Baumburg Abbey is a former

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

of Augustinian

Canons Regular Canons regular are priests who live in community under a rule ( and canon in greek) and are generally organised into religious orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religious life, such as clerics regular, designated by a ...

in the northern Traunstein district of Bavaria, Germany. It was founded in 1107–1109 and dissolved in 1803. Today Baumburg is a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...

that covers the parishes of the northern

Chiemgau Chiemgau () is the common name of a geographic area in Upper Bavaria. It refers to the foothills of the Alps between the rivers Inn and Traun, with the Chiemsee at its center. The political districts that contain the Chiemgau are Rosenheim and T ...

Foundation

The monastery ''St. Margareth zu Baumburg'' was founded by Count

Berengar II of Sulzbach Count Berengar II of Sulzbach (c. 1080–83 – 3 December 1125), sometimes known as Berengar I of Sulzbach, was Count of Sulzbach in Bavaria. Berengar was a leader of the reform party. He sided with Pope Gregory VII during the Investiture Contro ...

in 1107–1109 to fulfill his oath on the death of his wife Adelheid von Megling-Frontenhausen. Count Berengar appointed Eberwin as provost of the monastery. He moved Augustinian canons to the new abbey from the

Berchtesgaden Provostry Berchtesgaden Provostry or the Prince-Provostry of Berchtesgaden (german: Fürstpropstei Berchtesgaden) was an immediate (') principality of the Holy Roman Empire, held by a canonry (a collegiate foundation of Canons Regular) led by a Prince-P ...

, which he and Eberwin had previously peopled with canons from Rottenbuch Abbey. He also appropriated property from Berchtesgaden for the new monastery. However, around 1116 Berengar let Eberwin return to Berchtesgaden to lead it again as an independent monastery. The new provost

Gottschalk Gottschalk or Godescalc (Old High German) is a male German name that can be translated literally as " servant of God". Latin forms include ''Godeschalcus'' and ''Godescalcus''. Given name * Godescalc of Benevento, 8th-century Lombard duke *Godescal ...

(ca. 1120–1163) of Baumburg was not at all pleased with the detachment of Berchtesgaden. He called Eberwin an "apostate" and removed him from the dean's list. In addition, he was not prepared to accept the loss of the Berchtesgaden property. After the death of Berengar (3 December 1125) he challenged the legality of the separation of the two monasteries and appealed to the responsible bishop, Archbishop

Conrad I of Salzburg Conrad I f Abenberg(german: Konrad von Abenberg, c. 1075 – 9 April 1147) was Archbishop of Salzburg, Austria, in the first half of the 12th century. Born into the Abenberg- Frensdorf nobility, Conrad was raised for a clerical career at the co ...

(1106-1147), for an injunction to re-merge. After an arbitration awarded by Conrad in 1136 the separation of the two monasteries as wished by Berengar was reaffirmed, and in 1142 reconfirmed by

Pope Innocent II Pope Innocent II ( la, Innocentius II; died 24 September 1143), born Gregorio Papareschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 February 1130 to his death in 1143. His election as pope was controversial and the fi ...

. The Baumburg claims were dismissed as the "simple-minded opinion of certain brothers".

Early years

During the tenure of Gottschalk as provost of the Baumburg Abbey (to 1163) a church of St. Nicholas was consecrated in 1129, and in 1156 the Romanesque Basilica of St. Margaret was built. Around this time the Archbishop of Salzburg made the provost of Baumburg an archdeacon. Thus he acted as deputy to the archbishop for the ecclesiastical jurisdiction, church oversight and asset management. In 1185 the Pope confirmed this function. The Augustinian canons acted primarily as pastors. The monastery was assigned the parishes of Baumburg-Altenmarkt, Sankt Georgen, Truchtlaching, Traunwalchen, Neuenchieming, Kienberg, Poing (now Truchtlaching) and partner churches and possessions in Lower Austria. The abbey school was also important, serving most of the sons of the regional nobility. As of 1367, the provosts were also given the rights of Abbots. Like other abbeys, in the 15th century and during the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

the Baumburg Abbey experienced a religious and economic decline. More than once Baumburg was placed under administration, including between 1536 and 1538 under the provost of the Berchtesgaden Abbey and later under provost Prince Wolfgang II Griesstätter zu Haslach, provost of Höglwörth Abbey and then Prince Provost of Berchtesgaden. Between 1523 and 1539 the monastery was three times devastated by fires. By 1579 there were only three canons lived in the abbey.

Later revival

With the end of the 16th Century Baumburg came back to life. The Collegiate School regained its good reputation among the nobility, and the number of canons increased again. A Baroque transformation of the formerly Gothic buildings of the congregation began in 1600 with a renovation of the medieval church. The towers received their characteristic onion domes. The provosts Michael Doegger (r. 1688–1706) and Patricius Stöttner (r. 1707–1737) led the conversion and new construction of the monastery buildings. On the occasion of the 600th anniversary of consecration in 1755 the architect Franz Alois Mayr from

Trostberg Trostberg (; Central Bavarian: ''Droschberg'' or ''Troschtberg'') is a town in the district of Traunstein, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Alz, 19 km northwest of Traunstein. As with other 'old towns' in the region, it is a ...

built the present church of St. Margareta in the

Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

style with stucco filigrees and frescoes. The monastery was closed in 1803 during secularization by the Bavarian State. In 1812 the abbey and farm buildings as well as the abbey's properties were auctioned. The collegiate church now serves as a parish church for

Altenmarkt an der Alz Altenmarkt an der Alz is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality in the district of Traunstein (district), Traunstein in Bavaria, Germany. References

Traunstein (district) {{Traunsteindistrict-geo-stub ...

. Many of the monastery buildings were demolished. Since 1910 a wing of the abbey has been used as a parsonage. Another wing for a long time served as a convalescent home. Today it houses a private seminar hotel, which is often used by choirs and orchestras. The Baumberg Abbey brewery, established in 1612, is now also privately owned.

Gallery

Ertl Baumburg.png, Engraving of the monastery from the "Churbaierischen Atlas" of Anton Wilhelm Ertl 1687 Ein Blick zur Kirche Baumburg (Altenmarkt an der Alz).jpg, Rear of the church Baumburg St. Margaretha 729.jpg, Interior of the St. Margareta church

Provosts

Provosts for which there are records include: * ca. 1107/09–1116/19 Eberwin * ca. 1116/19–1120/25 Dekan Eccolf * ca. 1120/25–1163/70

* ca. 1163/70–1182/87 Meingot * 1187–1192 Marsilius * ca. 1195–1205 Otto * ca. 1217/19–1240 Eberhard * 1436–1479 Caspar Ebenhauser * 1479–1488 Paulus Pelchinger * 1488–1515 Georg I. Dietrichinger * 1517–1531 Wolfgang Viergold * 1531–1539 Administration by Wolfgang II Griesstätter zu Haslach * 1539–1578 Stephan Toblhamer * 1587–1622 Urban Stamler * 1637–1648 Johann Zehentner * 1688–1706 Michael Doegger * 1707–1737 Patritius II. Stöttner * 1748–1761 Joachim Vischer * 1761–1778 Guarinus Steininger * 1778–1789 Monastery under administration * 1786–1789 Albert I. Knoll * 1790–1801 Franz I. Krumb * 1801 – 22 March 1803 Franz II Lindemann

References

Notes Citations Sources * * * * Further reading * Walter Brugger, Anton Landersdorfer und Christian Soika: "''Baumburg an der Alz''". Verlag Schnell & Steiner GmbH Regensburg, 1. Auflage 2007, * Martin Johann Walko: Die Traditionen des Augustiener-Chorherrenstifts Baumburg (Quellen und Erörterungen zur Bayerischen Geschichte NF 44,1), München 2004 * Schmid, Katharina: "''Kloster Baumburg. Entstehung und Entwicklung des klösterlichen Lebens und Wirkens in Baumburg''". Erschienen im Eigenverlag, Altenmarkt 2007. External links
Klöster in Bayern: Baumburg – Vom Augustinerstift zum Seminarhotel

www.Baumburg.de Klosterkirche
* Photos of the interior of the Abbey Church, in th
''Warburg Institute Iconographic Database''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baumburg Abbey Monasteries in Bavaria