Ittingen Charterhouse (''Kartause Ittingen'') is a former

Carthusian The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians ( la, Ordo Cartusiensis), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has its ...

monastery near Warth,

Canton Thurgau Thurgau (; french: Thurgovie; it, Turgovia), anglicized as Thurgovia, more formally the Canton of Thurgau, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of five districts and its capital is Frauenfeld. Thurgau is part ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. It is now used as an education and seminar centre with two museums and a farm.

History

The monastery was founded in 1150 for the

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 1461 the premises were sold to the Carthusians. In 1524, 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 ...

, the monastery was destroyed in the '' Ittingersturm'', but was rebuilt during the

Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also called the Catholic Reformation () or the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation. It began with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) a ...

. In 1798 the officials of the

Helvetic Republic The Helvetic Republic (, , ) was a sister republic of France that existed between 1798 and 1803, during the French Revolutionary Wars. It was created following the French invasion and the consequent dissolution of the Old Swiss Confederacy, ma ...

forbade the acceptance of novices and declared the monastery's assets the property of the state. Nevertheless the charterhouse survived until 1848, when it was finally dissolved. Between 1867 and 1977 the estate was the private property of the Fehr family, who ran the former monastery and its land as an agricultural concern for several generations. The entire monastery precinct remained for the most part intact. After 1977 the property was taken over by the charitable foundation ''Kartause Ittingen'' and between 1979 and 1983 comprehensively restored.

Present day

The buildings now accommodate the art museum of Canton Thurgau, the Ittinger Museum and ''tecum'', an Evangelical meeting and education centre. There is also a residential home here for about 30 people with either mental illnesses or learning difficulties who are employed round the various businesses on the site. In addition, there are two hotels with 67 rooms altogether, and the restaurant ''Zur Mühle''. The agricultural concern is among the biggest in the canton. As well as standard agriculture, grapes and hops are grown and from them wine and beer produced (the beer is brewed by ''Calanda Bräu'' in Chur) and milk from the estate's own cows is used for the production of various cheeses.

Sources and external links

Homepage of the Kartause Ittingen
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Google Maps Ansicht der Kartause Ittingen
{{Authority control Augustinian monasteries in Switzerland 1150 establishments in Europe Carthusian monasteries in Switzerland 1461 establishments in Europe Buildings and structures in Thurgau Tourist attractions in Thurgau 15th-century establishments in the Old Swiss Confederacy