The Augustinian Monastery of Freiburg is a former

Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...

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 ...

located in the Salzstraße, in the historic center of

Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population o ...

. From 1278 to 1783, Augustinian

monks A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedicat ...

lived in the buildings. It has a preserved

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

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 ...

, and has housed the local art museum "

Augustinermuseum The Augustiner Museum is a museum in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany located in the former Augustinian Monastery building. It is undergoing an extensive renovation and expansion, the first phase of which ended in 2010.

History

When first built, the Augustinian monastery belonged to the German

Ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United State ...

. After the division of the province in 1299 it became part of a new province, The Rhenic Swabian Province, which included part of

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 ...

Swabia Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

, and the

Rhineland The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. Term Historically, the Rhinelands ...

up to the city of

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...

. In 1781 it changed hands again, when the Austrian government ordered four monasteries in Further Austria to form their own province (Further Austrian Province). The government forbade contact with the

Superior General A superior general or general superior is the leader or head of a religious institute in the Catholic Church and some other Christian denominations. The superior general usually holds supreme executive authority in the religious community, while t ...

of the Augustinians when the former

Prior Prior (or prioress) is an ecclesiastical title for a superior in some religious orders. The word is derived from the Latin for "earlier" or "first". Its earlier generic usage referred to any monastic superior. In abbeys, a prior would be l ...

Konstanz Konstanz (, , locally: ; also written as Constance in English) is a university city with approximately 83,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south of Germany. The city houses the University of Konstanz and was th ...

was appointed as the Director (1782).He was appointed later on appointed as the Provincial Superior (1789). Since the city of Freiburg considered the monasteries of the mendicant orders as ''their'' own, because the members of the

monastic orders Monasticism (from Ancient Greek , , from , , 'alone'), also referred to as monachism, or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic life plays an important role ...

originated from Freiburg, the monasteries were dependent on the city as well. As specified in the

German mediatization German mediatisation (; german: deutsche Mediatisierung) was the major territorial restructuring that took place between 1802 and 1814 in Germany and the surrounding region by means of the mass mediatisation and secularisation In sociology, s ...

the monastery was closed in 1803 and the buildings were put to other use: 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 ...

of the former Augustinian church was used as one of Germany´s first local theaters, which was housed there from 1823 to 1910. When the local theater opened the doors of its own building in 1910, the use of the nave no longer necessary. From 1874 on, the city stored its antiquities in the monastery, but most of the other buildings on the grounds were either neglected or were used as a school building or as an ammunition dump for the

troops A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section or platoon. Exceptions are the US Cavalry and the King's Troop Ro ...

of Baden. When Max Wingenroth was designated the new director of the museum, it was decided to house the museum in the former monastery. In the beginning it was only called the municipal museum of Freiburg, but later on, with the addition of the city´s art collection, it became known as the Augustiner Museum. This way, one of the oldest and finest buildings of the city was preserved. Since the building complex is one of the last from the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

there is still a large amount of historical structure and every now and then pieces dating from the Gothic era are found. Discoveries in the basement of the museum suggest that there were earlier settlements in the area. On the original site seven buildings were destroyed to build the monastery at the beginning of the 14th century and only one building was retained, it is likely that there was a monastery there before today´s was built. Augustinermuseum Eingang01

Building history

In 1278, Count Egino II authorized the construction of the monastery along with a church in the area between the Salzstraße and the city walls. The deed of foundation, dated December 6, shows that the Augustinian monks were already resident in Freiburg. In 1299, the

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 ca ...

of Strassburg,

Conrad de Lichtenberg Conrad of Lichtenberg (german: Konrad von Lichtenberg; french: Conrad de Lichtenberg; 1240 – 1 August 1299) was a bishop of Strasbourg in the 13th century. Lichtenberg was born to a wealthy family and entered the clergy at the age of 13. He ...

, consecrated the Augustinian church. The construction of the monastery was started later at the beginning of the 14th century. Because of a delivery note from 1332 it is known that

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

from the nearby

Lorettoberg The Lorettoberg, also known as ''Josephsbergle'' in Freiburg, is a mountain ridge in the South-West of the Wiehre district in the city of Freiburg im Breisgau in Germany. The mountain, with its elevation of above sea level, is wooded at its pea ...

was used for the construction. Renovations and newly constructed buildings from the 17th and 18th century in the

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

style, as well as more modifications in the 20th century, changed the original plan of the grounds. For example, in 1706 the ceiling of the

was raised and 10 new oval windows were added. As a further part of the modification two new

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

s were installed and the original monastery along with the

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...

were renovated. In 1784, Herman von Greiffenegg ordered eight Augustinian padres to move to the

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

friary on behalf of

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

Joseph II. They had to take over the responsibility of the newly founded second parish St.Martin. On the other hand, the

friars who originally lived in the Franciscan monastery moved to the Augustinian. Further renovations were started in 2006, which changed the outer appearance of the buildings again. A new entrance with a foyer was added to the west front towards the Augustinerplatz and columns were added to the former nave. Also a gallery was added that goes all around. The basement and attic were reconstructed and used as exhibition rooms. This renovation was finished in 2010.

Notable former members

Some well known members of the monastic order in Freiburg were: * Tilmann Limperger (*1485-†1490)

in Freiburg, provincial superior,

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

and repeated dean of the

University A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

. In 1498 he became the

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Tripolis and the

suffragan bishop A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdiction ...

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

. He preached the first

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 ...

sermon in the Basel Minster in 1529. * Engelbert Klüpfel (*1733 - †1811), a student from 1754 to 1756, dogmatic theology professor at the

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially german: Uni Freiburg), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (german: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisg ...

* Thomas Zeni (1707), plasterer and architect * Thomas Zipfeli, in 1787 he became the

and

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

at St.Martin constructed a city map of Freiburg

Research

When in 1982 an archaeological examination of the latrine was performed, glass, pottery, wood, leather and textiles were found. Researchers dated them back to the late 13th to the 15th century. The finds are important examples of the handcraft of earlier times. The leather discoveries give a good impression of the monastery

shoemaking Shoemaking is the process of making footwear. Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand, often by groups of shoemakers, or cobblers (also known as '' cordwainers''). In the 18th century, dozens or even hundreds of masters, journeymen ...

, the glass and pottery show what kind of tableware the monastery owned, and the tools made of wood were still in good condition. Furthermore, the discoveries give an impression of the waste disposal of the time. The insights were documented in the magazine published by the group for protection of monuments

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 ...

References

Bibliography

Van Uffelen, Chris. Contemporary Museums - Architecture, History, Collections, Braun Publishing, 2010, , pages 248-251.

External links

Augustiner Museum
* http://www.badische-zeitung.de/augustinermuseum-freiburg * http://www.badische-zeitung.de/kultur-sonstige/muensterfiguren-in-der-skulpturenhalle--28368093.html {{coord, 47.9939, N, 7.8525, E, source:wikidata, display=title, format=dms Augustinian monasteries in Germany Baroque architecture in Germany Buildings and structures in Freiburg im Breisgau Augustinian churches in Germany Baroque monasteries