Schönrain Priory
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Schönrain Priory (German: Kloster Schönrain) was a house of the
Benedictine Order The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly Christian mysticism, contemplative Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), order of the Catholic Church for men and f ...
located near Lohr in the
Spessart Spessart () is a ''Mittelgebirge'', a range of low wooded mountains, in the States of Bavaria and Hesse in Germany. It is bordered by the Vogelsberg, Rhön and Odenwald. The highest elevation is the Geiersberg (Spessart), Geiersberg at 586 metre ...
, in
Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
in southern
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 ...
. Few signs of the monastic buildings are visible today. The ruins that remain mostly consist of later additions when the structure served as a temporal dwelling and foresters' lodge.


History

There is a legend that it was founded in the
Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty ( ; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Arnulfing and Pippinid c ...
period, in about 750, by
Saint Lioba Leoba, (also Lioba and Leofgyth) (c. 710 – 28 September 782) was an Anglo-Saxon Benedictine nun and is recognized as a saint. In 746 she and others left Wimborne Minster in Dorset to join her kinsman Boniface in his mission to the German people ...
, and some have argued that a few traces of architecture from that period survive. However, firm information on this place is available only from the 11th century, when the monastery, with some property to endow it, was given by Landgraf '' :de:Ludwig der Bärtige'' of
Sangerhausen Sangerhausen () is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, central Germany, capital of the district of Mansfeld-Südharz. It is situated southeast of the Harz, approx. east of Nordhausen, and west of Halle (Saale). About 26,000 people live in Sangerhausen ( ...
or his sons Berengar and Ludwig to
Hirsau Abbey Hirsau Abbey, formerly known as Hirschau Abbey, was once one of the most important Benedictine abbeys of Germany. It is located in the Hirsau borough of Calw on the northern slopes of the Black Forest mountain range, in the present-day state of ...
, reportedly after the younger Ludwig had killed Markgraf
Friedrich III Frederick III may refer to: * Frederick III, Duke of Upper Lorraine (died 1033) * Frederick III, Duke of Swabia (1122–1190) * Friedrich III, Burgrave of Nuremberg (1220–1297) * Frederick III, Duke of Lorraine (1240–1302) * Frederick III o ...
during a hunt in 1065. After being incarcerated, Ludwig escaped. He founded
Reinhardsbrunn Reinhardsbrunn is a historic complex in Friedrichroda near Gotha, in the German state of Thuringia. From its founding in 1085 to 1525, it was the site of the Benedictine house monastery of the Ludovingian Landgraves of Thuringia. Later used as ...
Abbey near
Coburg Coburg ( , ) is a Town#Germany, town located on the Itz (river), Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Ernestine duchies, Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only ...
and possibly gifted his possession at Schönrain to Hirsau. Around 1100, abbot Wilhelm von Hirsau built the monastery, from which the monks served the whole region between Lohr,
Gemünden am Main Gemünden am Main (; officially ''Gemünden a.Main'') is a town in the Main-Spessart, Main-Spessart district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany and lies roughly 40 km down the Main (river), ...
and
Karlstadt am Main Karlstadt (), also called Karlstadt am Main, is a town in the Main-Spessart in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany. It is the administrative centre of Main-Spessart (''Kreisstadt''), and has a popula ...
. In 1159, Schönrain swapped property at nearby Massenbuch for Hofstetten (today both are part of Gemünden). The local feudal lords were the
Counts of Rieneck The County of Rieneck was a comital domain within the Holy Roman Empire that lay in what is now northwestern Bavaria (in the west of Lower Franconia). It bore the same name as its original ruling family, the Counts of Rieneck, from whom the count ...
, kin of the founders, who persistently over the next centuries tried to acquire the property for themselves. They built a castle nearby to protect the priory. After a power struggle with the
Bishop of Würzburg A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...
, they had to demolish it in 1243. In 1376, the Rieneck family sold their local properties to Würzburg, but retained the position of Vögte (or lay stewards) of Schönrain. Eventually, after severe damages sustained during the
German Peasants' War The German Peasants' War, Great Peasants' War or Great Peasants' Revolt () was a widespread popular revolt in some German-speaking areas in Central Europe from 1524 to 1525. It was Europe's largest and most widespread popular uprising befor ...
, the then Abbot of Hirsau dissolved the monastery at Schönrain and sold the premises to Philipp von Rieneck in 1526, who re-built it as a residence for his wife Margaretha around 1535. After his death, it served as Margaretha's dowager house for another 15 years. In 1559, Schönrain came to Anton von
Isenburg-Büdingen Isenburg-Büdingen was a County of southern Hesse, Germany, located in Büdingen. It was originally a part of the County of Isenburg. History There were two different Counties of the same name. The first (1341–1511) was a partition of Isenbur ...
. When that family line failed in 1601, the site passed permanently to the Prince-Bishops of Würzburg, who used it as accommodation for their forestry officials until 1625. It was heavily damaged in the
Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...
and served as a local source of construction materials. The Bishopric was secularised in 1803 and Schönrain later continued in use by the forestry officials of the
Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria ( ; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1806 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German Empire in 1871, the kingd ...
. When their headquarters was moved elsewhere in 1818, the buildings at Schönrain were stripped for building materials, and the site has been in ruins since that time.


Today

Since 1973 the site and the ruins have been under the protection of a local environmental and historical preservation group, the ''Lohrer Heimatfreunde''. The :de:Schönraintunnel, completed in 1993, passes beneath the ruins.


References


External links


Website maintained by a private association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schonrain Priory Monasteries in Bavaria Benedictine monasteries in Germany Main-Spessart Buildings and structures in Lower Franconia Spessart