Salem Abbey (german: Kloster Salem) was a very prominent
Cistercian monastery in
Salem in the
district of Bodensee about ten miles from
Konstanz,
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
,
Germany. The buildings are now owned by the State of Baden-Württemberg and are open for tours as the Salem Monastery and Palace.
History
In 1134, a knight named Guntram von Adelsreute, inspired by a sermon held by
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 ...
at the
Konstanz Minster
Konstanz Minster or Konstanz Cathedral (german: Konstanzer Münster) is a historical building in Konstanz, southern Germany, the proto-cathedral of the former Roman Catholic diocese of Konstanz (dissolved in 1821).
History
The first mention ...
, donated an estate in the
Linzgau
Linzgau is a historic region in Southern Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located north of Lake Constance and south of the Danube valley.
Geography
The region is bounded by the shore of Lake Constance on the south, the Hegau regi ...
region to Bernard's
monastic order, the
Cistercians
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 ...
. That estate, called the Salmannsweiler, had an area of about and was too small to support a monastery. Regardless, in 1137 a party of 12 monks were sent from
Lucelle Abbey
Lucelle Abbey or Lützel Abbey (french: Abbaye de Lucelle; german: Kloster Lützel) was a Cistercian monastery in the present village of Lucelle, in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace, France, but located right on the Swiss border.
The name o ...
, in
Alsace
Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...
. These monks combined existing farms with further donations from Guntram in 1138 that gave the new monastery a stable economic base. Its abbot, Frowin, a friend of Bernard, named the monastery Salem, likely as an allusion to
Jerusalem.
The foundation of the abbey was confirmed by Linzgau nobility led by the in 1138, and again in 1140 by
Frederick II, Duke of Swabia
Frederick II (1090 – 6 April 1147), called the One-Eyed, was Duke of Swabia from 1105 until his death, the second from the Hohenstaufen dynasty. His younger brother Conrad was elected King of the Romans in 1138.
Life Early career
Freder ...
, and
Pope Innocent II and once more in 1142 by
Conrad III
Conrad III (german: Konrad; it, Corrado; 1093 or 1094 – 15 February 1152) of the Hohenstaufen dynasty was from 1116 to 1120 Duke of Franconia, from 1127 to 1135 anti-king of his predecessor Lothair III and from 1138 until his death in 1152 ...
,
King of Germany
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 Empi ...
. Finally, in 1155,
Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt o ...
, granted Salem
imperial immediacy
Imperial immediacy (german: Reichsfreiheit or ') was a privileged constitutional and political status rooted in German feudal law under which the Imperial estates of the Holy Roman Empire such as Imperial cities, prince-bishoprics and secular prin ...
, making it an
imperial abbey, and took the abbey under his personal patronage. Salem Abbey profited greatly from the patronage of Frederick's house, the
Hohenstaufen, and its territory rapidly expanded through donations and purchases. This rapid growth brought Salem into contention with the
Bishop of Constance
The Prince-Bishopric of Constance, (german: Hochstift Konstanz, Fürstbistum Konstanz, Bistum Konstanz) was a small ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire from the mid-12th century until its secularisation in 1802–1803. In his du ...
and with local nobility and peasantry. Under Abbot , however, the monastery continued to expand and secured the protection of the
Archbishop of Salzburg
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Salzburg ( la, Archidioecesis Salisburgensis) is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Austria. The archdiocese is one of two Austrian archdioceses, serving alongside the Archdiocese o ...
in 1201. The Archbishop of Salzburg also gave a saltwork at
Hallein
Hallein () is a historic town in the Austrian state of Salzburg. It is the capital of Hallein district.
Geography
The town is located in the ''Tennengau'' region south of the City of Salzburg, stretching along the Salzach river in the shadow of ...
to Salem for it to export salt across
Lake Constance and further enrich the abbey.
With the beginning of the
Great Interregnum In the Holy Roman Empire, the Great Interregnum (so-called to distinguish it from the shorter period between 924 and 962) was a period of time following the death of Frederick II where the succession of the Holy Roman Empire was contested and foug ...
in the mid-13th century and the loss of Hohenstaufen protection, Salem began to decline as its possessions were attacked by local rivals and was driven into debt. Salem's situation improved with the election of
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 ...
as King of Germany and the creation of the ' at the end of the century, which aligned Salem with the
House of Habsburg. That alignment brought more attacks on Salem in 1314, led by the
Counts of Werdenberg to Heiligenberg, that lasted until Emperor
Charles IV granted Salem further political exemptions.
By 1300, 300
choir monks and
lay brothers inhabited Salem.
Second Abbey
From 1615 to 1620, Abbot Thomas I demolished the medieval monastery buildings to construct a new complex.
In 1697, every building of the monastery complex except its church was destroyed by fire.
The abbey saw renewed prosperity in the 18th century, however, and was again able to rebuild.
Secularization
In 1802, as part of the process of
German mediatization
German mediatisation (; german: deutsche Mediatisierung) was the major territorial restructuring that took place between 1802 and 1814 in Germany and the surrounding region by means of the mass mediatisation and secularisation of a large number ...
, Salem Abbey was ceded to the
Margraviate of Baden by
Napoleon to compensate Baden for territories on the
Left Bank of the Rhine that had been annexed into France.
In 1920,
Prince Maximilian of Baden and the educator
Kurt Hahn
Kurt Matthias Robert Martin Hahn (5 June 1886, Berlin – 14 December 1974, Hermannsberg) was a German educator. He was decisive in founding, among other organizations and initiatives, Stiftung Louisenlund, Schule Schloss Salem, Gordonstou ...
established the
Schule Schloss Salem
Schule Schloss Salem (Anglicisation: ''School of Salem Castle'', ''Salem Castle School'') is a boarding school with campuses in Salem and Überlingen in Baden-Württemberg, Southern Germany.
It offers the German Abitur, as well as the Intern ...
on the grounds of the abbey.
The
House of Baden sold most of the abbey's grounds to the State of Baden-Württemberg in 2009.
Grounds and architecture
A
wall
A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or, is decorative. There are many kinds of walls, including:
* Walls in buildings that form a fundamental part of the super ...
was built to enclose the monastery complex around the year 1300. The northern edge of the extant monastery is made up by service buildings that house a stable, mill, bakery, blacksmithy, prison, and also include a wine cellar and a
tithe barn
A tithe barn was a type of barn used in much of northern Europe in the Middle Ages for storing rents and tithes. Farmers were required to give one-tenth of their produce to the established church. Tithe barns were usually associated with the v ...
.
The ceilings of the rebuilt cloister are adorned with stucco and frescoes depicting the life of Bernard of Clairvaux.
Salem Minster
Construction of the Salem Minster began in 1299 and it was not finished until 1414, when the Archbishop of Salzburg consecrated it.
Palace
Before the abbey was secularized, the Prälatur was the residence of Salem's abbots. Afterwards, it was a residence of the House of Baden.
Citations
References
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Online references
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External links
Salem Monastery and Palace- official site
School Schloss Salem website
{{Authority control
Imperial abbeys disestablished in 1802–03
Monasteries in Baden-Württemberg
Cistercian monasteries in Germany
Religious organizations established in 1136
Christian monasteries established in the 12th century
Historic house museums in Baden-Württemberg
Religious museums in Germany
Bodenseekreis