A ''Klosteramt'' (lit. "monastery office") was an administrative unit in certain states of 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 ...

that, after

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 the 16th century took over the administration of the estates of dissolved

monasteries 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 ...

and also their

lower court A lower court or inferior court is a court from which an appeal may be taken, usually referring to courts other than supreme court. In relation to an appeal from one court to another, the lower court is the court whose decision is being reviewed ...

powers. In Old Württemberg the head of the ''Klosteramt'' was the

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

(''Prälat''), a Protestant clergyman appointed by the Duke, who had a seat and vote in the

Landtag A Landtag (State Diet) is generally the legislative assembly or parliament of a federated state or other subnational self-governing entity in German-speaking nations. It is usually a unicameral assembly exercising legislative competence in non- ...

. The administrative business was managed by the monastery reeve (''Klostervogt'') or steward (''Hofmeister''), who from 1759 held the title of ''Klosteroberamtmann''.Hölzle (1975), pp. 30 ff. The ''Klosteramts'' were dissolved after the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

at the beginning of the 19th century in the course of the subsequent reorganization of states like the

Kingdom of Württemberg The Kingdom of Württemberg (german: Königreich Württemberg ) was a German state that existed from 1805 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Duchy of Württemberg, which exist ...

List of ''Klosteramts'' in Württemberg

The following ''Klosteramts'' are recorded: *

Adelberg Adelberg is a municipality in the district of Göppingen in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. Geography Adelberg lies in the Schurwald forest, at an altitude of around 334 to 473m. Climate The annual rainfall of 1045mm is within the top q ...

Alpirsbach Alpirsbach () is a town in the district of Freudenstadt in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated in the Black Forest on the Kinzig river, south of Freudenstadt. Because of the local brewery “Alpirsbacher Klosterbräu“, the monastery ...

* Anhausen * Bebenhausen *

Blaubeuren Blaubeuren () is a town in the district of Alb-Donau near Ulm in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. it had 11,963 inhabitants. Geography Geographical location The core city Blaubeuren lies at the foot of the Swabian Jura, west of Ulm. Neighborin ...

* Denkendorf * Herbrechtingen * Herrenalb *

Hirsau Hirsau (formerly ''Hirschau'') is a district of the town of Calw in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, located in the south-west portion of the country, about two miles north of Calw and about twenty-four miles west of Stuttgart. Town Hi ...

Königsbronn Königsbronn is a municipality in the district of Heidenheim in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. Königsbronn (Koenigsbronn) as an administrative community also includes the villages of Itzelberg, Ochsenberg and Zang. It lies in the Bre ...

* Lichtenstern (nunnery, no prelate) * Lorch *

Maulbronn Maulbronn () is a city in the district of Enz in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. History Founded in 1838, it emerged from a settlement, built around a monastery, which belonged to the Neckar Community in the Kingdom of Württemberg. In ...

Murrhardt Murrhardt is a town in the Rems-Murr district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located 12 km east of Backnang, and 18 km southwest of Schwäbisch Hall. The source of the Murr is situated in Murrhardt. Local council (Gemeinder ...

* Reichenbach * St. Georgen The poorer monasteries had administrative units called a ''Klosterhofmeisterei'' or ''Stiftsverwaltung''. They were not represented in the state parliament.

References

{{Reflist

Literature

* Erwin Hölzle: ''Der deutsche Südwesten am Ende des alten Reiches'', Stuttgart 1938, S. 30ff. * Hans-Martin Maurer: ''Altwürttembergisches Archiv (A-Bestände)''. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1975, ISBN 3-17-002175-3, S. 160 (''Veröffentlichungen der Staatlichen Archivverwaltung Baden-Württemberg'', Band 32).

External links

Studies and Materials on the History of the ''Klosteramt'' of Reichenbach
History of Christianity in Germany Christianity in Baden-Württemberg