Wonnenstein Friary or Mary's Rose Garden Wonnenstein is a
monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
of Sisters of the
Third Order of Saint Francis
The Third Order of Saint Francis is a third order in the Franciscan tradition of Christianity, founded by the medieval Catholic Church in Italy, Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi.
The preaching of Francis and his disciples caused many ma ...
Appenzell Ausserrhoden
Appenzell Ausserrhoden (; in English sometimes Appenzell Outer Rhodes) (german: Kanton Appenzell Ausserrhoden; rm, Chantun Appenzell Dadora; french: Canton d'Appenzell Rhodes-Extérieures; it, Canton Appenzello Esterno) is one of the 26 canton ...
in
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. While it is located in Appenzell Ausserrhoden, the buildings and grounds are a small
exclave
An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...
of the canton of
Appenzell Innerrhoden
Appenzell Innerrhoden (; in English sometimes Appenzell Inner-Rhodes) (german: Kanton Appenzell Innerrhoden rm, Chantun Appenzell Dadens; french: Canton d'Appenzell Rhodes-Intérieures; it, Canton Appenzello Interno) is one of the 26 cantons ...
.
History
In 1381 Kuno von Stoffeln, the Abbot of Saint Gallen, granted the land where the friary now stands to several
nuns
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 ...
who lived in the area. By the 15th century they were living under the
Rule of Saint Francis
Francis of Assisi founded three orders and gave each of them a special rule. Here, only the rule of the first order is discussed, i.e., that of the Order of Friars Minor.
Origin and contents of the rule
Origin
Whether St. Francis wrote several ...
. During the
Protestant 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 ...
the residents left the monastery. In 1596 Anna Wäspi von Jonschwil was sent from Pfanneregg monastery by
Wattwil
Wattwil is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Toggenburg in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. On 1 January 2013 the municipality of Krinau merged into Wattwil.Capuchin friary. In 1597 the
Canton of Appenzell
Appenzell is a historic canton in the northeast of Switzerland, and entirely surrounded by the canton of St. Gallen.
Appenzell became independent of the Abbey of Saint Gall in 1403 and entered a league with the Old Swiss Confederacy in 1411, ...
split into the catholic Appenzell Innerrhoden and the protestant Appenzell Ausserrhoden half-cantons. Because Wonnestein was located in the town of Teufen which joined the protestant Ausserrhoden, ownership of the friary became a source of conflict. In 1870 the federal government declared that the land within the walls of Wonnenstein and
Grimmenstein
Grimmenstein is a town in the district of Neunkirchen in the Austrian state of Lower Austria
Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in th ...
would be part of Appenzell Innerrhoden and everything outside the walls would be Appenzell Ausserrhoden.
Beginning in 1634 the sisters had a permanent resident
confessor
Confessor is a title used within Christianity in several ways.
Confessor of the Faith
Its oldest use is to indicate a saint who has suffered persecution and torture for the faith but not to the point of death.Reichenau Abbey
Reichenau Abbey was a Benedictine Order, Benedictine monastery on Reichenau Island (known in Latin as Augia Dives). It was founded in 724 by the itinerant Saint Pirmin, who is said to have fled Spain ahead of the Moorish invaders, with patronage ...
and then from
Fischingen Abbey
Fischingen Abbey (Kloster Fischingen), now Fischingen Priory, is a Benedictine monastery situated in Fischingen in the Canton of Thurgau, Switzerland, on the upper reaches of the Murg, a tributary of the Thur. It was founded in 1138, dissolved ...
. Starting in 1890 the confessor came from
Engelberg Abbey
Engelberg Abbey (german: Kloster Engelberg) is a Benedictine monastery in Engelberg, Canton of Obwalden, Switzerland. It was formerly in the Diocese of Constance, but is now in the Diocese of Chur. It is dedicated to Our Lady of the Angels and ...
. The friary had 22 residents in 1616 and in 1938 it housed 47. In 2000 that number had dropped to 11. Following the death in January 2020 of Gabriela Hug there were only two residents left at Wonnenstein.