Mariastein Abbey (Kloster Mariastein) is 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

Metzerlen-Mariastein Metzerlen-Mariastein is a municipality in the district of Dorneck in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. The present name of the municipality dates from 2003, it being previously known as ''Metzerlen''. The nearby Benedictine Mariastein Abb ...

in the

Canton of Solothurn The canton of Solothurn or canton of Soleure (; ; ; ) is a Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Switzerland. It is located in the northwest of Switzerland. The capital is Solothurn. History The village of ''Salodurum'' was founded in the time of t ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. Mariastein, after

Einsiedeln Einsiedeln () is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality and Districts of Switzerland#Schwyz, district in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland known for its monastery, the Benedictine Einsiedeln Abbey, established in the 10th century. Histor ...

, is the second most important place of

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

in Switzerland. Over the Chapel of Grace (''"Gnadenkapelle"'') now stands a late

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

three-aisled

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

. The interior is

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 ...

and the entrance facade

classicist Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

History

Mariastein originated as a place of pilgrimage in the late 14th century, with the legend of a miracle of the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

; a stone chapel was first definitely mentioned in 1434. The

Augustinian hermits The Order of Saint Augustine (), abbreviated OSA, is a mendicant religious order of the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1244 by bringing together several eremitical groups in the Tuscany region who were following the Rule of Saint Augustine, ...

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

had charge of the site. In 1648 Mariastein Abbey was established here with the relocation of the remnants of the failing community at Beinwil, and the foundation of the Benedictine abbey to house them. The abbey was extremely successful both as a revived Benedictine community and as promoters and custodians of the pilgrimage site, which assumed at that period its present importance. The abbey was secularized twice, after 1792, because of the French Revolution from 1791 onwards. Since in France many citizens did not approve of the preachers there, they travelled to Mariastein and it was there where their French children received their baptism or marriages were sealed. To this the French government opposed and threatened to sack the monastery, which led the Cantonal Government to send a civil governor to lead over the abbey, who prohibited public masses.Haas, Hieronymus. (1973), p.83 In 1798 troops commanded by the French General Balthazar Alexis Henri Schauenburg sacked the monastery and sent the monks into exile. Only in 1802 the monks were permitted to return and re-establish the abbey. As a result of a conflict between the state and the Roman Catholic Church, the monks were obliged to seek refuge in 1874; first in France, at

Delle Delle () is a commune in the Territoire de Belfort department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in northeastern France. Delle is the last French town on the railway line from Belfort to Berne, in Switzerland. The railway station in Delle is served ...

. In 1902 they were expelled as a result of legal changes in France, for a short time at

Dürrnberg Dürrnberg, also named Bad Dürrnberg, is an Austrian village part of the municipality of Hallein, in Hallein District (Tennengau), Salzburg State. It is the location of the Hallein Salt Mine (''Salzbergwerk Dürrnberg''). History The history of ...

near

Hallein Hallein () is a historic town in the Austrian state of Salzburg (state), Salzburg. It is the capital of Hallein (district), Hallein district. Geography The town is located in the ''Tennengau'' region south of the City of Salzburg, stretching alo ...

in Austria, and finally in

Bregenz Bregenz (; ) is the capital of Vorarlberg, the westernmost states of Austria, state of Austria. The city lies on the east and southeast shores of Lake Constance, the third-largest freshwater lake in Central Europe, between Switzerland in the wes ...

, also in Austria. When the monastery at Bregenz was closed down by the

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

, the monks returned to Mariastein, where they were granted asylum in 1941. After a referendum in 1970, the abbey was re-established on the 21 June 1971 with a ceremony during which the

Landamman ''Landammann'' (plural ''Landammänner''), is the German title used by the chief magistrate in certain Cantons of Switzerland and at times featured in the Head of state's style at the confederal level. Old Swiss Confederacy ''Landammann'' or ''A ...

of the

Willi Ritschard Willi Ritschard (sometimes Willy Ritschard; 28 September 1918 – 16 October 1983) was a Swiss politician of the Social Democratic Party (SP). He is remembered as the first and to date only working class member of the Federal Council, the Swiss ...

returned the legal rights over the monastery to Abbot Basilius Niederbegrer. The abbey has been a member of the

Swiss Congregation The Swiss Congregation of the Benedictine Confederation is a grouping of Order of St. Benedict, Benedictine monasteries in Switzerland or with significant historical Swiss connections. Foundation The congregation was founded, at the urging of t ...

, now a part of the

Benedictine Confederation The Benedictine Confederation of the Order of Saint Benedict () is the international governing body of the Order of Saint Benedict. Origin The Benedictine Confederation is a union of monastic congregations that nevertheless retain their own aut ...

, since 1647.

References

External links

Homepage of Mariastein Abbey
* {{Coord, 47, 28, 34, N, 7, 29, 32, E, region:CH-SO_type:landmark, display=title Benedictine monasteries in Switzerland 1648 establishments in Europe 17th-century establishments in Switzerland Religious organizations established in the 1640s Christian monasteries established in the 17th century Buildings and structures in the canton of Solothurn 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Switzerland 1971 establishments in Switzerland

History

See also

References

External links