Töss Monastery was a community of Dominican

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

s located in the former Swiss city of

Töss Töss is a district in the Swiss city of Winterthur. It is district number 4. The district comprises the quarters Schlosstal, Dättnau, Eichliacker and Rossberg. It is named after the river Töss which flows through the district. In the Middle ...

, now a part of

Winterthur , neighboring_municipalities = Brütten, Dinhard, Elsau, Hettlingen, Illnau-Effretikon, Kyburg, Lindau, Neftenbach, Oberembrach, Pfungen, Rickenbach, Schlatt, Seuzach, Wiesendangen, Zell , twintowns = Hall in Tirol (Austria ...

. Nothing of the original buildings exists today. Construction of the monastery began in 1233, near the bridge at the Töss River by command of

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Hartmann IV of Kyburg. In December of the same year, the monastery was confirmed by

Bishop 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 c ...

Heinrich von Tanne of Constance. In 1235

Pope Gregory IX Pope Gregory IX ( la, Gregorius IX; born Ugolino di Conti; c. 1145 or before 1170 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decre ...

placed it under the authority of the

Predigerkloster The Predigerkloster was a monastery of the Dominican Order, established around 1234 and abolished in 1524, in the imperial city of Zürich, Switzerland. Its church, the Predigerkirche, is one of the four main churches in Zürich, and was first bu ...

Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich ...

. Initially the nuns followed the Rule of St. Augustine but in 1245 it became a Dominican monastery. Over the following centuries, the monastery grew until it owned properties or incomes in about 130 communities around the Canton of Zürich. It was originally part of the Kyburg

Herrschaft The German term ''Herrschaft'' (plural: ''Herrschaften'') covers a broad semantic field and only the context will tell whether it means, "rule", "power", "dominion", "authority", "territory" or "lordship". In its most abstract sense, it refers ...

until 1264. It then passed to the Habsburgs until 1424, when the city of Zürich took over. Zürich held the monastery for less than two decades before it passed back to the Habsburgs in 1442. Finally, in 1452, the monastery returned to Zürich. The monastery residence hall was begun in 1238 and finished in 1271. The monastery church was dedicated in 1240 by the Bishop of Constance. A new main

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

and two side altars were dedicated in 1325, probably after the church was enlarged. The

cloister A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a ...

was expanded and decorated with murals between 1468 and 1491. The 15th century paintings were redone in 1613 and were copied in 1851 before it was demolished. In the 14th century there were around 100 nuns at Töss. The Swiss mystic Elsbeth Stagel and the

Blessed Blessed may refer to: * The state of having received a blessing * Blessed, a title assigned by the Roman Catholic Church to someone who has been beatified Film and television * ''Blessed'' (2004 film), a 2004 motion picture about a supernatural ...

Elizabeth of Hungary Elizabeth of Hungary (german: Heilige Elisabeth von Thüringen, hu, Árpád-házi Szent Erzsébet, sk, Svätá Alžbeta Uhorská; 7 July 1207 – 17 November 1231), also known as Saint Elizabeth of Thuringia, or Saint Elisabeth of Thuringia, ...

, the last member of the

House of Árpád A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

, were both nuns of the monastery. Stagel was the prioress of Töss and may have written parts of the ''Lives of the Nuns of Töss'', a sister-book containing biographies of 39 nuns and providing a comprehensive picture of mysticism at Töss. This monastic community had a significant influence on Zurich during the Middle Ages but the influence diminished after the start of the

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

Reformation in Switzerland The Protestant Reformation in Switzerland was promoted initially by Huldrych Zwingli, who gained the support of the magistrate, Mark Reust, and the population of Zürich in the 1520s. It led to significant changes in civil life and state matte ...

about 1520. The monastery was closed soon thereafter, and the complex deteriorated as the centuries passed. The monastery's estates were nationalized and used to support the needy in the Canton and after 1606 a local school. After the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

, there were not sufficient resources to conserve the complex and the site was sold to Johan Jacob Rieter, who started

Rieter Rieter is a producer of textile machinery based in Winterthur, Switzerland. History Founded in 1795 by Johann Jacob Rieter (1762–1826), the company initially produced textile products. In 1806, as Napoleon imposed the Continental Blockade to ...

Textile there. The former monastery church was demolished at the beginning of the 20th century. File:Kloster Töss Stagel.jpg, Elsbeth Stagel in the ''Lives of the Nuns of Töss'' File:Kloster Töss Kreuzgang3.jpg, Reproductions of murals from the cloister, by Johann Conrad Werdmüller File:Kloster Töss Vogelperspektive.jpg, Monastery buildings in 1838 File:Kloster Töss Pforte.jpg, Front gate of the monastery

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toss Monastery Winterthur Christian monasteries established in the 13th century Dominican monasteries of nuns Christian monasteries in Switzerland 1525 disestablishments in Europe 16th-century disestablishments in the Old Swiss Confederacy