The Abbey of Saint-Arnould, St. Arnold, Saint-Arnoult or Abbey of the Holy Apostles is 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') , foun ...

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...

residing in

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...

since the 6th century. The origins of the abbey are a mystery. According to legend, it was founded in the 2nd century by Bishop Patient Metz as the Basilica of St. John Evangelist. Although no historical record exists before the 6th century, it was named the ''Church of the Holy Apostles'' in 715. It stood in front of medieval ramparts of the Hôpital Notre Dame de Bon Secours,City of Metz - the Circle Officers
near the Roman road leading to Toul and Lyon. According to another source, this was the site of the ''Church of St. Theresa of the Child Jesus'','' European Heritage Days 19 and 20 September 2009'' - 3. St. Theresa Church
in Metz Magazine'','' 3, 2009, p. 5. which stood in front of the hospital. In 717, the Abbey took the name of St. Arnulf, due to the relics of

Arnulf of Metz Arnulf of Metz ( 582 – 645) was a Frankish bishop of Metz and advisor to the Merovingian court of Austrasia. He later retired to the Abbey of Remiremont. In French he is also known as Arnoul or Arnoulf. In English he is known as Arnold. G ...

Bishop of Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand Es ...

, having been interred there in 641.

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...

made this abbey the burial place of his family: his wife

Hildegarde Hildegarde Loretta Sell, known as Hildegarde (February 1, 1906 – July 29, 2005) was an American cabaret singer, who was well known for the song "Darling, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup". Early life She was born Hildegarde Loretta Sell in Adell, Wisco ...

, sisters, son, Emperor

Louis the Pious Louis the Pious (german: Ludwig der Fromme; french: Louis le Pieux; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aqui ...

, and Bishop Drogo were all buried here. It was destroyed by the Normans in the 9th century when they plundered Metz. However, the abbey was rebuilt in the same location and, in 1049, saw the consecration of a more grandiose church, which suffered a fire in 1097. In 942, Bishop Adalberon moved the monks from Abbey Gorze to Saint Arnould, under the direction of the abbot Heribert, to establish a Benedictine Abbey. From 996-997, Bishop Adalberon II entrusted William of Volpiano, as abbot, to continue this reform. Around the year 1000, the abbot appointed Guillaume Benoit, who had been his student at the Cathedral Benign Dijon. After William's death in 1015, Benoit himself became the abbot of St. Arnould. In the 9th century, relics of St. Gorgon, a 4th-century Roman martyr, were transferred to the abbey. The siege of Metz by

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infan ...

in 1552 led to the destruction of the abbey. The abbey was transferred to inside the walls of the Dominican convent of preachers, built in 1221. The church was rebuilt in the 17th century. These buildings can be seen today, in particular the cloister, the refectory, and the former sacristy. The Diocese of Metz, where the Abbey is located, was part of the province of Trier until 1780. It was transferred to the province of Besançon from 1801. During the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, the Abbey was confiscated as property of the state, the monks were expelled, and the imperial tombs were destroyed. Part of the tomb of Louis the Pious is conserved in the museum of Metz. After the Revolution, vineyards were planted on part of the site of the abbey. The Abbey of Saint-Arnould has a

Pietà The Pietà (; meaning "pity", "compassion") is a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus after his body was removed from the cross. It is most often found in sculpture. The Pietà is a specific form o ...

carved around 1520. It was "walled up" above one of the entrances to the chapel of the abbey during the

Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (french: link=no, la Terreur) was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place in response to revolutionary fervour, ...

(1793-1794), following an edict from the mayor of Metz ordering all religious images to be hidden from public view; but it was rediscovered in 1990 during construction work (the site of the chapel is the current tennis court behind the Governor's Palace). Dated around the 10th century, it is one of the most beautiful polychrome Pietà known in the world (according to the experts participating in the symposium organized by the Renaissance old Metz in association with the Ministry of Defence and the land area of the COMMAND North East May 11, 2007). During the

, an artillery and engineering school moved into the monastery buildings. Later, a 42 m high turret was constructed during the

Second French Empire The Second French Empire (; officially the French Empire, ), was the 18-year Empire, Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 14 January 1852 to 27 October 1870, between the French Second Republic, Second and the French Third Republic ...

, to observe the maneuvers of artillery on Mont Saint-Quentin. During the German occupation in 1872, the artillery school gave way to the "", a German military school.Webern (von):'' Die Kriegsschule Metz am Tage Ihres jaehrigen Bestehens 25'' E Seifert, Metz, 1897. In April 1919, the abbey became the headquarters of the "Cercle des Officers" of Metz

References

{{Coord, 49.1180, 6.1715, type:landmark_region:FR_source:frwiki, display=title

Cluny Cluny () is a commune in the eastern French department of Saône-et-Loire, in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. It is northwest of Mâcon. The town grew up around the Benedictine Abbey of Cluny, founded by Duke William I of Aquitaine in 9 ...

History of Catholic monasticism Christian monasteries established in the 10th century Metz