Schuttern Abbey (Reichsabtei Schuttern) was a

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monastery in Schuttern (now part of the community of Friesenheim),

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 ...

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History

According to tradition, the monastery was founded in 603 by the wandering

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monk Offo. After some initial difficulties the monastery and the settlement round it, at that time known as ''Offoniscella'' ("cell of Offo"), gradually flourished. In the 8th century Saint Pirmin introduced the

Rule of St. Benedict The ''Rule of Saint Benedict'' ( la, Regula Sancti Benedicti) is a book of precepts written in Latin in 516 by St Benedict of Nursia ( AD 480–550) for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot. The spirit of Saint Benedict's Ru ...

and revived the fortunes of the abbey, as demonstrated by the rush of new postulants from the nobility at this period. Schuttern and some others, next only to Bamberg, were reckoned among the most significant

Imperial abbey Princely abbeys (german: Fürstabtei, ''Fürststift'') and Imperial abbeys (german: Reichsabtei, ''Reichskloster'', ''Reichsstift'', ''Reichsgotthaus'') were religious establishments within the Holy Roman Empire which enjoyed the status of impe ...

s in the country. In 817 a

Gospel Book A Gospel Book, Evangelion, or Book of the Gospels (Greek: , ''Evangélion'') is a codex or bound volume containing one or more of the four Gospels of the Christian New Testament – normally all four – centering on the life of Jesus of Nazareth ...

(the Schuttern Gospels, now in the

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), commissioned by the then Abbot Bertrich and written by the

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

Luithar witnesses among other works to the existence of a writing school of high quality in the abbey. In 1016 the Emperor Henry II stopped at the abbey while returning to

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and visited the tomb of the founder Offo. The grave was covered by a precious mosaic showing Cain murdering Abel, which survives and can be claimed to be the oldest of its kind in Germany. The mosaic, although no longer entire, can now be seen in the church crypt. Wars, lootings and arson were a frequent occurrence, and the abbey went up in flames on several occasions (938, 1153, 1166, 1169, 1240, 1334, 1520) but was always rebuilt. On 6 May 1770 the abbey accommodated for a night the Archduchess Maria Antonia, the future Marie Antoinette, daughter of the Empress

Maria Theresia Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position '' suo jure'' (in her own right) ...

, and her numerous retinue, on her way from

Schloss Schönbrunn ''Schloss'' (; pl. ''Schlösser''), formerly written ''Schloß'', is the German term for a building similar to a château, palace, or manor house. Related terms appear in several Germanic languages. In the Scandinavian languages, the cognate ...

Kehl Kehl (; gsw, label= Low Alemannic, Kaal) is a town in southwestern Germany in the Ortenaukreis, Baden-Württemberg. It is on the river Rhine, directly opposite the French city of Strasbourg, with which it shares some municipal servicesfor exa ...

, where on 7 May she was to be received by her future court before marrying the future

Louis XVI of France Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

Secularisation In sociology, secularization (or secularisation) is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions. The ''secularization thesis'' expresses the ...

in 1803 meant the end of the abbey, which was dissolved in 1806. The majority of the buildings were torn down or removed: the stones were used by the local population as a cheap building material. Between 1972 and 1975 the archaeologist Karl List carried out investigations in the basement of the church. The remains of various predecessor buildings were preserved in a part of the church basement after the excavations were concluded and are open to the public.

References

*Galioto, Luisa, 2004. ''Die Abtei Schuttern: vom Stützpunkt zur monastischen Durchdringung der Ortenau zum repräsentativen und kulturellen Zentrum'' in ''Die Ortenau'' 84, 2004, pp. 253-266. *Lacroix, Dr, Emil / Niester, Dr. Heinrich, 1959 edn. ''Kunstwanderungen in Baden'', p. 190. Stuttgart: Chr. Belser Verlag.

External links

*
Benedictine Abbey of Schuttern
in the ''Abbeys of Baden-Württemberg'' database of the State Archives of Baden-Württemberg *
Historischer Verein Schuttern
*

{{Authority control Benedictine monasteries in Germany Monasteries in Baden-Württemberg 1806 disestablishments in the Holy Roman Empire Christian monasteries established in the 7th century Irish monastic foundations in continental Europe Buildings and structures in Ortenaukreis Churches completed in 603 7th-century churches in Germany