Ter Apel Monastery ( nl, Klooster Ter Apel) is a former monastery in the village of Ter Apel in the northeastern Dutch province of

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...

. It is the only monastery in the larger area of Friesland and Groningen that survived the Reformation in a decent condition, and the only remaining rural monastery from the Middle Ages in the Netherlands. The convent buildings house a museum for monastery and church history and for religious art, as well as two contemporary art galleries. The former lay church of the monastery still functions as a

reformed Reform is beneficial change Reform may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine *''Reforme'' ("Reforms"), initial name of the ...

church. The monastery is located in the extreme southeast of the province of Groningen on a forested sand ridge along the ancient trade route from Münster to Groningen. For passing travelers and pilgrims, the monastery was a place of hospitality and dedication. Ter Apel is the last monastery founded in Groningen, and of 34 monasteries in the province it is the only one still recognizable as a convent.

Foundation

INTERIEUR, GEDEELTE VAN HET PRIESTERGESTOELTE - Ter Apel - 20265203 - RCE

In 1464, Jacobus Wiltingh, pastor of Garrelsweer and vicar in Loppersum, bequeathed Apell, a settlement among his possessions in the area called Westerwolde, to the

Order of the Holy Cross The Order of the Holy Cross is an international Anglican monastic order that follows the Rule of St. Benedict. History The order was founded in 1884 by the Rev. James Huntington, an Episcopal priest, in New York City. The order moved to Mar ...

on the condition that a monastery be built there, on the remains of a thirteenth-century

Premonstratensian The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular of the Catholic Church ...

monastery. In May 1465, the General Chapter of the Holy Cross convened in Huy, on the Meuse, and accepted Apell as a gift from God. The monastery dedicated to Saint

Gertrude of Nivelles Gertrude of Nivelles, OSB (also spelled ''Geretrude'', ''Geretrudis'', ''Gertrud''; c. 628 – 17 March 659) was a seventh-century abbess who, with her mother Itta, founded the Abbey of Nivelles, now in Belgium. Life Family and childhood The ea ...

in Bentlage, near

Rheine Rheine () is a city in the district of Steinfurt in Westphalia, Germany. It is the largest city in the district and the location of Rheine Air Base. Geography Rheine is on the river Ems, approx. north of Münster, approx. west of Osnabrück a ...

, was to supervise the new monastery, and it sent four priests and several lay brothers to Apell, who founded the monastery and named it ''Novae Domus Lucis'', the "House of New Light." Construction, between 1465 and 1561, followed the medieval plan of the mother in Bentlage, and included, besides the convent building, a gatehouse, water mills, a parchment facility, a bakery, a brewery, and a guesthouse. The monastery was bequeathed a number of gifts, including a

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

window in 1561 by Lieutenant Johan de Mepsche and his wife Agnes, depicting

Moses Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...

and the tablets containing the Ten Commandments. It also derived income from other sources. The grounds surrounding the monastery were rich in

loam Loam (in geology and soil science) is soil composed mostly of sand (particle size > ), silt (particle size > ), and a smaller amount of clay (particle size < ). By weight, its mineral composition is about 40–40–20% concentration of sand–sil ...

, which was used in construction; in 1492, an agreement was signed with the adjoining municipality of

Roswinkel Roswinkel is a village in the Netherlands. It is part of the Emmen municipality in Drenthe, and is located close to the border with Germany. History Roswinkel developed in the 13th century from Weerdinge. It was first mentioned in 1327 as " ...

for the digging of loam, on land leased by the monastery from the hamlet of

Weerdinge Weerdinge is a neighbourhood and former village of Emmen in the Dutch province of Drenthe. History Weerdinge is an ''esdorp'' which developed in the 10th century, on the road from Emmen naar Exloo. It was first mentioned in 1327 as Weerdighe ...

After the Reformation

Klooster Ter Apel door Arnold Hendrik Koning (1834)

When the area was conquered in 1593 by William Louis, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg, Catholicism was renounced and the convent, with the entire Westerwolde area, became the property of the city of Groningen; the monastery was saved, unlike hundreds of others in the Netherlands, because the abbot converted to Protestantism. Storms, fire, and high maintenance costs caused major problems in the centuries after 1600. The monastery underwent many changes until 1930. The west facade was demolished sometime after 1755, and so were the upper floor with the brothers' cells (1834) and the dilapidated vaults in the church (1837). Unlike all the other monasteries in Groningen, a large part of the original buildings remained.

Restoration

Between 1930 and 1933, on the initiative of the city of Groningen, the remaining buildings were carefully preserved and restored, under the direction of city engineer De Vos Nederveen Cappel. On the ground floor, three of the original four wings were retained: the church for secular canons and lay people in the south wing; the

chapter house A chapter house or chapterhouse is a building or room that is part of a cathedral, monastery or collegiate church in which meetings are held. When attached to a cathedral, the cathedral chapter meets there. In monasteries, the whole communi ...

and

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is usually located ...

in the east wing; and the refectory (now a cafe), the vaulted supplies cellar, the sub-prior and

prior Prior (or prioress) is an ecclesiastical title for a superior in some religious orders. The word is derived from the Latin for "earlier" or "first". Its earlier generic usage referred to any monastic superior. In abbeys, a prior would be l ...

's chambers, and the guest accommodations in the north wing. These wings are connected by an ambulatory, surrounding the cloister. The original medieval cloister garden has been replaced with a herb garden; the location of this garden is the only remaining detail in the Netherlands of such a medieval garden. Since 1992 Ter Apel Monastery is listed on UNESCO's Top 100 of immovable properties in the Netherlands. In 2000, the construction of a new west wing was begun, designed by Danish architect

Johannes Exner Inger Augusta Exner, Hon. FAIA (born 20 August 1926, Randers) and Johannes Exner, Hon. FAIA (born 25 March 1926, Hald near Randers; died 16 May 2015) were a Danish couple who cooperated closely as architects. They met at high school and studied ...

; in September 2001 the work was completed. More renovations took place in 2007 and 2008, with a subsidy from the European Union. The newly renovated scriptorium features an exhibition of books and manuscripts. Also newly added was a workshop for stained glass. The monastery used to hold an annual chess tournament, the ''Klooster Internationaal Tournament'', and continues to organize an annual medieval festival, which in 2010 attracted some 8000 visitors. In 2009, the monastery began publishing books; the first publication was a history of medieval Dutch monasteries, ''De Middeleeuwse kloostergeschiedenis van de Nederlanden''.

References

Bibliography

*''500 jaar Klooster Ter Apel: van metten tot vespers''. Van der Kamp, 1966.

External links