Kleinlützel Priory was a small religious house at Kleinlützel, a community in the district of Thierstein in the

Canton of Solothurn The canton of Solothurn or canton of Soleure (; ; ; ) is a Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Switzerland. It is located in the northwest of Switzerland. The capital is Solothurn. History The village of ''Salodurum'' was founded in the time of t ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. During the course of its history it housed several different religious communities.

History

The early history of the priory is poorly documented. In about 1136-1138 a small women's religious community, the ''Minor Lucella'', was established.near the present "Klösterli" There is no firm evidence that this was a community of Cistercian nuns, but the similarity of names strongly suggests that it was a foundation or dependency of the

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

Lützel Abbey Lucelle Abbey or Lützel Abbey (; ) was a Cistercian monastery in the present village of Lucelle, in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace, France, but located right on the Swiss border. The name of the original foundation was ''Lucis cella'', the ...

(''Lucella''), which clearly had a connection with the place. The establishment was transferred in 1264 to the

Canons Regular The Canons Regular of St. Augustine are Catholic priests who live in community under a rule ( and κανών, ''kanon'', in Greek) and are generally organised into Religious order (Catholic), religious orders, differing from both Secular clergy, ...

of the Priory of St. Leonhard in

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

.Helvetia Sacra
/ref> In 1486 it became a house of

Canonesses Regular A canoness is a member of a religious community of women, historically a stable community dedicated to the celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours in a particular church. The name corresponds to a canon, the male equivalent, and both roles share a ...

, who relocated in 1494 or 1495 to Schwarzenthann, where they remained until their community was suppressed in 1530. The buildings at Kleinlützel suffered serious damage during the

Swabian War The Swabian War of 1499 ( (spelling depending on dialect), called or ("Swiss War") in Germany and ("War of the Engadin" in Austria) was the last major armed conflict between the Old Swiss Confederacy and the House of Habsburg. What had begun ...

(1499) and were destroyed in 1525 during the wars of the peasants. Lützel Abbey seems to have taken possession of the buildings in 1505, and after 1525 to have rebuilt at least some of them, including the chapel which still stands, along with some of the service buildings. The monks of the abbey occupied the priory until 1777, when they abandoned it.

Notes

Sources and external links

Kleinlützel municipal website

References

* Brunner, Johann, 1972. ''Kleinlützel''. Breitenbach. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kleinlutzel Priory Cistercian nunneries in Switzerland Augustinian monasteries in Switzerland Monasteries of Canonesses Regular Christian monasteries established in the 1130s Buildings and structures in the canton of Solothurn 18th-century disestablishments in Switzerland 1130s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire