All Saints' Abbey () was a

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 in the Catholic Chur ...

monastery near

Oppenau Oppenau () is a city located in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It has a population of 4,700 inhabitants. Geography Oppenau is situated in the Rench valley in the Black Forest. The nearest major cities are Offenburg and Freudenstadt. ...

in the

Black Forest The Black Forest ( ) is a large forested mountain range in the States of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is th ...

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, 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 i ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It is located at 620 metres above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

in the upper valley of the Lierbach.

History

According to the foundation legend, around 1192, Duchess Uta of Schauenburg wished to build a monastery in memory of her late husband,

Welf VI Welf VI (111515 December 1191) was the margrave of Tuscany (1152–1162) and duke of Spoleto (1152–1162), the third son of Henry IX, Duke of Bavaria, and a member of the illustrious family of the Welf (also known as the House of Guelph). ...

. To decide on its location she tied a bag of gold to a donkey and set it to roam. At length the donkey threw off the bag at a remote and inaccessible spot where Uta constructed a wooden chapel, which was gradually extended to a Premonstratensian monastery. In 1196, the foundation charter was issued by Duchess Uta. In 1200,

Philip of Swabia Philip of Swabia (February/March 1177 – 21 June 1208), styled Philip II in his charters, was a member of the House of Hohenstaufen and King of Germany from 1198 until his assassination. The death of Philip's older brother Henry VI, Holy Roman E ...

recognised the foundation, and in 1204

Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III (; born Lotario dei Conti di Segni; 22 February 1161 – 16 July 1216) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 until his death on 16 July 1216. Pope Innocent was one of the most power ...

confirmed it. The first abbot was Gerung.Klöster in Baden-Württemberg: Prämonstratenserabtei Allerheiligen - Geschichte
/ref> In 1248, canons from All Saints were sent to

Lorsch Abbey Lorsch Abbey, otherwise the Imperial Abbey of Lorsch (; or ''Laurissa''), is a former Imperial abbey in Lorsch, Germany, about east of Worms, Germany, Worms. It was one of the most important monasteries of the Carolingian Empire. Even in its ru ...

to turn it into a Premonstratensian monastery; Lorsch was counted as a daughter house of All Saints. Another daughter house was set up at

Haguenau Haguenau (; or ; ; historical ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Bas-Rhin Département in France, department of France, of which it is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture. It is second in size in the Bas-Rhin only to Strasbourg ...

. Through various gifts and livings, including at Oberkirch and

, the monastery grew rapidly and became one of the major religious, cultural and political centres of the region. A large fire destroyed the monastery in 1470. In 1657, it was raised to the status of "abbey" by the general chapter of the

Premonstratensian Order 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 in the Catholic Church ...

. In the 18th century, it was at the high point of its power. By November 1802, however, Margrave Karl Friedrich of Baden dissolved the abbey in the course of

secularisation In sociology, secularization () is a multilayered concept that generally denotes "a transition from a religious to a more worldly level." There are many types of secularization and most do not lead to atheism or irreligion, nor are they automatica ...

, and took all its possessions. In 1804, a last fire started when a bolt of lightning struck the church tower, which caused irreversible destruction. In 1816 the ruins were sold for demolition and used as a quarry for stone and scrap for churches in the valleys of the Rench and the Acher. The altars and saints' figures are to be found in numerous local churches, for example in Bad Peterstal, Oppenau, Ottenhöfen and

Achern Achern (; ) is a city in Western Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located approximately 18 km southwest of Baden-Baden and 19 km northeast of Offenburg. Achern is the fourth largest town in the district of Ortenau (Ortenaukreis), aft ...

. Three statues from All Saints' Abbey are above the gateway of the prince's chapel at Lichtenthal Abbey, representing

Saint Helena Saint Helena (, ) is one of the three constituent parts of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, a remote British overseas territory. Saint Helena is a volcanic and tropical island, located in the South Atlantic Ocean, some 1,874 km ...

, Uta of Schauenburg and Gerung. Not until the end of the 19th century, when tourism finally reached the Lierbach valley and its waterfalls, were any steps taken to secure what was left of the ruins, which were then put into the condition they are in today. On a rise above the ruins of the monastery complex is a war memorial for the fallen and deceased members of the Black Forest Society (''Schwarzwaldverein''), raised in 1925 by C.M. Meckel and A. Rickert. In 1947 the Charitable Union (''Caritasverband'') of

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

acquired the area round about the monastery ruins and built a convalescent home for children there. Since 1978 this has been used as a country holiday centre for schools. In 1960 the Bishop of Mainz built a chapel here that, like the abbey church, is dedicated to the honour of God and All Saints. Also, now on the site are a café and a small museum. Below the ruins are the All Saints' Waterfalls (''"Allerheiligen-Wasserfälle"'').Schwarzwald-Tourismus: Allerheiligen Wasserfälle
/ref>

References

External links

Schlösser-Magazin article

{{DEFAULTSORT:All Saints' Abbey (Baden-Wurttemberg) Premonstratensian monasteries in Germany Monasteries in Baden-Württemberg Christian monasteries established in the 1190s 1190s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1192 establishments in Europe 1802 disestablishments in the Holy Roman Empire Ruined abbeys and monasteries Church ruins in Germany