Lichtenthal Abbey (german: Kloster Lichtenthal) is a

Cistercian nunnery Cistercian nuns are female members of the Cistercian Order, a religious order belonging to the Roman Catholic branch of the Catholic Church. History The first Cistercian monastery for women, Le Tart Abbey, was established at Tart-l'Abbaye in t ...

in Lichtenthal in the town of

Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...

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 the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

History and buildings

The abbey was founded in 1245 by Irmengard bei Rhein, widow of Margrave Hermann V of Baden, whose body she had brought here in 1248 from

Backnang Abbey The Abbey of Saint Pancras of Backnang, better known as Backnang Abbey (german: Stift Backnang), was a German monastery of canons regular founded around AD 1100 in Backnang, in the Duchy of Swabia. History The abbey was founded before 1116 by He ...

for re-burial.Their son and Hermann's successor,

Rudolf I Rudolf I (1 May 1218 – 15 July 1291) was the first King of Germany from the House of Habsburg. The first of the count-kings of Germany, he reigned from 1273 until his death. Rudolf's election marked the end of the Great Interregnum which h ...

, is also buried here. She seriously over-reached herself financially on the project, however, and was obliged to ask her family for help. The imposing gateway, built in 1781, leads into a three-sided walled courtyard with a fountain dedicated to the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

, surrounded by the various abbey and domestic buildings, the school, the abbey church, the Prince's Chapel and the hermit's chapel. The

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

abbey church, of which the

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

dates from the 14th century and the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

from the 15th, contains works of art and furnishings of many dates, particularly of the 15th century, as at this time, on the initiative of the Abbess Margaret of Baden, the church interior was lavishly refurbished and ornamented. The Prince's Chapel was built in 1288, and until 1372 was the burial place of the

Margraves of Baden The Margraviate of Baden (german: Markgrafschaft Baden) was a historical territory of the Holy Roman Empire. Spread along the east side of the Upper Rhine River in southwestern Germany, it was named a margraviate in 1112 and existed until 1535, ...

. Here is also the tomb of the foundress, Margravine Irmengard. Besides the tombs, the high altar and several side altars, this chapel also contains the statue of the "Madonna of the Keys", so called because in times of danger the abbey keys are entrusted to her. (The abbey has until now survived every danger unscathed, as is related in a Baden-Baden drinking song). The three statues over the gateway are from the nearby ruined All Saints' Abbey and represent

Saint Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...

, above, Abbot Gerung, first abbot of All Saints, to the left, and his mother and the foundress of All Saints, the Duchess Uta of Schauenburg, to the right, who was a relative of the Margravine Irmengard. The hermit's chapel, built in 1678, is used as a mortuary chapel for the nuns.

Present day

The abbey belongs to the Mehrerau Congregation. The present abbess is Mother Maria Bernadette Hein, the 46th abbess since its foundation. She succeeded Mother Adelgundis Selle in 2001. The nuns particularly devote themselves to teaching - the nunnery accommodates the primary school of Lichtenthal - and to religious handicrafts.

Photo gallery

Baden-Baden-Kloster Lichtental-02-2020-gje.jpg Baden-Baden-Kloster Lichtental-Fronleichnam-02-Messfeier-2013-gje.jpg Baden-Baden-Kloster Lichtental-Klausur-10-Klosterkirche-Garten-2021-gje.jpg Baden-Baden-Kloster Lichtental-Klausur-20-Klosterfriedhof-2021-gje.jpg Baden-Baden-Kloster Lichtental-Klausur-24-Klosterfriedhof-2021-gje.jpg Baden-Baden-Kloster Lichtental-50-2017-gje.jpg Baden-Baden-Kloster Lichtental-Brunnen-12-2021-gje.jpg Baden-Baden-Kloster Lichtental-Brunnen-34-Madonna-2021-gje.jpg

References and notes

External links

* {{Authority control Monasteries in Baden-Württemberg Cistercian nunneries in Germany 1240s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1245 establishments in Europe Burial sites of the House of Zähringen 13th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Germany Christian monasteries established in the 13th century