Säben Abbey (german: Kloster Säben; lld, Jevun; it, Monastero di Sabiona) was a

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , found ...

nunnery located near Klausen in South Tyrol, northern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. It was established in 1687, when it was first settled by the nuns of Nonnberg Abbey in

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...

. The last nuns left the abbey in 2021.

History

Säben (from la, Sabiona), situated on the "holy mountain", was for centuries a centre of pilgrimage and controlled an extensive religious precinct. Situated above the town of Klausen, the hill it is built on was already settled during the New Stone Age. On the site of the present nunnery there was an earlier Roman settlement. Between the 6th century and about 960 there was a bishopric (''episcopatus Sabiona'') seated here. The church "im Weinberg" dates from that time and its remains have been excavated along with a large burial ground in recent times. Bishop Ingenuin is documented as a participant in the Synod of Grado in 579. On 13 September 901 King Louis the Child granted Bishop Zacharias the farm of ''Prichsna'', later to become

Brixen Brixen (, ; it, Bressanone ; lld, Porsenù or ) is a town in South Tyrol, northern Italy, located about north of Bolzano. Geography First mentioned in 901, Brixen is the third largest city and oldest town in the province, and the artistic and ...

, to which the bishops had moved under Bishop Richbert (around 960). Säben later became a fortress of the bishops. In the 14th and 15th centuries Säben Castle (''Burg Säben'') was the seat of the judges of Klausen and the centre of administration of the southern territories of the Diocese of Brixen. A community of Benedictine nuns was established here in 1686 by the local priest, in premises at the foot of the mountain. The abbey church was dedicated by

Johann Franz, Count Khuen von Belasi Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name ''Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Gracious" ...

, then Bishop of Brixen. Although the nunnery was repeatedly looted during the

Napoleonic wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

and stripped of its assets during the

secularization In sociology, secularization (or secularisation) is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions. The ''secularization thesis'' expresses t ...

in 1803, the community survived although in an impoverished state through the 19th century until it gradually revived from about 1880, when, during the period of the ''

Kulturkampf (, 'culture struggle') was the conflict that took place from 1872 to 1878 between the Catholic Church led by Pope Pius IX and the government of Prussia led by Otto von Bismarck. The main issues were clerical control of education and ecclesiasti ...

'' in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

(1871–1878), the monks of Beuron Abbey were in exile in the county of Tyrol and were in contact with the nuns at Säben. At this time new premises were built in the ruins of the castle on the mountain. The nuns of Säben adopted the Beuronese mode of life, although the abbey was formally accepted into the Beuronese Congregation of the Benedictine Confederation only in 1974. In 2021, the last three nuns left the abbey.

External links

Website of the town of Klausen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saben Abbey 1687 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire Religious organizations established in the 1680s Benedictine monasteries in Italy Monasteries in South Tyrol Christian monasteries established in the 17th century Saeben 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy