Gutnau Priory, also spelled Guttnau or Guttenau (german: Kloster Gutnau, ''Guttnau'' or ''Guttenau''), was a small
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 ...
nunnery in
Neuenburg am Rhein
Neuenburg am Rhein (High Alemannic: ''Neiburg am Rhi'') is a town in the district Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany.
Geography
Geographical location
Neuenburg is elevated on the right bank of the Altrhein on a ...
, in the district
Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald
Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald (french: Arrondissement de Brisgau-Haute-Forêt-Noire) is a (district) in the southwest of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Fifty towns and municipalities with 133 settlements lie within the district. The district itself belon ...
in
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
in southern Germany.
History
According to
Caspar Molitor, abbot of
St. Blaise's Abbey,
[ in his ''Liber Originum''] the nunnery was founded in 1181 by Guta, sister and heiress of the last lord of Au (Auggen, Owon), on and with her inheritance; Guta was a nun of
Sitzenkirch Priory, which was subordinate to St. Blaise's. The nunnery buildings were apparently first sited right on the bank of the river
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, so ...
, but were later relocated further inland for fear of flooding. In 1260 nuns from Sitzenkirch moved to Gutnau without the permission of the abbot of Saint Blaise's, but were made to return to Sitzenkirch in 1261.
[''Germania Benedictina Bd V: Die Benediktinerkloester in B-W'', pp. 265–269. Ed. F Quarthal. Augsburg 1975]
By the 15th century the community had become very impoverished. In 1423 the premises burned down to the ground, and there were not enough funds for more than an inadequate reconstruction. By 1492 the monastery was no longer able to finance itself and became a subordinate provostry of St. Blaise's Abbey. There were only two nuns in 1513. In 1525 the nunnery was plundered and laid waste in the
Peasants' War
This is a chronological list of conflicts in which peasants played a significant role.
Background
The history of peasant wars spans over two thousand years. A variety of factors fueled the emergence of the peasant revolt phenomenon, including:
...
,
although according to Caspar Molitor a community of some sort was resident in 1530.
It is presumed to have been dissolved during the
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 ...
in 1556. St. Blaise's Abbey retained the lands for some years. By 1630 they had passed to Bürgeln Priory, and by 1657 to that of Krozingen. Such buildings as remained were destroyed by the French in 1675. In 1780 the last remaining property rights were sold. There are no surviving remains of the nunnery.
References
Further reading
* Franz Josef Mone: ''Quellen zur Badischen Landesgeschichte.'' Band 1
(digital version)* Johann Baptist Eiselin: ''Opus incompletum in folio ex quo: Liber originum, auctore abbate Kaspar I., Geschichte über Abt Kaspar I.'' (from the original by Abbot Kaspar II, also containing the grave inscriptions of the monuments in the former cloister of the Abbey of Saint Blaise up to 1672, preserved in the archive of
Einsiedeln Abbey
Einsiedeln Abbey (german: Kloster Einsiedeln) is a Benedictine Catholic monastery in the village of Einsiedeln in the canton of Schwyz, Switzerland. The abbey is dedicated to Our Lady of the Hermits, in recognition of Meinrad of Einsiedeln, a he ...
)
* Columban Reble: ''Liber Originum Monasterij Sancti Blasij In Silva Hercynia: Das ist: Ein alt-geschribenes Buch vom Ursprung deß Gotts-Hauses St. Blasien auff dem Schwartzwald''. Waldshut, 1716, pp. 198–20
(digital version)* Martin Gerbert: ''Historia Nigrae Silvae ordinis Sancti Benedicti coloniae'', 1783–1788 (digital versions
Bd. 1Bd. 2Bd. 3
; also published in German in 1993, translated by Adalbert Weh
* Franz Quarthal: ''Die Benediktinerklöster in Baden-Württemberg''. Ed. Franz Quarthal with the collaboration of Hansmartin Decker-Hauff, Klaus Schreiner and the Institut für Geschichtliche Landeskunde und Historische Hilfswissenschaften an der Universität Tübingen. St. Ottilien, EOS-Verlag 1987
* Winfried Zwernemann: ''Das Kloster Gutenau, Mittelalterliche und römische Bodendenkmäler südlich von Neuenburg in "Das Markgräflerland" 1., 1982, pp. 72–86
External links
LEO-BW (Landeskundliche Informationssystem Baden-Württemberg): Gutnau - Wüstung
{{Coordinate, NS=47.7940, EW=7.57214, type=landmark, region=DE-BW
Benedictine nunneries in Germany
1181 establishments in Germany
Monasteries in Baden-Württemberg