was forced by hostile military action during the

Investiture Controversy The Investiture Controversy, also called Investiture Contest ( German: ''Investiturstreit''; ), was a conflict between the Church and the state in medieval Europe over the ability to choose and install bishops ( investiture) and abbots of mona ...

to move to Hirsau. Duke Berthold II of Zähringen (1078–1111) re-founded it as a family monastery, but decided in about 1090 to move it to the site which is now St. Peter im Schwarzwald. Here it soon developed as a reformed Benedictine monastery directly answerable to the papacy, as witness for example the privilege of Pope Urban II of 10 March 1095. The ''

Vögte 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 ...

'' (lords protectors) were initially the Zähringen family but, in the late 13th century, they were succeeded by the Counts of Urach, against whom the monks were eventually obliged to seek the protection of Emperor Charles IV. In 1526 the office passed to the Habsburgs. By the gift of the Zähringen family and their

ministeriales The ''ministeriales'' (singular: ''ministerialis'') were a class of people raised up from serfdom and placed in positions of power and responsibility in the High Middle Ages in the Holy Roman Empire. The word and its German translations, ''Minist ...

the abbey acquired substantial property, particularly in the 11th and 12th centuries, located in the immediate area, in the

Breisgau The Breisgau () is an area in southwest Germany between the Rhine River and the foothills of the Black Forest. Part of the state of Baden-Württemberg, it centers on the city of Freiburg im Breisgau. The district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, ...

and in the Baar region, near Weilheim. The abbey, like most other landowners of the time, suffered significant loss of income and tenants after the middle of the 14th century. The abbey suffered disastrous fires in 1238 and again in 1437. It lost importance in the later mediaeval period, and the monastic reforms of the 15th century had little effect here. Nevertheless, it managed to keep its property intact, even through the troubles of the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

. The premises were re-built in Baroque style in the 17th and 18th centuries; the present church with the two onion towers (''"Zwiebeltürme"'') was built in the 1720s. The architect was

Peter Thumb Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

, and the opulent Baroque decoration was by

Franz Joseph Spiegler Franz Joseph Spiegler (5 April 1691 – 15 April 1757) was a German Baroque painter. He is best known for his frescoes, which decorate many of the churches and monasteries along the Upper Swabian Baroque Route. The frescoes in the Zwiefalten ...

(55 frescoes, 1727) and

Joseph Anton Feuchtmayer Joseph Anton Feuchtmayer (6 March 1696 (baptized) – 2 January 1770) was an important Rococo stuccoist and sculptor, active in southern Germany and Switzerland. J. A. Feuchtmayer was born in Linz, a member of the famous Feuchtmayer family ...

(sculptures), among other artists and craftsmen. Peter Thumb also constructed the library. The abbey was dissolved in the secularisation of 1806.

Abbots to 1544

* Adalbero (1093–1100) * Hugo I (1100–08) * Eppo (1108–32) * Gozmann (1132–37) * Markward (1154–83) * Rudolf of Reutenhalden (1183–91) * Berthold I (1191–1220) * Heinrich I (1220–55) * Arnold (1255–75) * Walther I (1275–91) * Eberhard (1291–95) * Gottfried of Lötschibach (1295–1322) * Berthold II (1322–49) * Walther II (1350–53) * Johannes I of Immendingen (1353–57) * Peter I of Thannheim (1357–66) * Jakob I Stahelin (1367–80) * Hugo II (1380–82) * Heinrich II of Stein (1382–90) * Heinrich III Salatin (1390–92) * Johannes II of Stein (1392) * Erhard (1392–1401) * Benedikt I of Thannheim (1401–02) * Johannes III (1402–04) * Johannes IV Kanzler (1404–09) * Heinrich IV von Oettlingen (1409–14) * Heinrich V von Hornberg (1414–27) * Johannes V Tüffer (1427–39) * Jakob II von Altensummerau (1439–43) * Konrad von Hofen (1443–49) * Burkhard von Mansberg (1449–53) * Johannes VI von Küssenberg (1453–69) * Peter II Emhardt (1469–92) * Simon Budner (1492–96) * Peter III Gremmelsbach (1496–1512) * Jodocus Kaiser (1512–31) * Adam Guldin (1531–44) Abbots of the Early Modern period include: * Philipp Jakob Steyrer (1749–95) * Ignaz Speckle (1795–1806)

Burials

Conrad I, Duke of Zähringen Conrad I ( – 8 January 1152) was Duke of Zähringen from 1122 until his death and from 1127 also Rector of Burgundy. He spent most of his life stemming the growing power of the House of Hohenstaufen and to this end, allied himself with the ...

Agnes of Rheinfelden Agnes of Rheinfelden (*; † 19 December 1111) was the daughter of Rudolf of Rheinfelden, and the wife of Berthold II of Zähringen, Duke of Swabia. Life Agnes was the daughter of Rudolf von Rheinfelden, duke of Swabia, and anti-king of Germa ...

Berthold II, Duke of Swabia Berthold II ( – 12 April 1111), also known as Berchtold II, was the Duke of Swabia from 1092 to 1098. After he conceded the Duchy of Swabia to the Staufer in 1098, the title of " Duke of Zähringen" was created for him, in use from c. 1100 and ...

References

* 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), pp82''ff''. St. Georgen.

External links

*
Bibliography, University of Freiburg Library
*
St. Peter: History and images
*

*
Detailed student research paper about the frescoes depicting scenes from the life of St. Peter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Peter's Abbey In The Black Forest Benedictine monasteries in Germany Monasteries in Baden-Württemberg Christian monasteries established in the 11th century Religious organizations established in the 1070s 11th-century establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1806 disestablishments in the Holy Roman Empire Buildings and structures in Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald Burial sites of the House of Zähringen Imperial abbeys