Susteren Abbey ( nl, Abdij van Susteren) is a former Benedictine abbey at Susteren near Roermond, in the Dutch province of Limburg, founded in the 8th century. The former abbey church is now St. Amelberga's Basilica.

History

The abbey is first recorded in 711, in a letter from one of the monks, Ansbald, to Willibrord, bishop of Utrecht. Early in 714 Pepin of Herstal and his wife Plectrude sent Saint Willibrord letters of conveyance and protection for the monastery, permitting free election of abbots. The Benedictine foundation served as a refuge for the missionaries working in

Frisia Frisia is a cross-border cultural region in Northwestern Europe. Stretching along the Wadden Sea, it encompasses the north of the Netherlands and parts of northwestern Germany. The region is traditionally inhabited by the Frisians, a West Ger ...

and the Netherlands. It was destroyed by the Vikings in 882 and refounded as a house of

secular canon A canon (from the Latin , itself derived from the Greek , , "relating to a rule", "regular") is a member of certain bodies in subject to an ecclesiastical rule. Originally, a canon was a cleric living with others in a clergy house or, later, ...

esses, whose first abbess was Saint Amelberga of Susteren, who died about 900. The Lotharingian King Zwentibold, a benefactor of the abbey and either the father or the brother of the abbesses Benedicta and Cecilia, was buried (according to a later tradition) in Susteren Abbey in about 900. Also buried there are Saint Wastrada, who died in the mid-8th century, and Saint

Gregory of Utrecht Gregory of Utrecht ( 700/705 – August 25, 776) was born of a noble family at Trier.

(d. about 775/777), a companion of

Saint Boniface Boniface, OSB ( la, Bonifatius; 675 – 5 June 754) was an English Benedictines, Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of the Frankish Empire during the eighth century. He organised significant ...

in his missions to Friesia, and later abbot of the '' Martinsstift'' in Utrecht. The abbey was suppressed at the end of the 18th century when the French Revolution spilled over into the Low Countries. The church alone remains.

St. Amelberga Basilica

The abbey church, one of the major examples of Romanesque architecture in the Netherlands, although marred by a poor restoration in 1885-1890, was built in the 11th century. It was clearly influenced by the Ottonian minster church of Essen Abbey. It was dedicated to Amelberga in 1886, after authentication of the relics kept here. On 6 September 2007 the church was declared a

basilica minor In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a designation given by the Pope to a church building. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense (a rectangular b ...

References

Sources

*Habets, J.J., 1869: ''Bijdragen tot de geschiedenis van de voormalige stad Susteren en van de adellijke vrouwenabdij Sint-Salvator aldaar'', Publications de la Société Historique et Archéologique dans le Limbourg 6 (1869), 441-567. *Koldeweij, A.M., and van Vlijmen, P.M.L. (eds.), 1985: ''Schatkamers uit het Zuiden. Tentoonstellingscatalogus Rijksmuseum het Catharijneconvent'' (pp. 83-92, 97-104, 165-167). Utrecht *Roozen, N., 1960: ''Uit de schatkamer van de oude abdijkerk van Susteren''. Harreveld *Sangers, W., and Simonis, A.H., 1958: ''De kerk van Susteren. Karolingische familieabdij. Adellijk vrouwenstift. Parochie''. Susteren

External links

Susteren Abbey Church
(private interest site)
Digitaal Vrouwenlexicon van Nederland: Life of Saint Amelberga of Susteren
{{coord, 51, 3, 40, N, 5, 51, 3, E, source:nlwiki_region:NL_scale:3125_type:landmark, display=title Former Christian monasteries in the Netherlands Monasteries dissolved during the French Revolution Benedictine monasteries in the Netherlands Christian monasteries in Limburg (Netherlands) Christian monasteries established in the 8th century Roman Catholic churches in the Netherlands Basilica churches in the Netherlands Romanesque architecture in the Netherlands Mosan art Echt-Susteren Churches completed in 714