Liesborn Abbey (german: Kloster Liesborn) was a Benedictine monastery (originally for nuns or women's collegiate foundation) in Liesborn, in what was originally the Dreingau, now a part of

Wadersloh Wadersloh () is a municipality in the Warendorf (district), district of Warendorf, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated approximately 10 km north-west of Lippstadt and 30 km east of Hamm. In it there is a grammar school whi ...

in the district of Warendorf in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

History

The foundation of the monastery was traditionally ascribed to Charlemagne in 785. More probable however is a later date of 815, with two founders named Bozo and Bardo. At first Liesborn was a monastery of nuns or a women's collegiate foundation, but by the 12th century the community had grown so worldly that in 1131 Egbert,

Bishop of Münster A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, expelled them, and replaced them by Benedictine monks. The abbey was several times besieged by enemies. From the 13th century ascetic life steadily declined as the abbey increased in wealth, and the monastery, like very many other religious houses in Germany, became a secular college for the nobility. In 1298 the property of the abbey was divided unto separate

prebend A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the ...

s, twenty-two of them full prebends, and six for boys. However, in 1465 the abbey joined the reformist

Bursfelde Congregation The Bursfelde Congregation, also called Bursfelde Union, was a union of predominantly west and central German Benedictine monasteries, of both men and women, working for the reform of Benedictine practice. It was named after Bursfelde Abbey. Backg ...

, which succeeded in restoring spiritual discipline and a more properly monastic way of life. Thanks to this influence, Liesborn was in a very healthy condition by the time of the distinguished abbots Heinrich of Cleves (1464–90) and Johann Smalebecker (1490–1522), who restored the buildings and greatly improved the economic state of the abbey. The zeal of Liesborn influenced other Benedictine abbeys, and it succeeded in re-establishing discipline and spiritual observance in several nunneries. Also at this time the humanist Bernhard Witte was a monk here (from 1490 to about 1534) and wrote a history of Westphalia and a chronicle of the abbey. The period of prosperity, however, did not last long. Abbot Anton Kalthoff (1522–32) adopted the doctrines of the

Anabaptist Anabaptism (from New Latin language, Neo-Latin , from the Greek language, Greek : 're-' and 'baptism', german: Täufer, earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re- ...

s and was deposed. Gerlach Westhof (1554–82) favoured the Protestants and involved the monastery heavily in debt. Conditions worsened during the wars of the 17th century. The

Peace of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (german: Westfälischer Friede, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought pea ...

in 1648 brought a temporary improvement, but Liesborn suffered further during the wars of the 18th century, and by the time of the suppression was thousands of

thaler A thaler (; also taler, from german: Taler) is one of the large silver coins minted in the states and territories of the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg monarchy during the Early Modern period. A ''thaler'' size silver coin has a diameter of ...

s in debt. The abbey was dissolved during secularisation on 2 May 1803 and was declared the property of the Prussian Crown. 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 ...

church, rebuilt between 1499 and 1506, and several of the monastic buildings, are still standing.

Master of Liesborn

The beautiful paintings of the altar-piece by an unknown artist with which Abbot Heinrich adorned the church became famous, as the works of the Master of Liesborn, but under French administration in 1807 they were sold for almost nothing. The best of them are now in the

National Gallery, London The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...

. {{Coord, 51, 42, 35, N, 8, 15, 22, E, region:DE-NW_type:city(4200), display=title Benedictine monasteries in Germany Monasteries in North Rhine-Westphalia 1st-millennium establishments in Europe Benedictine nunneries in Germany Buildings and structures in Warendorf (district)