Neubourg Abbey ( or ''du Neubourg''; ; ) is a former

Cistercian 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 ...

monastery in

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, in

Dauendorf Dauendorf () is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in the European Collectivity of Alsace, in the Grand Est region of France. It is the site of the remains of Neubourg Abbey, a former Cistercian monastery, destroyed during the French Revo ...

, about 9 km west of

Haguenau Haguenau (; or ; ; historical ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Bas-Rhin Département in France, department of France, of which it is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture. It is second in size in the Bas-Rhin only to Strasbourg ...

in the

Bas-Rhin Bas-Rhin () is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its lower altitude among the two French Rhine departments: it is downstream of the Haut-Rhin (Upper Rhine) de ...

department.

History

Neubourg Abbey was founded not earlier than 1130 and not later than 1133 by Count Reinhold of Lützelburg as a daughter house of

Lützel Abbey Lucelle Abbey or Lützel Abbey (; ) was a Cistercian monastery in the present village of Lucelle, in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace, France, but located right on the Swiss border. The name of the original foundation was ''Lucis cella'', the ...

of the filiation of Morimond; it was also settled by monks from Lützel. In its turn Neubourg was the mother house of

Maulbronn Abbey Maulbronn Monastery () is a former Cistercian abbey and Prince-bishopric, ecclesiastical state in the Holy Roman Empire located at Maulbronn, Baden-Württemberg. The monastery complex, one of the best-preserved in Europe, was named a UNESCO World ...

and Herrenalb Abbey, both founded in 1147. Between the 14th and 17th centuries the abbey was destroyed and rebuilt several times. It was suppressed in 1790 during the French Revolution.

Inquisition

Not long after it was founded, the abbey was the subject of an inquisition by

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 115 ...

, who forced the monks to renounce their claims to the valuable Hohenstaufen Forest.

Buildings

The church was dedicated in 1158. It was rebuilt in 1758, but was entirely destroyed in 1818 along with virtually all of the monastic building complex. There are very few remains: a

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 ...

gatehouse of 1744; a mill; and part of the precinct wall. Some

rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

items from the abbey church (the

choir stalls A choir, also sometimes called quire, is the area of a church or cathedral that provides seating for the clergy and church choir. It is in the western part of the chancel, between the nave and the sanctuary, which houses the altar and Church tab ...

, the organ case, statues of saints) are to be found in the nearby St. Nicholas' church, Haguenau.

Sundial

The abbey possessed a unique 24-faced gnomonic 18th-century

sundial A sundial is a horology, horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the position of the Sun, apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the ...

, which was relocated to

Mont Sainte-Odile Abbey Mont Sainte-Odile Abbey, also known as Hohenburg Abbey, is a nunnery, situated on Mont Sainte-Odile, one of the most famous peaks of the Vosges mountain range in the French region of Alsace. History It was founded about 690 by Adalrich, Duke ...

in 1935. File:Sundial of Mont Sainte-Odile.jpg, File:EU-FR-AL-67@Haguenau Église Saint-Georges 02.jpg, File:Haguenau StNicolas21.JPG,

Notes

References

*Peugniez, Bernard, nd: ''Routier cistercien'' (2nd ed., p. 11). Moisenay: Éditions Gaud. *Schneider, Ambrosius, 1986: ''Lexikale Übersicht der Männerklöster der Cistercienser im deutschen Sprach- und Kulturraum'', in: Schneider, Ambrosius; Wienand, Adam; Bickel, Wolfgang; Coester, Ernst (eds.): ''Die Cistercienser, Geschichte – Geist – Kunst'', 3rd edn., p. 679). Cologne: Wienand Verlag.

External links

Dauendorf Community website: page on Neubourg Abbey
{{Authority control Cistercian monasteries in France Christian monasteries in Bas-Rhin Churches in Bas-Rhin Christian monasteries established in the 1130s 1130 establishments in Europe 1130s establishments in France 1790 disestablishments in France Monasteries dissolved during the French Revolution