Mariawald Abbey () was a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

of the

Trappists The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (, abbreviated as OCSO) and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a Religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious o ...

(formally known as the Cistercians of the Strict Observance), located above the village of

Heimbach Heimbach is a town in the district of Düren of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the river Rur, in the Eifel hills, approx. 20 km south of Düren. Heimbach has the smallest population of any town in North Rhin ...

, in the district of

Düren Düren (; Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: Düre) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, between Aachen and Cologne, on the river Rur (river), Rur. History Roman era The area of Düren was part of Gallia Belgica, more specifically the ter ...

in the

Eifel The Eifel (; , ) is a low mountain range in western Germany, eastern Belgium and northern Luxembourg. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the southern area of the German-speaking Com ...

, in the forests around

Kermeter The Kermeter is an upland region, up to , which is part of the Rureifel within the North Eifel in the districts of Aachen, Düren and Euskirchen in the southwestern part of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. The Kermeter ridge is ...

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

, Germany.Trappist Info
, a Trappist directory; p. 26. Accessed online 4 December 2006. In September 2018, the last remaining monks left Mariawald Abbey and the monastery is currently up for sale.

History

Cistercians

Following Heinrich Fluitter's vision 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 shrine and chapel were built on the site of it, which became a place of pilgrimage, the ''Marienwallfahrt''. For the proper care of the site and the pilgrim's land was given in 1480 to the

Cistercians The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

of Bottenbroich Abbey, who established a priory here, which they were able to move into on 4 April 1486. The new monastery took its name from the shrine to Mary and from the woods in which it was situated: "Marienwald", or "Mary's wood" In 1795 the monastery was closed as a result of the French Revolution and the monks were expelled. The image of the Virgin was removed to safety in Heimbach. The priory buildings were abandoned and fell into decay.

Trappists

In 1860 the priory was re-settled by Trappist monks from

Oelenberg Abbey Oelenberg Abbey (; ; ) is a Trappist monastery located in Reiningue near Mulhouse, France. It has been an important place of worship in Alsace since the 11th century and most recently hosted a small community of ten monks (as of 2024). The forme ...

in Alsace. From 1875 to 1887 the monks were exiled because of the ''

Kulturkampf In the history of Germany, the ''Kulturkampf'' (Cultural Struggle) was the seven-year political conflict (1871–1878) between the Catholic Church in Germany led by Pope Pius IX and the Kingdom of Prussia led by chancellor Otto von Bismarck. Th ...

'' ("cultural conflict") policies of the Imperial German government. In 1909, Mariawald was raised from the status of priory to that of an abbey. The monks had to leave the monastery yet again under the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

regime during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, from 1941 until April 1945, when the surviving members of the community were able to return. The monastery had to be largely rebuilt because it had been seriously damaged in the war. After World War II, a brewery was run at the abbey until 1956 when beer production ceased, in part due to the availability of water and brewing ingredients.

Present day

Mariawald Abbey is the only extant men's Trappist monastery in Germany. The monks follow the

Rule of St. Benedict The ''Rule of Saint Benedict'' () is a book of precepts written in Latin by Benedict of Nursia, St. Benedict of Nursia (c. AD 480–550) for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot. The spirit of Saint Benedict's Rule is summed up ...

and the constitution of the Cistercians of the Strict Observance. Visitors can also stay a few days in the abbey's guesthouse, but the parts of the monastery used by the monastic community cannot be visited. The abbey runs a tavern and bookshop. It also produces and sells its

liqueur A liqueur ( , ; ) is an alcoholic drink composed of Liquor, spirits (often rectified spirit) and additional flavorings such as sugar, fruits, herbs, and spices. Often served with or after dessert, they are typically heavily sweetened and un-age ...

. In 1997 it was one of eight Trappist abbeys that founded the International Trappist Association (ITA) to protect the Trappist name from commercial misuse. By the end of January 2018 became known that somewhere in the year the abbey would be closed and the monks distributed over other abbeys. The monastery has now been officially closed. However, the tavern and bookshop remain open and liqueur production is still ongoing. The abbey's motto is ("Let your light shine"), from Matthew 5:16. In late 2018, the association "Trappistenkonvent Mariawald e.V." was renamed to "Kloster Mariawald e.V.". New members joined this association, and they elected a new executive board. As of January 1, 2021, Kloster Mariawald GmbH & Co. KG took over the ownership of the association and continued to operate the restaurant, bookstore, liqueur production, and online shipping. The Diocese of Aachen announced, that an attempt is to be made to settle a religious community in Mariawald again, which could then use the premises as tenants.

Old Rite

During the tumultuous 1960s, the abbey embraced the current liturgical fashions. However, in 2008 on the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lady in the Temple (21 November), Mariawald Abbey gained from

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

permission to return to the Old Rite and their original religious discipline. This makes Mariawald unique among Trappist monasteries around the world, in that they adhere to their traditional, strict rule, including the office of the liturgical books in force in the Catholic Church in 1962 (particularly the traditional Latin Mass according to the old Trappist use).

Abbots

Source: *Laurentius Wimmer (1909–1929) *Stephan Sauer (1929–1939) *Christophorus Elsen (1947–1961) *Andreas Schmidt (1961–1966) *Otto Aßfalg (1967–1980) *Meinrad Behren (1983–1992) *Franziskus de Place (1993–1999) *Bruno Gooskens (1999–2005) *Josef Vollberg (2006–2016) from 2017 as prior

Photo gallery

Heimbach-Abtei Mariawald-112-2024-gje.jpg Heimbach-Abtei Mariawald-116-2024-gje.jpg Heimbach-Abtei Mariawald-132-2023-gje.jpg Heimbach-Abtei Mariawald-136-Kirchenportal-2023-gje.jpg Heimbach-Abtei Mariawald-114-2024-gje.jpg Heimbach-Abtei Mariawald-146-Kirche-zur Empore-2023-gje.jpg Heimbach-Abtei Mariawald-154-Kirche-Beichtkapelle-2023-gje.jpg Heimbach-Abtei Mariawald-280-Kreuzweg-14-Der heilige Leichnam Jesu wird ins Grab gelegt-2023-gje.jpg Heimbach-Abtei Mariawald-282-Kreuzweg-14-Der heilige Leichnam Jesu wird ins Grab gelegt-2023-gje.jpg Heimbach-Abtei Mariawald-284-Kreuzweg-14-Der heilige Leichnam Jesu wird ins Grab gelegt-2023-gje.jpg

References

External links

Mariawald Abbey website
{{Coord, 50, 37, 12, N, 06, 28, 51, E, region:DE-NW_type:landmark, display=title Buildings and structures completed in 1486 Trappist monasteries in Germany Monasteries in North Rhine-Westphalia 1480s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire Christian monasteries established in the 1480s Buildings and structures in Düren (district) 1486 establishments in Europe 2018 disestablishments in Germany