Selz Abbey or Seltz Abbey (german: Kloster Selz; french: Abbaye de Seltz) is a former monastery and

Imperial abbey Princely abbeys (german: Fürstabtei, ''Fürststift'') and Imperial abbeys (german: Reichsabtei, ''Reichskloster'', ''Reichsstift'', ''Reichsgotthaus'') were religious establishments within the Holy Roman Empire which enjoyed the status of impe ...

Seltz Seltz (; ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department of the Grand Est region in north-eastern France. It is located on the Sauer river near its confluence with the Rhine, opposite the German town of Rastatt. History The former Celtic settlemen ...

, formerly Selz, in

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 ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

History

The

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monastery, dedicated to Saints

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

and

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

, was founded in about 991 by

Adelheid Adelheid is the modern Dutch and German form of the Old High German female given name Adalheidis, meaning "nobility" or "noble-ness". It may refer to the following people: * Saint Adelheid or Adelaide of Italy, (931–999), Holy Roman Empress an ...

, the second wife of

Otto I Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the oldest son of He ...

and dowager empress, later Saint Adelheid, who was buried there on 16 December 999. In January 992 it was granted royal ''tuitio'' and immunity (roughly the equivalent of the later

Imperial immediacy 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 pri ...

) by Otto III. The abbey suffered from severe floods in 1307, and was rebuilt between 1307 and 1315. The relics of Saint Adelheid, which apparently survived the floods, were moved to the church of Saint Stephen in Seltz. A daughter house of the abbey, founded at Mirmelberg in 1197, was washed away by floods in 1469. The abbey was eventually secularized in 1481 and the monks formed a college of canons operating as the chapter of the nearby St. Stephen's church (a mile away from the abbey), retaining some of the privileges of the former foundation, although not all the possessions. The chapter became

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

in 1575 and was mediatised by the

Electorate of the Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate (german: Kurpfalz) or the Palatinate (), officially the Electorate of the Palatinate (), was a state that was part of the Holy Roman Empire. The electorate had its origins under the rulership of the Counts Palatine of ...

.Übersicht über die Reichsstände
/ref> Most of the monastic buildings were quarried from the beginning of the 17th century, except for one which had been used as a reformed academy for young nobles in 1575 but was closed in 1577 because the new Elector was

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

. The Protestant chapter reverted to a canonry in 1684 after Seltz was annexed by France (in 1680) and the local population re-converted to Roman Catholicism. It was dissolved by the

bishop of Strasbourg {{Unreferenced, date=December 2009 These persons were bishop, archbishop or prince-bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Strasbourg (including historically Prince-Bishopric of Strasbourg): Bishops and prince-bishops * Amandus *Justinus ...

(with the approval of the king of France) in 1692. The parish of Seltz was dissolved during the rule of the

National Convention The National Convention (french: link=no, Convention nationale) was the parliament of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for the rest of its existence during the French Revolution, following the two-year Nationa ...

(1792–95) and the church of St. Stephen was set on fire by

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 ...

n troops after the

Battle of Seltz A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

on 23 October 1793. The church survived however and the parish was re-created in 1801 in the time of the

French Consulate The Consulate (french: Le Consulat) was the top-level Government of France from the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire on 10 November 1799 until the start of the Napoleonic Empire on 18 May 1804. By extension, the term ''The Co ...

. The church was extensively rebuilt under the rule of the German Empire (which had annexed Alsace in 1870) for the occasion of the anniversary of the death of the Empress Adelaide in 1899. The church was almost destroyed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Restoration was completed in 1958.

References

Sources

Seltz Parish website
{{Authority control Christian monasteries established in the 10th century 1481 disestablishments States and territories established in the 990s 992 establishments Electoral Palatinate Christian monasteries in Bas-Rhin Churches in Bas-Rhin Imperial abbeys Benedictine monasteries in France Burial sites of the Elder House of Welf fr:Seltz#L'abbaye (disparue) de Seltz