Brauweiler Abbey (german: Abtei Brauweiler) is a former

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') , foun ...

monastery located at

Brauweiler Brauweiler is a part of Pulheim, west of Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. The former Benedictine abbey, Brauweiler Abbey, founded 1024, is used today by the ''Rhein Department for the Care of Historic Monuments''. In Brauweiler in the ...

, now in

Pulheim Pulheim (; Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: ''Pullem'') is a town in the Rhein-Erft-Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Since the 1920s, a large substation of the ''Rheinisch-Westfälisches Elektrizitätswerk AG'' (RWE) is located at Pulheim. I ...

near

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...

, in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

History

The monastery was founded and endowed in 1024 by Pfalzgraf Ezzo,

count palatine A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank above that of an ord ...

of Lotharingia of the

Ezzonian dynasty The Ezzonids (, ) were a dynasty of Lotharingian stock dating back as far as the ninth century. They attained prominence only in the eleventh century, through marriage with the Ottonian dynasty of Holy Roman Emperors. Named after Ezzo, Count Pa ...

and his wife Matilda of Germany, a daughter of Emperor

Otto II Otto II (955 – 7 December 983), called the Red (''der Rote''), was Holy Roman Emperor from 973 until his death in 983. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto II was the youngest and sole surviving son of Otto the Great and Adelaide of Italy. ...

and Theophano."Brauweiler Benedictine Abbey", Klosterland
/ref> Ezzo and Matilda were buried here, as were their two eldest sons Liudolf, Count Palatine of Lotharingia (d. 1031) and

Otto II, Duke of Swabia Otto II ( 995 – 7 September 1047), a member of the Ezzonid dynasty, was Count Palatine of Lotharingia from 1034 until 1045 and Duke of Swabia from 1045 until his death. Life Otto was the son of the Lotharingian count palatine Ezzo (955–1034) ...

(d. 1047). From 1065 until his death in 1091,

Wolfhelm of Brauweiler Wolfhelm of Brauweiler (died 1091) was the Benedictine abbot of Brauweiler Abbey, near Cologne, Germany. He was attacked by Manegold of Lautenbach, in his ''Liber Contra Wolfelmum''. The grounds were both theological and political: Wolfhelm was s ...

, later Saint Wolfhelm, was abbot here. His relics were enshrined in the abbey church, and miracles were reported at his tomb,Heinz Erich Stiene (translator of the medieval original by Konrad of Brauweiler) (1992), ''Vita Wolfhelmi: Leben des Abtes Wolfhelm von Brauweiler'' but all traces of them were lost centuries ago. The present abbey church, now the parish church of

Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-da ...

and

Saint Medardus Saint Medardus or St Medard ( French: ''Médard'' or ''Méard'') (ca. 456–545) was the Bishop of Noyon. He moved the seat of the diocese from Vermand to Noviomagus Veromanduorum (modern Noyon) in northern France. Medardus was one of the most ...

, is the third building on the site, built between 1136 and 1220 or later. The abbey was dissolved in the secularisation of 1803. The premises were subsequently used, under a

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

ic law, as a hostel for beggars, and from 1815 under the

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

n regime as a

workhouse In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse'' ...

. From 1933 to 1945 the buildings were used for the internment, torture, and murder of political and social "undesirables" by the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

and the civil authorities of the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

government. Prisoners included Konrad Adenauer, the former mayor of Cologne and first

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of the

Federal Republic of Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...

. From 1945 to 1949, it was an open camp for displaced persons administered first by the British Army and then by

UNRRA United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) was an international relief agency, largely dominated by the United States but representing 44 nations. Founded in November 1943, it was dissolved in September 1948. it became part o ...

(United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration). The abbey buildings are now used by the ''Rheinisches Amt für Denkmalpflege'' ("Rhenish Department for the Care of Historic Monuments"). It hosts various events such as concerts, fine arts exhibitions, symposiums, and theatre performances on the abbey grounds.

Burials at the Abbey

* Matilda of Germany, Countess Palatine of Lotharingia

References

External links

Brauweiler municipal website

Friends of Brauweiler Abbey
{{Authority control Burial sites of the Ezzonids Benedictine monasteries in Germany Monasteries in North Rhine-Westphalia 1020s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1024 establishments in Europe Christian monasteries established in the 11th century Buildings and structures in Rhein-Erft-Kreis 1803 disestablishments in the Holy Roman Empire

History

Burials at the Abbey

References

Further reading

External links