Wirberg is a former monastery complex in the district of Giessen. It is located on the eastern edge of the municipality of

Reiskirchen Reiskirchen () is a municipality in the district of Gießen, in Hesse, Germany and is located 11 km east of Gießen Giessen, spelled Gießen in German (), is a town in the German state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of both the distric ...

between

Saasen Saasen (; ) is a village in the municipality of Reiskirchen in Central Hesse, Germany. It includes the hamlets of Bollnbach, Veitsberg and Wirberg, a former castle. The village is located on the River Wieseck, east of the main town of Reiskirche ...

and Göbelnrod, and about eight miles north-west of Grünberg. The church was once the Protestant Church serving the Grünberg districts of

Göbelnrod Göbelnrod is a village and urban district of Grünberg in the district of Gießen, in Hesse, Germany. Geography Göbelnrod is situated 2 km west of Grünberg and 20 km east of Gießen. Sights * Wirberg Wirberg is a former mona ...

, Beltershain, Harbach, Weitershain and Reinhardshain. Today, it is used as a church on special occasions.

History

The name "Wirberg" comes from ''Wereberch'', meaning "fortified hill". There was a fortified castle there at the beginning of the 12th century. The

Premonstratensian The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular of the Catholic Church ...

monastery was founded as a

double monastery A double monastery (also dual monastery or double house) is a monastery combining separate communities of monks and of nuns, joined in one institution to share one church and other facilities. The practice is believed to have started in the East a ...

between 1134 and 1148 by the Premonstratensian

Otto von Cappenberg Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', '' Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded f ...

, who was provost of the Cappenberg monastery until his death in 1171. Cappenberg was founded as a

. His brother, Godfrey of Cappenberg, had already founded Ilbenstadt Monastery. The female founder was Aurelia, the daughter of Manegold von Wirberg, who brought her inheritance with her as a dowry. The patron saints of the monastery were the Virgin Mary and St. Martin. Toward the end of the 13th century, the double monastery became just a nunnery, and in 1286 the sisters switched to the Order of Augustinian

Canoness Canoness is a member of a religious community of women living a simple life. Many communities observe the monastic Rule of St. Augustine. The name corresponds to the male equivalent, a canon. The origin and Rule are common to both. As with the ca ...

es. During 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 ...

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...

, the monastery was dissolved in 1527 and its assets were transferred to the

University of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg (german: Philipps-Universität Marburg) was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Protestant university in the wor ...

. During the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

, in 1635, the rectory was destroyed and the church was damaged. After the end of the war, in 1658, it was rebuilt, and in 1690 a new rectory was built. In 1716, the tower of the church collapsed and destroyed the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

. The present church was built on the site of the ruins in 1753-1754 and consecrated in 1755. It is still used for weddings and baptisms, and the restored buildings are now used as a recreation centre for youth groups of the

Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau The Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau (german: Evangelische Kirche in Hessen und Nassau, EKHN) is a United Protestant church body in the German states of Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate. There is no bishop and therefore no cathedral. One of it ...

In the summer, the meadows in front of the monastery are used as a camp site for youth groups, boy scouts and girl guides. File:2002-06 Wirberg.jpg, Aerial photograph of Wirberg, June 2002 File:2008-05 Wirberg.jpg, Wirberg, May 2008

Protestant pastors at Wirberg

16th century

* Johannes Wagner, 1527 to c. 1531 * Emmericus, 1535 * Sebastian Heckersdorf c. 1550 to 1569 * Konrad Corvinus, 1569 to 1574 * Johannes Armbroster, 1574 to 1589 * Heinrich Ruppersberg, 1589 to 1619

17th century

* Johannes Wetzelius, 1619 to 1635 * Johannes Staudinger, 1635 * Johannes Braun, 1635 to c. 1677 * Kaspar Reitz, 1651 to 1712 first assistant, then pastor

18th century

* Johann Philipp Eckhard, 1712 to 1715 * Johannes Heß, 1715 to 1727 * Martin Baldasar Fischer, 1727 to 1742 * Johannes Jeremias Nebel, 1742 to 1771 * Jakob Heinrich Wilhelm Stipp, 1772 to 1784 * Johann Daniel Bernbeck, 1784 to 1816

19th century

* Ernst Friedrich Steinberger, 1816 to 1832 * Johann Wilhelm Röhrig, 1835 to 1850 * Friedrich August Herzberger, 1850 to 1855 * Hermann Hüffel, 1856 to 1875 * Georg Sehrt, 1877 to 1887 * Peter Ahlheim, 1891 to 1896 * Gustav Biedenkopf, 1897 to 1905

20th century

* Ernst Siebeck, 1906 to 1910 * Heinrich Blank, 1911 to 1921 * Otto Wilhelm Döll, 1921 to 1933 * Friedrich Wilhelm Christian Volz, 1933 to 1946 * Heinrich Wilhelm Schäfer, 1946 to 1952 * Ruprecht Erich Helmut Albrecht Spangenberg, 1952 to 1954 * Theo Gustav Weygandt, 1954 to 1960 * Walter Müller, 1960 to 1971 * Karl-Heinz Westenberger, 1971 to 1983 * Rolf Schmidt, seit 1986

Bibliography

* * * * .

External links

* * {{Coord, 50.60464, N, 8.906621, E, display=title Monasteries in Hesse Christian monasteries established in the 12th century Premonstratensian monasteries in Germany Premonstratensian nunneries Double monasteries