Elsey Abbey, earlier Elsey Priory (), is a former women's religious house located near Elsey, now part of Hohenlimburg,

Hagen Hagen () is a city in the States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany, on the southeastern edge of the Ruhr area, 15 km south of Dortmund, where the rivers Lenne and Volme meet the Ruhr (river), Ruhr. In 2023, the ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It was founded in about 1220 by Friedrich von Isenberg for

Premonstratensian The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular in the Catholic Chur ...

canoness A canoness is a member of a religious community of women, historically a stable community dedicated to the celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours in a particular church. The name corresponds to a canon, the male equivalent, and both roles share a ...

es and endowed with the local parish church and other possessions. In the 15th century, it became a house of secular canonesses of the nobility (a ''

Damenstift The term (; ) is derived from the verb (to donate) and originally meant 'a donation'. Such donations usually comprised earning assets, originally landed estates with serfs defraying dues (originally often in kind) or with vassal tenants of noble ...

'') under an abbess. In the 16th century, during the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

, the parish became

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

, and the abbey followed suit in due course. It was dissolved in 1810, during the

secularisation In sociology, secularization () is a multilayered concept that generally denotes "a transition from a religious to a more worldly level." There are many types of secularization and most do not lead to atheism or irreligion, nor are they automatica ...

of the period. There remain the Romanesque church and some of the canonesses' houses.

Prioresses

*Walburgis – c 1270 *Gertrud von Grevel – c 1394) *Bele Kuling / Kulynges – c 1396 *Katharina Snyders – c 1405 *Else von Eversberg – c 1414 *Regula Dudinck – c 1438

Abbesses

Amalie Dorothea Elisabeth von der Bottlenberg

*Margaretha von Neuhof / Greyte van Neyenhove – c 1468–1486 *Engela von Holte – c 1501 *Ida von Syberg – 1501–1545 *Sophie Budberg – 1551–1554 *Anna von der Goy – 1556–1577 *Katharina von Neheim – 1590–1595 *Ludger von Neheim known as Dutscher – 1595–1623 *Anna Rump zu Pungelscheid – 1623–1625 *Helene von Plettenberg – 1626–1630 *Gertrud von der Pforten – 1630–1639 *Anna Lucia von Plettenberg – 1639–1640 *Helene von Syberg – 1641–1684 *Elsebein von Lahr- 1684–1696 *Maria Sybilla von Lahr- 1696–1701 *Theodora Anna Katharina von Hauss – 1701–1704 *Sophia Johanna von Bentheim-Tecklenburg – 1704–1716 *Sophie Amelie Dorothee von Bentheim-Tecklenburgdaughter of Friedrich Moritz zu Bentheim-Tecklenburg and Christiane Marie zur Lippe- 1716–1753 *Anna Christine Katharina von der Bottlenberg known as Kessel – 1753–1776 *Amalie Dorothea Elisabeth von der Bottlenberg known as Kessel – 1776–1797 *Wilhelmine Sophie von Cornberg- 1797–1802 *Louise von Ledebur- 1802–1803

Notes and references

Sources

* Klueting, E., 1980: ''Das (freiweltliche) adelige Damenstift Elsey. Geschichte, Verfassung und Grundherrschaft in Spätmittelalter und Frühneuzeit.'' Freunde der Burg Altena: Altena 1980 ''Altenaer Beiträge'' 14 – Freunde der Burg Altena: Altena ISSN 0516-8260 (also: Bochum, Ruhr-Univ., Dissertation 1976) 1220 establishments in Europe 1220s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1810 disestablishments in the Confederation of the Rhine Monasteries in North Rhine-Westphalia Premonstratensian nunneries Christian monasteries established in the 1220s Buildings and structures in Hagen Lutheran women's convents 13th-century churches in Germany {{christian-monastery-stub