Altmünster Abbey was a

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

on the Plateau Altmünster, between the Fishmarket and Clausen areas of

Luxembourg City Luxembourg (; ; ), also known as Luxembourg City ( or ; ; or ), is the capital city of Luxembourg and the Communes of Luxembourg, country's most populous commune. Standing at the confluence of the Alzette and Pétrusse rivers in southern Luxe ...

History

It was the first Abbey in Luxembourg City-founded in 1083 by Conrad I, Count of Luxembourg as a private monastery and a religious centre of his county. He appointed his brother Rudolph abbot.Gade, John Allyne. ''Luxemburg in the Middle Ages'', Brill Archive, 1951, p. 56
/ref> The monks came from the abbeys of Saint-Airy and Saint-Vanne in

Verdun Verdun ( , ; ; ; official name before 1970: Verdun-sur-Meuse) is a city in the Meuse (department), Meuse departments of France, department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. In 843, the Treaty of V ...

. Conrad's son, Count William, dedicated the abbey to Our Lady (''Notre Dame'') in 1123, but to locals it continued to be known as ''Mënster'' (, meaning a monastery church or any large church building). In this period, the monastery was also put directly under the control of the

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

, so that neither Saint-Vanne nor the secular authorities could interfere with it. The monastery school later received a monopoly on education in the city of Luxembourg and its catchment area reached up to the

County of Bar A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

. The children were taught the French and German languages, amongst other things. Up until the reign of Henry IV all the Counts of Luxembourg were buried here. Charles IV revived this tradition and built a monumental tomb here for his father,

John of Bohemia John of Bohemia, also called the Blind or of Luxembourg (; ; ; 10 August 1296 – 26 August 1346), was the Count of Luxembourg from 1313 and King of Bohemia from 1310 and titular King of Poland. He is well known for having died while fighting ...

.Casey, Robert Joseph. ''The Land of Haunted Castles'', Century Company, 1921, p. 98
/ref> In 1150, the remains of Schetzel, a hermit in the Grünewald were brought to the Abbey where he was buried in a silver coffin just in front of the high altar of the abbey church. His relics were highly venerated until the abbey’s destruction in 1543."The beatified Schetzelo- hermit in the Grünewald", Geschichtsfrënn vun der Gemeng Nidderaanwen
/ref>

Destruction

The destruction of the abbey was probably ordered by the French king Francis I, who occupied the city on 11 September 1543 during the

Italian War of 1542–46 Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

, and probably wanted to prevent troops of

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) ...

, from occupying the abbey during the next siege. Before the monastery was destroyed, the abbot Johannes Harder removed all the valuable objects to safety in

Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...

. John of Bohemia's remains were taken to the Franciscan church on what is now the Place Guillaume II. The Benedictines then moved to the Hospice of Saint John, until a new abbey opened in 1606 under the abbot Petrus Roberti, not far from the old one in the Grund area. The original monastery (münster) thus became the Altmünster, and the new one became

Neumünster Abbey Neumünster () is a city in the middle of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. With more than 79,000 registered inhabitants, it is the fourth-largest municipality in Schleswig-Holstein (behind Kiel, Lübeck and Flensburg). The ''Holstenhallen'' and ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Altmunster Abbey Christian monasteries established in the 1080s History of Luxembourg City Benedictine monasteries in Luxembourg