Wettingen Abbey (Kloster Wettingen) was a

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 in

Wettingen Wettingen is a residential community in the district of Baden in the Swiss canton of Aargau. With a population about 20,000, Wettingen is the second-largest municipality in the canton. Geography Wettingen is located on the right bank of the Li ...

in the

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

canton of

Aargau Aargau, more formally the Canton of Aargau (german: Kanton Aargau; rm, Chantun Argovia; french: Canton d'Argovie; it, Canton Argovia), is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven districts and its capita ...

. It was founded in 1227 and dissolved during the secularisation of 1841, but re-founded at

Mehrerau Wettingen-Mehrerau Abbey is a Cistercian territorial abbey and cathedral located at Mehrerau on the outskirts of Bregenz in Vorarlberg, Austria. Wettingen-Mehrerau Abbey is directly subordinate to the Holy See and thus forms no part of the Cath ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

in 1854. The buildings are listed as a heritage site of national significance.

History

Kloster Wettingen - Klosterkirche IMG 6713 ShiftN

Count Heinrich II of Rapperswil bought lands in Wettingen sometime after 1220, and gave it the name Wettingen, believed to be named after his wife's family von

Wetterau The Wetterau is a fertile undulating tract, watered by the Wetter, a tributary of the Nidda River, in the western German state of Hesse, between the hilly province Oberhessen and the north-western Taunus mountains. Bettina von Arnim writes of We ...

. He had married in 1220 to Mechtidis von Wetter, her brother was Count Lutold I von Wetter. And as well as the

advowson Advowson () or patronage is the right in English law of a patron (avowee) to present to the diocesan bishop (or in some cases the ordinary if not the same person) a nominee for appointment to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice or church living, ...

of the village church. After being miraculously saved from shipwreck during the

crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

, he gave his possessions in Wettingen to

Salem Abbey 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, Germany. The buildings are now owned by the State of Baden-Württemberg and a ...

, a Cistercian house in the north of the region around the

Bodensee Lake Constance (german: Bodensee, ) refers to three bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Lake ...

. The piece of land for the construction of the new buildings was given by the nunnery at Schänis. Eberhard of Rohrdorf, abbot of Salem, dispatched the twelve monks necessary for a new foundation and some

lay-brothers Lay brother is a largely extinct term referring to religious brother, religious brothers, particularly in the Catholic Church, who focused upon manual service and secular matters, and were distinguished from choir monk, choir monks or friar, friars ...

under Konrad, the abbot-designate, previously Eberhard's deputy. On 14 October 1227 the monks began building the monastery, called ''Stella Maris'' (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

: ''"Star of the sea"''). In memory of their generous founder they also adopted the motto "Non mergor" (

for "I do not sink"). From the beginning the abbey was able to add to its possessions: in

Uri Uri may refer to: Places * Canton of Uri, a canton in Switzerland * Úri, a village and commune in Hungary * Uri, Iran, a village in East Azerbaijan Province * Uri, Jammu and Kashmir, a town in India * Uri (island), an island off Malakula Islan ...

, in

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

, in

Riehen Riehen (Swiss German: ''Rieche'') is a municipality in the canton of Basel-Stadt in Switzerland. Together with the city of Basel and Bettingen, Riehen is one of three municipalities in the canton. Riehen hosts the Fondation Beyeler (a privately ...

and above all in the valley of the

Limmat The Limmat is a river in Switzerland. The river commences at the outfall of Lake Zurich, in the southern part of the city of Zurich. From Zurich it flows in a northwesterly direction, after 35 km reaching the river Aare. The confluenc ...

in the area round Wettingen. In the

Limmat valley The Limmat Valley (German: ''Limmattal'') is a river valley and a region in the cantons of Zürich and Aargau in Switzerland. Geography The Limmat () is a long river located in the cantons of Zürich (ZH) and Aargau (AG). It is the c ...

the abbey possessed the authority of the

low justice High, middle and low justices are notions dating from Western feudalism to indicate descending degrees of judicial power to administer justice by the maximal punishment the holders could inflict upon their subjects and other dependents. Low just ...

. The ''"

Vögte During the Middle Ages, an (sometimes given as modern English: advocate; German: ; French: ) was an office-holder who was legally delegated to perform some of the secular responsibilities of a major feudal lord, or for an institution such as ...

"'' (lords protector) were the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

s until 1415, and after that the

Old Swiss Confederacy The Old Swiss Confederacy or Swiss Confederacy (German language, Modern German: ; historically , after the Swiss Reformation, Reformation also , "Confederation of the Swiss") was a loose confederation of independent small states (, German or ...

. In the early 16th century however the abbey was greatly weakened by financial difficulties. On 11 April 1507 (

Divine Mercy Sunday Divine Mercy Sunday (also known as the Feast of the Divine Mercy) is celebrated on the Second Sunday of Easter, which concludes the Octave of Easter. The feast day is observed in the Roman Rite calendar, as well as some Anglo-Catholics of the ...

) a fire destroyed parts of the monastery. The Infant Jesus of Wettingen, a painting on wood, miraculously escaped the devastating fire. In 1529 most of the monks converted to the

reformed Reform is beneficial change Reform may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine *''Reforme'' ("Reforms"), initial name of the ...

faith. After the

Second War of Kappel The Second War of Kappel (german: Zweiter Kappelerkrieg) was an armed conflict in 1531 between the Catholic and the Protestant cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy during the Reformation in Switzerland. Cause The tensions between the two part ...

of 1531 the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

towns brought about the re-catholicisation of the monastery and until 1564 nominated the abbots themselves. Under Abbot Peter Schmid (1594 to 1633) the abbey enjoyed a revival. The buildings were restored and extended. In 1604 a school of philosophy and theology was opened, and in 1671 a printing-press. During the

Toggenburg War The Toggenburg War, also known as the Second War of Villmergen or the Swiss Civil War of 1712, was a Swiss civil war during the Old Swiss Confederacy from 12 April to 11 August 1712. The Catholic "inner cantons" and the Imperial Abbey of Saint ...

of 1712 the monks were obliged to flee to central Switzerland for a period. In the turmoil 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 November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

the abbey afforded shelter to thousands of political and religious refugees from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. In 1803 the abbey came into the possession of the newly established Canton of Aargau, which initially gave assurances of its continuance, provided it maintained a school. From 1830 however the government of the canton made ever greater financial demands, until in 1834 it took over the administration of the abbey's assets, imposed a ban on the acceptance of novices and closed down the abbey school. On 13 January 1841 the cantonal parliament of Aargau decreed the dissolution of all monasteries in the Canton, which led to the troubles known as the Aargau Monastic Conflict (see :de:Aargauerklosterstreit). Shortly afterwards the monks—among them

Alberich Zwyssig Father Alberich or Alberik Zwyssig (17 November 1808 – 18 November 1854) was a Cistercian monk who composed in 1841 the Swiss Psalm, the present Swiss national anthem. Life Johann Josef Maria Zwyssig (he took the name "Alberich" later as hi ...

, composer of the Swiss national anthem, the

Swiss Psalm The "Swiss Psalm" (german: Schweizerpsalm, italic=no / "Trittst im Morgenrot daher..."; french: Cantique suisse, italic=no, ; it, Salmo svizzero, italic=no, ; rm, Psalm Svizzer, italic=no, ) is the national anthem of Switzerland. It was comp ...

—were forced to leave the abbey. The extensive abbey library was taken over by the Aargau Canton Library. After some years of wandering the monks settled, on 8 June 1854, in the secularised monastery at

Bregenz Bregenz (; gsw, label= Vorarlbergian, Breagaz ) is the capital of Vorarlberg, the westernmost state of Austria. The city lies on the east and southeast shores of Lake Constance, the third-largest freshwater lake in Central Europe, between Switze ...

in Austria, since known as

Wettingen-Mehrerau Abbey Wettingen-Mehrerau Abbey is a Cistercian territorial abbey and cathedral located at Mehrerau on the outskirts of Bregenz in Vorarlberg, Austria. Wettingen-Mehrerau Abbey is directly subordinate to the Holy See and thus forms no part of the Cath ...

. The empty buildings at Wettingen were placed at the disposal of the teachers' training college. Since 1976 they have been used by the Wettingen Canton School. Catholic services are held every week in the former abbey church, and weddings are also celebrated there.

References

External links

*Website of the present Wettingen-Mehrerau Abbe

*Wettingen Canton Schoo

Infant Jesus of Wettingen

''Chronik des Klosters Wettingen von Heinrich Murer (1588-1638)'' on e-codices.ch
{{Authority control Christian monasteries in Switzerland Cistercian monasteries in Switzerland Buildings and structures in Aargau Religious organizations established in the 1220s Cultural property of national significance in Aargau Christian monasteries established in the 13th century Catholic Church in Switzerland Churches in Aargau House of Rapperswil