The Pforta monastery is a former
Cistercian
The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...
monastery located near
Naumburg
Naumburg () is a town in (and the administrative capital of) the district Burgenlandkreis, in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany. It has a population of around 33,000. The Naumburg Cathedral became a UNES ...
in
Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of
and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it 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 ...
. It was established in the 1130s and prospered in the Middle Ages. In the course of 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 disbanded in 1540. Today the buildings are used by the school ''
Landesschule Pforta
Pforta, or Schulpforta, is a school located in Pforta monastery, a former Cistercians, Cistercian monastery (1137–1540), near Naumburg on the Saale River in the Germany, German state of Saxony-Anhalt.
The site has been a school since the 16th ...
''. The site is located on the tourist route
Romanesque Road
The Romanesque Road (german: Straße der Romanik) is a scenic route in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt in central-east Germany. It is part of the Transromanica network, a major European Cultural Route since 2006.
Route
The route takes the ...
and has been nominated by Germany for inclusion in the UNESCO list of
World Heritage Sites
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the UNESCO, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNES ...
.
History
who belonged to the House of the
Ludowingers, met the Cistercian abbot
Bernard of Clairvaux
Bernard of Clairvaux, O. Cist. ( la, Bernardus Claraevallensis; 109020 August 1153), venerated as Saint Bernard, was an abbot, mystic, co-founder of the Knights Templars, and a major leader in the reformation of the Benedictine Order through ...
for the first time at the Imperial Diet in Liège in March 1131. This meeting can be seen as of central significance for the propagation of the Cistercian order in the
Empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
. For Bishop Udo I, it provided both motivation and opportunity to arrange for a delegation of monks from the
Walkenried
Walkenried () is a municipality in the district of Göttingen, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the southern Harz, approx. 15 km south of Braunlage, and 15 km northwest of Nordhausen.
Walkenried was the seat of the ''Samtgeme ...
Cistercian monastery to settle in a location in the vicinity of the bishop's town of Naumburg in 1137/1138.
![Monastery_Pforta](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/Monastery_Pforta.jpg)
The monastery complex itself comprises the religious, as well as residential and functional buildings: the
"minster" (church), the cloister and the abbot's chapel as well as numerous functional buildings from the monastery time and the mill stream Kleine Saale which flows through the monastery property. Pforta ranked among the wealthiest and most influential monasteries throughout
Central Germany before it was closed in the course of 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 ...
. Today, the premises host a public boarding school run by the state of
Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of
and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it the ...
.
Description
Central monastic premises
![Facade_of_Monastery_Pforta](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ad/Facade_of_Monastery_Pforta.jpg)
The richly ornamented western façade of the
minster differs from façade designs of other Cistercian churches from the 13th century since it displays sculptural designs that did not correspond to the strict stipulations of the order. It is reminiscent of a
Roman
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 letter ...
triumphal arch portal. This elaborately designed facade with its sculptural decoration symbolically expressed the meaning of the Latinised monastery name of ''Porta'', meaning ''Porta Coeli'' – i.e. "Gate of Heaven" – through its architecture. It has been described as the ″most brilliant example of a towerless façade in Germany″.
![Chapel_of_Monastery_Pforta](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/Chapel_of_Monastery_Pforta.jpg)
As a sign of the economic power of the monastery, the Cistercians were able to commission a new church and abbot's chapel (''Abtskapelle'') between 1251 and 1268, both of which are of artistic and architectural quality. Rare elements were still to be found in the structure such as the latrine and the chamber of the infirmary. It constitutes the high point of
Romanesque interior design in the local cultural landscape and stands out thanks to the opulent and yet balanced profiles of the wall design above the columns with their many shaft tori and leaping impost heights.
Grange
Located in
Kösen, the so-called "Romanesque House" is an example of a former grange of Pforta monastery. It is situated above the weir in Kösen and was first referred to in a papal deed of confirmation from 1138. The one-storey building that has survived is dated to the third quarter of the 12th century. The grange was run by bearded lay brothers (''conversi''), including their own
mills
Mills is the plural form of mill, but may also refer to:
As a name
*Mills (surname), a common family name of English or Gaelic origin
* Mills (given name)
*Mills, a fictional British secret agent in a trilogy by writer Manning O'Brine
Places Unit ...
, workshops and efficient water supply systems in order to enhance the economic independence of the Cistercians.
The Cistercians managed to enlist parts of the
peasant
A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasants ...
population into their service, offering the liege lords compensation payments for their release from personal bondage. These people partly worked as conversi, lay brothers, supporting the Cistercians’ local grange economy, and partly they were sent as groups to resettle in
Silesia
Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...
,
Greater Poland
Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; german: Großpolen, sv, Storpolen, la, Polonia Maior), is a Polish historical regions, historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed ...
or the
Baltic region
The terms Baltic Sea Region, Baltic Rim countries (or simply the Baltic Rim), and the Baltic Sea countries/states refer to slightly different combinations of countries in the general area surrounding the Baltic Sea, mainly in Northern Europe. ...
through the agency and assistance of the Cistercian Order. If the monastery's own financial resources were not adequate for such endeavours, Pforta was able to borrow large amounts of money within the Cistercian Order, foremost from the primary abbey of
Clairvaux. Over time, Pforta was thus able to establish a sphere of domination within the area surrounding the monastery.
Kleine Saale
For 1180, it is documented that the Cistercians were given permission to build a
Saale
The Saale (), also known as the Saxon Saale (german: Sächsische Saale) and Thuringian Saale (german: Thüringische Saale), is a river in Germany and a left-bank tributary of the Elbe. It is not to be confused with the smaller Fränkische Saale, ...
weir
A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...
between Wenzendorf on the west bank of the Saale and Kösen. The construction of this weir was linked to the building of a canal of some 10 kilometres in length, which still exists today and runs from Bad Kösen via Pforta to just outside Naumburg. It has been called the "Kleine Saale" (Little Saale) since the 13th century. This
canal
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...
was designed not only to supply drinking and domestic water to the monastery but also to drive a number of mills in Kösen, at Pforta monastery and in
Altenburg (Almrich). The mill at Pforte is a monumental, basically Romanesque stone structure, situated between the western monastery wall and the cloister area. A Romanesque chimney indicates that there used to be a blacksmith's workshop. With their elements of medieval architecture, the mill and blacksmith's building is one of the oldest preserved functional buildings in Central Germany.
Several contracts show that the
Benedictine monks
The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict ( la, Ordo Sancti Benedicti, abbreviated as OSB), are a Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), religious order of the Catholic Church following the Rule of Saint Benedic ...
of St George, the
canons of St Moritz in Naumburg, and the
Naumburg Cathedral Naumburg Cathedral (german: Naumburger Dom St. Peter und St. Paul, ), located in Naumburg, Germany, is the former cathedral of the Bishopric of Naumburg-Zeitz. The church building, most of which dates back to the 13th century, is a renowned landmark ...
chapter participated in the costs and maintenance of the Kleine Saale in return for rights of utilization of mill streams. A water expert from Pforta monastery and the highest-ranking fisherman from the Naumburg Cathedral chapter were assigned to perform the technical maintenance of the Kleine Saale and to settle any disputes.
Vineyards
![Vineyard_Steinmeister](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Vineyard_Steinmeister.jpg)
The Cistercians expanded their property from the Köppelberg vineyard, and created nine vineyards on Saalberg Hill between 1195 and 1208. The fact that they purchased that part of the hill above their own vineyard sites is an indication of the beginning of medieval steep slope cultivation, which is an important documentation of the increasing
wine-growing
Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...
activities on steep slopes.
Hence, a large, continuous wine-growing area had been created by the monks of Pforta. At the end of the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
, the monastery owned 58 vineyards at 27 locations between
Bad Kösen
Bad Kösen () is a spa town on the Saale river in the small wine-growing region of Saale-Unstrut, Germany. It is a former municipality in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt. Bad Kösen has a population of around 5,300. Since 1 Januar ...
and
Roßbach.
According to the records, Pforta had cellar and wine masters (1229 ''magister vini'') in the 13th century demonstrating highly developed wine-growing and wine-making. The vines were planted irregularly, and different grape varieties were planted together (documented in 1234). Between them, vegetables and other agricultural crops were planted on acres. Fruit-bearing trees or walnut trees as well as hops were also planted together with the vines. The vineyards were enclosed (first documented in 1268), and featured dry stone walls and terraces on the slopes, stairs, water drainage ditches or buildings as early as in the
High Middle Ages
The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history that lasted from AD 1000 to 1300. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and were followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended ...
.
World heritage nomination
The monastery has been proposed by Germany for inscription in the List of
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
s. The World Heritage nomination
is representative for the processes that shaped the continent during the
High Middle Ages
The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history that lasted from AD 1000 to 1300. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and were followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended ...
between 1000 and 1300:
Christianization
Christianization ( or Christianisation) is to make Christian; to imbue with Christian principles; to become Christian. It can apply to the conversion of an individual, a practice, a place or a whole society. It began in the Roman Empire, conti ...
, the so-called ''
Landesausbau Landesausbau describes medieval settlement and cultivation processes in regions of Western Europe that were previously only sparsely populated or uninhabitable. By means of clearing of woods and drainage of wetlands, new agricultural areas and new ...
,'' and the dynamics of cultural exchange and transfer characteristic for this very period. This cultural landscape was specifically shaped by the
Cistercian monks
The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint B ...
of the Pforta monastery which developed into a driving force for the landscape as a whole during the High Middle Ages, fostering technology and agriculture, education, and eastward Christianization.
References
External links
Romanesque Road website (German)Page at Transromanica.com (German)Video of the cultural landscape of Naumburg
{{Authority control
1130s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire
1137 establishments in Europe
Cistercian monasteries in Germany
Monasteries in Saxony-Anhalt
Bad Kösen
Christian monasteries established in the 12th century
Romanesque Road