Roggenburg Abbey (Kloster Roggenburg or Reichsstift Roggenburg) is a Premonstratensian

canonry A canon (from the Latin , itself derived from the Greek , , "relating to a rule", "regular") is a member of certain bodies in subject to an ecclesiastical rule. Originally, a canon was a cleric living with others in a clergy house or, later, i ...

in Roggenburg near

Neu-Ulm Neu-Ulm (Swabian: ''Nej-Ulm'') is the capital of the Neu-Ulm district and a town in Swabia, Bavaria. Neighbouring towns include Ulm, Senden, Pfaffenhofen an der Roth, Holzheim, Nersingen and Elchingen. The population is 58,978 (31 December ...

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

, in operation between 1126 and 1802, and again from its re-foundation in 1986. Since 1992 it has been a dependent priory of

Windberg Abbey Windberg Abbey (german: Kloster Windberg) is a Premonstratensian monastery in Windberg in Lower Bavaria, Germany. History First foundation Windberg Abbey was founded by Count Albert I of Bogen with the assistance of Bishop Otto of Bamberg on ...

Lower Bavaria Lower Bavaria (german: Niederbayern, Bavarian: ''Niedabayern'') is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany, located in the east of the state. Geography Lower Bavaria is subdivided into two regions () – Landshut and Donau- ...

(Roggenburg Priory). The monastery manages a training centre and a museum, and is widely known for its almost unchanged Baroque building and the organ concerts that are held in the church. For over three centuries, Roggenburg was one of the 40-odd self-ruling imperial abbeys of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

and, as such, was a virtually independent state. Its abbot had seat and voice at the Imperial Diet where he sat on the Bench of the Prelates of Swabia. At the time of the abbey's dissolution in 1802, its territory covered 112 square kilometers and it had 3,300-5,000 subjects.

History

First foundation

In 1126 Count Bertold of Bibereck, together with his wife and his two brothers, Konrad,

Bishop of Chur The Bishop of Chur (German: ''Bischof von Chur'') is the ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Chur, Grisons, Switzerland (Latin: ''Dioecesis Curiensis'').canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

in the

diocese of Augsburg Diocese of Augsburg is a diocese of the Catholic Church in Germany. The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Munich.Ursberg Abbey nearby and built the first monastery church. In 1444 the foundation was raised to the status of an abbey. The first description of Roggenburg Abbey as ''

reichsunmittelbar Imperial immediacy (german: Reichsfreiheit or ') was a privileged constitutional and political status rooted in German feudal law under which the Imperial estates of the Holy Roman Empire such as Imperial cities, prince-bishoprics and secular prin ...

'' dates from 1482/5; the legal consolidation of this status took place in tiny stages over the first half of the 16th century. In the 18th century the abbey and its dependent churches were rebuilt in the Baroque style, as they are today. The conventual buildings were rebuilt in 1732. Construction of a new church began in 1752, and lasted six years. In 1802 the monastery was occupied by Bavarian troops during the

secularisation In sociology, secularization (or secularisation) is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions. The ''secularization thesis'' expresses the ...

of Bavaria, dissolved, and the last abbot, Thaddäus Aigler, stripped of his office.

After dissolution

The abbey church became a parish church. The rest of the abbey's property passed into private ownership, except for the buildings, which were taken over by the Bavarian government. Until 1862 a district court and rent office were accommodated here. Later the buildings were used for a variety of functions, including as a school, a forestry office and a parochial office.

Second foundation

In 1986 Premonstratensians again occupied the premises. On 8 November 1992 the new community was raised to the status of an independent priory of

. In the interval there had arisen a training centre for family, environment and culture, a museum and a centre for art and culture, as well as gastronomical facilities. In addition, the monastery shop sells devotional items, the monastery's own wine and various other products of their own manufacture.

Abbey church

The Baroque abbey church was built between 1752 and 1758 to plans by Simpert Kraemer in the shape of a cross. The

hall church A hall church is a church with a nave and aisles of approximately equal height, often united under a single immense roof. The term was invented in the mid-19th century by Wilhelm Lübke, a pioneering German art historian. In contrast to an archi ...

, with extended transept and double towers, is 70 metres long, 35 metres across and has an inside height, to the highest point, of 28 metres. Today it is used as the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

parish church of the Ascension of the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

Organ

The great Baroque organ by the

Ulm Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...

organ builder Georg Friedrich Schmahl of 1761 was completely replaced in 1905 by a Late Romantic construction by the Gebrüder Hindelang of Ebenhofen. This was replaced in its turn in 1955–56, with the reuse of some registers, by an instrument by the Familie Nenninger. In 1984–86 it was extensively rebuilt by Gerhard Schmid of

Kaufbeuren Kaufbeuren (; Bavarian: ''Kaufbeiren'') is an independent town in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Swabia, Bavaria. The town is an enclave within the district of Ostallgäu. Districts Kaufbeuren consists of nine districts: * Kaufbeuren (town core i ...

. The appearance of the organ by Schmahl was preserved throughout all rebuildings. * ''Couplers:'' I/Ped. II/Ped., III/Ped., III/Ped. 4’, IV/Ped., V/Ped., III/I, I/II, III/II, III/II 16’, IV/II, V/II, V/III, IV/III, III / III 16’

References

Bibliography

* Groll, Elisabeth, 1944: ''Das Prämonstratenserstift Roggenburg im Beginn der Neuzeit (1450–1600)''. Augsburg (also a dissertation, University of Munich 1939) *Hadry, Sarah: ''Klosterregiment am Ende des Mittelalters: Die „Innenpolitik“ des Reichsstifts Roggenburg''. In: Jahrbuch des Historischen Vereins Dillingen an der Donau, 106. Jahrgang 2005, pp. 57–86 *Probst, Michael, c. 1989: ''Carmen epicum de morte Sifridi'' (Latin/German edition as: ''Kloster Roggenburg. Das Lied seiner Gründung und seiner Stifterfamilie''. Translated by Hans Wieland. Konrad: Weissenhorn. ) *Ratte, Franz Josef, 1990: ''Die Orgel im Prämonstratenserkloster Roggenburg und ihr Erbauer Georg Friedrich Schmahl''. In: Orgelkunst und Orgelforschung, pp. 113–127 *Stankowski, Martin, 2003: ''Land-Kloster — Kloster-Landschaft 1650–1800. Über das Bauen in Roggenburg und in Ost- und Oberschwaben''. Fink: Lindenberg. *Tuscher, Franz, 1991: ''Das Reichsstift Roggenburg im 18. Jahrhundert''. 2nd, improved edition. Konrad: Weissenhorn.

External links

*
Official website
*
Klöster in Bayern
{{Authority control Monasteries in Bavaria Premonstratensian monasteries in Germany 1120s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1126 establishments in Europe Christian organizations established in 1986 Religious organizations established in the 1120s Christian monasteries established in the 12th century 20th-century Christian monasteries Neu-Ulm (district) 1986 establishments in West Germany Imperial abbeys disestablished in 1802–03