Grafschaft Abbey () is a community of the Sisters of Mercy of

Saint Charles Borromeo Charles Borromeo (; ; 2 October 1538 – 3 November 1584) was an Italian Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584. He was made a cardinal in 1560. Borromeo founded the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine and was a ...

, formerly a

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monastery, in

Schmallenberg Schmallenberg (; ) is a town and a Luftkurort, climatic health resort in the Hochsauerlandkreis, High Sauerland District, Germany. By area, it is the :de:Liste der 100 flächengrößten Städte und Gemeinden Deutschlands, third biggest of all cit ...

Grafschaft A was originally the name given to the administrative area in the Holy Roman Empire over which a count, or , presided as judge. It is often, therefore, translated as 'county'. The term has survived as a placename in German-speaking countries, for ...

in the Sauerland, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

First foundation

The Benedictine monastery was founded in 1072 on a site at the foot of the Wilzenberg mountain, by Saint Anno,

Archbishop of Cologne The Archbishop of Cologne governs the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne in western North Rhine-Westphalia. Historically, the archbishop was ''ex officio'' one of the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire and ruled the Electorate of Cologne ...

, whose statue still stands at the west gate. The monastery was dedicated between 1079 and 1089. The original buildings burned down in 1270. From 1729 the premises were gradually replaced by completely new buildings in the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

style; the rebuild was finished in 1742 and the new abbey church dedicated in 1747. The abbey was dissolved in 1804 as a consequence of secularisation. In 1827 the premises were bought by the Princes von Fürstenberg, but by that time the church was in such a bad condition that it had to be demolished, despite its high architectural quality.

Second foundation

In 1947 the buildings were given to the Sisters of Mercy of St. Borromeo, who had been expelled from the order's former mother house Trebnitz Abbey, in

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

. Grafschaft is now the mother house. This is a nursing order, and a large part of the premises is now used as a hospital.Krankenhaus-klostergrafschaft.de: History of the hospital
There is also a museum of the abbey's history.

References

External links

Hospital Grafschaft Abbey
{{Authority control Benedictine monasteries in Germany Monasteries in North Rhine-Westphalia Heritage sites in North Rhine-Westphalia 1072 establishments in Europe Christian monasteries established in the 1070s Schmallenberg Buildings and structures in Hochsauerlandkreis