The Liebenau monastery was a Dominican monastery. It was located outside the city gates of

Worms Worms may refer to: *Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs Places *Worms, Germany, a city **Worms (electoral district) *Worms, Nebraska, U.S. *Worms im Veltlintal, the German name for Bormio, Italy Arts and entertainme ...

in today's Worms-Hochheim district.

Location

Liebenau was located in the east of Hochheim district, close to the border with the Neuhausen district, near the bridge across the

Pfrimm The Pfrimm is a , left or western tributary of the Rhine in the Rhineland-Palatinate (Germany). Course The Pfrimm rises in the southern part of the Donnersbergkreis. Its spring lies in the northern part of the Palatinate Forest Nature Park, ...

and today's . There are streets named and in the area, named after the monastery's founders, Johann Engelmann and Lieba Holderbaum.

History

The monastery Liebenau is closely linked to the nearby St. Cyriacus abbey in Worms-Neuhausen, which was disestablished in 1565. St. Cyriacus was very old and was probably originally a Franconian royal court. In 630, King

Dagobert I Dagobert I ( la, Dagobertus; 605/603 – 19 January 639 AD) was the king of Austrasia (623–634), king of all the Franks (629–634), and king of Neustria and Burgundy (629–639). He has been described as the last king of the Merovingian dy ...

converted it into a church dedicated to St. Denis. In the 9th century, Bishop Samuel of Worms (841-856), who was also abbot of

Lorsch Abbey Lorsch Abbey, otherwise the Imperial Abbey of Lorsch (german: Reichsabtei Lorsch; la, Laureshamense Monasterium or ''Laurissa''), is a former Imperial abbey in Lorsch, Germany, about east of Worms. It was one of the most renowned monasteries o ...

, acquired the relics of St.

Cyriacus Cyriacus ( el, Ἅγιος Κυριακός, fl. 303 AD), sometimes Anglicized as Cyriac, according to Christian tradition, is a Christian martyr who was killed in the Diocletianic Persecution. He is one of twenty-seven saints, most of them marty ...

, one of the highly revered

Fourteen Holy Helpers The Fourteen Holy Helpers (german: Vierzehn Nothelfer, la, Quattuordecim auxiliatores) are a group of saints venerated together by Roman Catholic Christians because their intercession is believed to be particularly effective, especially against ...

, in Rome and placed them in the church in Neuhausen, which soon adopted St. Cyriacus as its patron saint and was linked to a

collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons: a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by a ...

. Thus, the church at Neuhausen became a pilgrimage destination. Emperor

Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor Henry V (german: Heinrich V.; probably 11 August 1081 or 1086 – 23 May 1125, in Utrecht) was King of Germany (from 1099 to 1125) and Holy Roman Emperor (from 1111 to 1125), as the fourth and last ruler of the Salian dynasty. He was made co-ru ...

visited the abbey in 1111 and built a castle in the vicinity. This castle had a polygonal

shield wall A shield wall ( or in Old English, in Old Norse) is a military formation that was common in ancient and medieval warfare. There were many slight variations of this formation, but the common factor was soldiers standing shoulder to shoulder ...

and was located slightly west of Neuhausen Abbey on a peninsula between the rivers

and Mühlbach. The castle was damaged in 1124 and definitively destroyed in 1288, during a conflict between the city and the clergy. The site was acquired by Konrad Holderbaum, a citizen of Worms. Via his son Johann Holderbaum, the site came into the possession his sister Lieba, who had married Jacob Engelmann. In 1299, Jacob and Lieba Engelmann found a nunnery at this site, on the condition that they would be buried in the nunnery. According to

Johann Friedrich Schannat Johann Friedrich Schannat (23 July 1683 – 6 March 1739) was a German historian. Schannat was born in Luxembourg. He studied at the University of Louvain and when twenty-two years of age was a lawyer, but before long he turned his attention ...

in his of 1734, the name ''Liebenau'' is derived from the founder's first name ''Lieba''. Eberwin von Kronenberg (d. 22 April 1308), the Bishop of Worms, laid the foundation stone in 1300 and also oversaw the completion of the building after the founders had died. The monastery owned the parish of Einselthum. Over time, the monastery acquired more territory. By the early 16th century, the monastery held possessions in

Osthofen Osthofen () is a town in the middle of the Wonnegau in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Since 1 July 2014 it is part of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' (a kind of collective municipality) Wonnegau. Osthofen was raised to town on ...

, Pfeddersheim,

Alsheim Alsheim is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. History Alsheim is mentioned in the Wormser wall-building ...

, Einselthum,

Westhofen Westhofen is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Geography Location Westhofen lies between Worms (r ...

Gundersheim Gundersheim is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Geography Location As a winegrowing centre, Gunders ...

, Blödesheim,

Eich Eich may refer to: Places * Eich, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany * Eich (Verbandsgemeinde), a collective municipality in Alzey-Worms, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany * Eich, Switzerland * Eich, Luxembourg People * Eich (surname), a list of people w ...

, Hochheim, Leiselheim and Pfiffligheim. In 1327, Count Palatine Adolph of the Rhine died and his widow,

Irmengard of Oettingen Irmengard of Oettingen ( – 6 November 1389 in Worms, Germany) was a princess of the Counts von Oettingen by birth, and by marriage, Countess Palatine of the Rhine and, as a widow, a Dominican nun. Life Countess Palatine Irmengard ...

moved into Liebenau monastery with her children. Initially, she lived in the convent as a guest In 1347, however, she became a Dominican nun. She lived in the monastery until she died in 1389 (some sources say 1399). On 1 December 1381, she founded the so-called Convent Mass, which was to be sung daily Irmengard was buried in the monastery. The historian

provides the inscription on her grave, which no longer exists, on 172 of his . The inscription mentioned how the princess lived as a nun in the monastery for more than 40 years. Irmengards brother Louis died in 1346, during a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He had bequeathed the gift of a beautiful cross to the Liebenau monastery. According to the inscription, the cross had been commissioned by Irmengard's father, Count Louis VI of Oettingen. The cross came to

Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population o ...

in a roundabout way and is now among the special treasures of the local

Augustiner Museum The Augustiner Museum is a museum in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany located in the former Augustinian Monastery building. It is undergoing an extensive renovation and expansion, the first phase of which ended in 2010. Irmengard's daughter-in-law Beatrice of Aragon-Sicily would occasionally visit her mother-in-law. The Dominican

chronicler A chronicle ( la, chronica, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and lo ...

Johannes Meyer (1422-1482) reports that during one of these visits, Beatrice gave birth to Rupert, who would be raised by Irmengard in Liebenau until age 7. Rupert would later become

King of the Germans This is a list of monarchs who ruled over East Francia, and the Kingdom of Germany (''Regnum Teutonicum''), from the division of the Frankish Empire in 843 and the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 until the collapse of the German Empir ...

. Margaret of the Palatinate, a disabled daughter of Elector Palatine

Louis III Louis III may refer to: * Louis the Younger, sometimes III of Germany (835–882) * Louis III of France (865–882) * Louis the Blind, Louis III, Holy Roman Emperor, (c. 880–928) * Louis the Child, sometimes III of Germany (893–911) * Louis III ...

, lived in the monastery as a

lay sister Lay brother is a largely extinct term referring to religious brothers, particularly in the Catholic Church, who focused upon manual service and secular matters, and were distinguished from choir monks or friars in that they did not pray in choir, ...

from . She was reported as having been very pious. She died on 24 November 1466. Her cousins Barbara (1439-1482) and Dorothea (1444-1486), daughters of

Otto I, Count Palatine of Mosbach Otto I (24 August 1390 – 5 July 1461) was the Count Palatine of Mosbach from 1410 until 1448, and the Count Palatine of Mosbach-Neumarkt from 1448 until 1461. Life Otto was born in Mosbach in 1390 as the youngest son of Rupert III of the Pal ...

, were also nuns at Liebenau. Dorothea even served as prioress of the monastery. The Liebenau monastery enjoyed the very special favour and affection of the Palatinate ruling family, because Irmengard and her princely relatives had resided there. This led many noble women and daughters of high-ranking citizens to become nuns at Liebenau. Among them was Irmengard of Nassau, née Princess of

Hohenlohe The House of Hohenlohe () is a German princely dynasty. It ruled an immediate territory within the Holy Roman Empire which was divided between several branches. The Hohenlohes became imperial counts in 1450. The county was divided numerous time ...

-Weikersheim. She was a maternal cousin of Irmengard of Oettingen and the widow of

Gerlach I, Count of Nassau Gerlach I of Nassau (1271 – 7 January 1361), Count of Nassau in Wiesbaden, Idstein, Weilburg, and Weilnau. He was a son of Adolf of Nassau, elected King of the Romans, and Imagina of Isenburg-Limburg. Family and children He was married t ...

, who had been a cousin of the late

Count Palatine A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank above that of an ord ...

Adolph. Irmengard of Nassau died at Liebenau in January 1371, in the ''odor of sanctity'' as the Historical Society for Hesse puts it. Noble ladies who resided at Liebenau included: * Margaret of Württemberg, a daughter of

Ulrich V, Count of Württemberg Ulrich V of Württemberg called ''"der Vielgeliebte"'' (the much loved) (1413Detlev Schwennicke: ''Europaische Stammtafeln'', New Series, Vol. I/2, Tafel 256. – 1 September 1480, in Leonberg), Count of Württemberg. He was the younger son of Cou ...

and Elisabeth of Bavaria * Margaret of Hanau-Münzenberg (d. 1503), who was related to the Palatinate branch of the

House of Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a German dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including Bavaria, the Palatinate, Holland and Zeeland, Sweden (with Finland), Denmark, Norway, Hungary (with Romania), Bohemia, the Electorate ...

, as her paternal grandmother Margaret of Mosbach was a sister of Barbara and Dorothea mentioned above. * Else von Stromberg, an illegitimate daughter of Elector Palatine Rupert II, who was a nun at Liebenau from 1392. In 1430, Elector Palatine

asked the Dominican Petrus von Gengenbach to renew the monastic life at Liebenau. Petrus brought in nuns from

Colmar Colmar (, ; Alsatian: ' ; German during 1871–1918 and 1940–1945: ') is a city and commune in the Haut-Rhin department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. The third-largest commune in Alsace (after Strasbourg and Mulhouse), it is ...

and reinvigorated observance of Dominican monastic rules. Some noble nuns left the monastery, whereas others, mostly from the sphere of the Palatinate ruling family, entered the monastery. Petrus von Gengenbach died on 16 January 1452 and was buried at Liebenau.

reports that the inscription on his grave called him a ''Dominican from Augsburg and reformer of the Monastery''.

Dissolution

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 ...

, Elector Palatine Frederick III made three attempts to dissolve the monastery between 1561 and 1563. However, the nuns continued to resist dissolution. As early as 1560, they had complained to the Emperor about Protestants interfering with their religious practices. The Emperor had sent the Elector a letter, instructing him to at least give a Catholic confessor free access to the monastery. After the failed attempt to dissolve in 1561, Elector Frederick III sent his officials to the monasteries of Himmelskron and Liebenau in May 1562. The officials were to explain the elector's gracious intentions to the nuns and to inform them that he, as their sovereign, fervently wished that they would "behave as obedient children and allow themselves to be educated about the pure divine message". They should refrain from singing

Matins Matins (also Mattins) is a canonical hour in Christian liturgy, originally sung during the darkness of early morning. The earliest use of the term was in reference to the canonical hour, also called the vigil, which was originally celebrated by ...

and other Latin hymns. The envoys did as they were ordered, however, the prioresses of both monasteries and their nuns remained steadfast. They met the envoys at the visitors' grid and left the meeting "with disgrace". During the third attempt resolution on 16 March 1563, the Prioress received the envoys of the Elector after threats of violence. The envoys were received in a room, where all the residents of the monastery had gathered, 13 nuns and 9 lay sisters, all dressed in their religious attire. The envoys later reported: Some time later, Frederick III visited the monastery in person. He forced his way in and during his visit, punched through a painting of the crucifixion. In 1565, the Dominicans and their last prioress Anna von Seckendorff were expelled. They moved to Adelhausen monastery in

. At the

Diet of Augsburg The Diet of Augsburg were the meetings of the Imperial Diet of the Holy Roman Empire held in the German city of Augsburg. Both an Imperial City and the residence of the Augsburg prince-bishops, the town had hosted the Estates in many such sess ...

in 1566, Anna made her last attempt to save the monastery, however, she was unsuccessful. In 1570, the Elector finally managed to seize the monasteries properties. They would be administered by the Electoral Department of Ecclesiastical Properties in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

, who leased out the properties. In later years, the buildings were converted or demolished and no trace of them remains.

Miscellaneous

Countess Palatine Margaret of Savoy had a "

dwarf Dwarf or dwarves may refer to: Common uses *Dwarf (folklore), a being from Germanic mythology and folklore * Dwarf, a person or animal with dwarfism Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Dwarf (''Dungeons & Dragons''), a humanoid ...

" named Catherine at her court. After Margaret died in 1470, Catherine was cared for at Liebenau monastery According to

the 3-year-old Prince Adolph, son of Elector Rupert III was buried at Liebenau. According to his epitaph, he died on the Feast of Saints Philip and James, in 1358. A

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Church named St. Mary Himmelskron was preserved in the Hochheim district of Worms. However, this church did not belong to Liebenau, but to the neighbouring Dominican Himmelskron monastery. During the 19th and 20th century, a leather factory named ''Heyl’sche Lederwerk Liebenau'' was located on the grounds of the former monastery. This factory was named after the monastery. Its owner, Baron Ludwig von Heyl zu Herrnsheim excavated the site in 1929 and extensively documented his finds. A winery named ''Liebebauer Hof'' ("Court of Liebenau") still exists at Ludwig-Schwanb-Straße 22 in

. It is one of the oldest wineries in the region. It once belonged to the couple who founded Liebenau. According to a deed dated 2 April 1309, it was given to them by Johannes Holderbaum and his wife Matilda of Hischberg. This Johannes may have been Lieba's brother.About Liebenauer Hof in Osthofen
/ref>

References

* * Gundolf Gieraths: ''Die Dominikaner in Worms'', Verlag der Stadtbibliothek Worms, 1964 (with a chapter about Liebenau monastery) * Otto Freiherr von Grote: ''Lexicon deutscher Stifter, Klöster und Ordenshäuser'', Osterwieck am Harz, 1881 * Georg Wilhelm Justin Wagner: ''Die vormaligen geistliche Stifte im Großherzogthum Hessen'', vol. 1: ''Provinzen Starkenburg und Oberhessen'', Darmstadt, 1873 * Ingeborg Schroth: ''Ein Reliquienkreuz von 1342 aus Kloster Liebenau'', in: ''Pantheon'', vol. 31, 1943, pp. 43–4
Details on the origin
*

: ''Historia episcopatus Wormatiensis'', 1734, p. 172 * * {{cite book, last = Rogge, first = Jörg, title = Fürstin und Fürst: Familienbeziehungen und Handlungsmöglichkeiten von hochadeligen Frauen im Mittelalter, url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Zqm3AAAAIAAJ, year = 2004, publisher = Thorbecke, isbn = 978-3-7995-4266-1 * Friedrich Maria Illert: ''Die Ausgrabungen im Liebenauer Klostergebiet'', in: ''Der Wormsgau'', vol. 1 1933, pp. 354–359.

External links

About Liebenau monastery

with an extended abstract about the Liebenau monastery

Footnotes

Monasteries in Rhineland-Palatinate Dominican monasteries in Germany Worms, Germany