Beinwil Abbey (Kloster Beinwil) was a Benedictine monastery in Beinwil in the

Canton of Solothurn The canton of Solothurn or canton of Soleure (german: Kanton Solothurn rm, Chantun Soloturn french: Canton de Soleure; it, Canton Soletta) is a canton of Switzerland. It is located in the northwest of Switzerland. The capital is Solothurn. Hi ...

in Switzerland.

History

It was founded around 1100, probably by the local nobility and was first mentioned in 1147. After conflicts arising from the territorial claims of the towns of Solothurn and Basel against the

Counts of Thierstein Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

, who acted as the abbey's '' Vögte'' (lords protectors), it was burnt down in 1445. After Beinwil had been taken over by Solothurn in 1519, the town authorities impounded much of the abbey's possessions. By the 16th century only a few monks were left in the abbey, and it was formally dissolved in 1554. A small community remained, the care of which was assumed firstly by Einsiedeln Abbey, in 1589, and then, from 1622, by Rheinau Abbey. As no monastic revival could be achieved in the remoteness of its situation, it was decided to re-settle the community at

Mariastein Abbey Mariastein Abbey (Kloster Mariastein) is a Benedictine monastery in Metzerlen-Mariastein in the Canton of Solothurn, Switzerland. Mariastein, after Einsiedeln, is the second most important place of pilgrimage in Switzerland. Over the Chapel of ...

, a new foundation in a pilgrimage centre, which took place in 1648. In anticipation of this, Mariastein became a member of the Swiss Congregation, now part of the

Benedictine Confederation The Benedictine Confederation of the Order of Saint Benedict ( la, Confœderatio Benedictina Ordinis Sancti Benedicti) is the international governing body of the Order of Saint Benedict. Origin The Benedictine Confederation is a union of monasti ...

. From Mariastein, at the end of the 18th century, it was at length possible to revive Beinwil, and at that time the church and the monastic premises were rebuilt. The abbey was however suppressed in 1874 by plebiscite during the ''

Kulturkampf (, 'culture struggle') was the conflict that took place from 1872 to 1878 between the Catholic Church led by Pope Pius IX and the government of Prussia led by Otto von Bismarck. The main issues were clerical control of education and ecclesiastic ...

'', and the community of Mariastein went into exile.

Present day

The abbey church, dedicated to Saint Vincent of Saragossa was destroyed by fire in 1978. It has now been comprehensively restored and a high altar has been installed, dated about 1700, from

Bellwald Bellwald is a municipality in the district of Goms in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. History Bellwald was first used to refer to the nearby mountain 1273 ''Beliwalt'' and 1293 ''Belwalt''. The name then came to mean the main village bel ...

. Until 2019, the former abbey was used as a

ecumenical Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

conference and retreat centre. In January 2019 it became an

orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

monastery with both monks and nuns. The local catholic parish continues to use the abbey church, with the monastery using the

crypt A crypt (from Latin ''crypta'' "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics. Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a chur ...

. About 12 rooms are available for visitors to rent.

References

External links

Kloster Beinwil website
{{Coord, 47, 21, 44, N, 7, 35, 14, E, source:dewiki_region:CH-SO_type:landmark, display=title Benedictine monasteries in Switzerland 1085 establishments in Europe 11th-century establishments in Switzerland 1874 disestablishments in Switzerland Christian monasteries established in the 11th century Buildings and structures in the canton of Solothurn