The Monastery Edelstetten is a former Kanonissenstift convent located at 48°17′N 10°22′E in the city of Edelstetten, a municipality of

Neuburg an der Kammel Neuburg is a municipality in the district of Günzburg in Bavaria 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 t ...

in Bavaria, Germany. The monastery is in the

diocese of Augsburg Diocese of Augsburg is a diocese of the Catholic Church in Germany. The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Munich.Haselbach River. The former convent is one of the outstanding

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

(Swabian Baroque) style buildings in the district of

Günzburg Günzburg (; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Genzburg'') is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is a ''Große Kreisstadt'' and the capital of the Swabian Günzburg (district), district Günzburg. This district was constituted in 1972 by combining the city ...

. Geschichte der Reichsabteien. Grünberg i.Schl.

History

The monastery, dedicated to

Saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

and

St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

was founded in 1126 AD. According to the tradition of Gisela Schwabegg-Balzhausen, whose coat of arms, the monastery also took, the founder and first abbess was Mechthild an

Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...

choir woman. Mechthild of Dießen arrived in 1153 and was appointed abbess by the Bishop of Edelstetten to reform the pin. However, after six years, she returned unsuccessful back there. In 1460, the monastery was incorporated into the Margraviate Burgau and by 1500AD the abbey at Edelstetten was recognized as secular Kanonissenstift. The monastery was destroyed three times. The first time in the 14th century, the second time in 1525 during the Peasants War and the third time in the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

, in 1632 by the Swedes. The present

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

style building was built in the heyday of the monastery, approximately from 1680 to 1725. The design was by architect Michael Thumb. In the period 1709–1712 the south wing of the monastery, the present church of St. John Baptist and John the Evangelist, was designed by Father Christoph Vogt from the

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 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 Ottobeuren. Completion of the interior lasted until well into the second half of the 18th century. Edelstetten St

In 1783, the monastery was raised to the status of

imperial abbey Princely abbeys (german: Fürstabtei, ''Fürststift'') and Imperial abbeys (german: Reichsabtei, ''Reichskloster'', ''Reichsstift'', ''Reichsgotthaus'') were religious establishments within the Holy Roman Empire which enjoyed the status of impe ...

, a semi sovereign organ within the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

answerable only to the Emperor. In 1803, the Abbey of Edelstetten was given to ''the

Prince de Ligne Prince of Ligne is a title of Belgian nobility that belongs to the House of Ligne, which goes back to the eleventh century. It owes its name to the village in which it originated, between Ath and Tournai. The lords of Ligne belonged to the en ...

dominion as an immediate principality'' and as compensation for the loss of the county of

Fagnolle Fagnolle ( wa, Fagnole) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Philippeville, located in the province of Namur, Belgium. Fagnolle was a member of the Les Plus Beaux Villages de Wallonie ("The Most Beautiful Villages of Wal ...

in Hainault. Then

Charles-Joseph, 7th Prince of Ligne Charles-Joseph Lamoral, 7th Prince de Ligne in French; in German Karl-Joseph Lamoral 7. Fürst von Ligne (also known as Karl Fürst von Ligne or ''Fürst de Ligne''): (23 May 1735 – 13 December 1814) was a field marshal, inhaber of an infantr ...

had sold it in 1804 to Prince Nikolaus II Esterházy de Galantha and it remains in Esterházy family until today.

Architecture

The interiors of many rooms from the 18th century are decorated with significant

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...

work. An example is the ''Chinese Hall''. The Abbey church is still the parish church of Edelstetten town. while the former chapter house museum. The Abbey crib is decorated with

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

paintings of biblical scenes. The seven scenes are: Adoration of the Shepherds,

Adoration of the Magi The Adoration of the Magi or Adoration of the Kings is the name traditionally given to the subject in the Nativity of Jesus in art in which the three Magi, represented as kings, especially in the West, having found Jesus by following a star, ...

Presentation in the Temple A presentation conveys information from a speaker to an audience. Presentations are typically demonstrations, introduction, lecture, or speech meant to inform, persuade, inspire, motivate, build goodwill, or present a new idea/product. Presenta ...

, Massacre of the Innocents, house in

Nazareth Nazareth ( ; ar, النَّاصِرَة, ''an-Nāṣira''; he, נָצְרַת, ''Nāṣəraṯ''; arc, ܢܨܪܬ, ''Naṣrath'') is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel". In ...

, the twelve year old Jesus in the Temple and

Wedding at Cana The transformation of water into wine at the wedding at Cana (also called the marriage at Cana, wedding feast at Cana or marriage feast at Cana) is the first miracle attributed to Jesus in the Gospel of John. In the Gospel account, Jesus Chris ...

. File:St. Johannes Baptist und Johannes Evangelist (Edelstetten) 01.jpg File:St. Johannes Baptist und Johannes Evangelist (Edelstetten) 02.jpg File:St. Johannes Baptist und Johannes Evangelist (Edelstetten) 03.jpg File:St. Johannes Baptist und Johannes Evangelist (Edelstetten) 04.jpg File:St. Johannes Baptist und Johannes Evangelist (Edelstetten) 05.jpg File:St. Johannes Baptist und Johannes Evangelist (Edelstetten) 06.jpg File:St. Johannes Baptist und Johannes Evangelist (Edelstetten) 07.jpg fILE:St. Johannes Baptist und Johannes Evangelist (Edelstetten) 08.jpg Because of the fresco's, Günzburg County is sometimes called the ''Swabian nativity paradise''.

Character

The rule of the abbey was unusual in that members of its choir could resign and get married. For this reason the Abbey more resembled a sort of charitable institution where the

Swabia Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...

n nobility could educate their daughters. Due to recognition as a secular Kanonissenstift, the Abbey was by the 16th century called ''Oetlinstetten'' which evolved to the modern name ''Edelstetten''.

References

{{Authority control Monasteries in Bavaria Castles in Bavaria Christian monasteries established in the 11th century Baroque architecture in Bavaria