St. Burchard's Abbey was a

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monastery in

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...

, Germany, initially known as St. Andrew's Abbey. It was the first abbey established in Würzburg, founded ca. 750. In 1464, it was transformed into a ''

Stift The term (; ) is derived from the verb (to donate) and originally meant 'a donation'. Such donations usually comprised earning assets, originally landed estates with serfs defraying dues (originally often in kind) or with vassal tenants of noble ...

''. Since the dissolution of the ''Stift'' in 1803, the abbey church has been used as the parish church St. Burkard.

History

St. Andrew's was founded by Bishop

Burchard of Würzburg Saint Burchard of Würzburg (in German Burkard or Burkhard) was an Anglo-Saxon missionary who became the first Bishop of Würzburg (741–751). Life Burchard was an Anglo-Saxon Benedictine monk possibly of noble birth, and educated at Malmesbur ...

(742-53) on the left bank of the

Main Main may refer to: Geography *Main River (disambiguation), multiple rivers with the same name *Ma'in, an ancient kingdom in modern-day Yemen * Main, Iran, a village in Fars Province *Spanish Main, the Caribbean coasts of mainland Spanish territ ...

at the foot of the Marienberg shortly after 748. It was the first abbey in Würzburg and initially dedicated to

Andrew the Apostle Andrew the Apostle ( ; ; ; ) was an apostle of Jesus. According to the New Testament, he was a fisherman and one of the Apostles in the New Testament, Twelve Apostles chosen by Jesus. The title First-Called () used by the Eastern Orthodox Chu ...

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

and Magnus. It was known as St. Andrew's Abbey. Until ca. 788 it was also the seat of the clerics attached to the

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

(then located on the peak of the Marienberg). In the 10th century, the monastery was deserted, having been transformed into a

collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons, a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, headed by a dignitary bearing ...

at some point earlier. In 986, Hugo von Rothenburg, Bishop of Würzburg, refounded the abbey and once again called Benedictines to the place. He also moved the remains of Burchard to be reburied in the abbey's church, which was renamed St. Burchard. The old abbey building burned down around the year 1000. Only after around 1033, Abbot Willemund had the abbey church rebuilt in

Romanesque style Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe that was predominant in the 11th and 12th centuries. The style eventually developed into the Gothic style with the shape of the arches providing a simple distinction: the Ro ...

. It was dedicated in 1042 in the presence of Emperor

Heinrich III Henry III may refer to: * Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor (1017–1056) * King Henry III of Castile (1379–1406) * King Henry III of England (1207–1272) * King Henry III of France (1551–1589) * King Henry III of Navarre (1553–1610), also King ...

by Bishop Bruno of Würzburg. During the High Middle Ages the abbey was influenced by ideas from

Gorze Abbey Gorze Abbey was a Benedictine monastery in Gorze in the present arrondissement of Metz, near Metz in Lorraine. It was prominent as the source of a monastic reform movement in the 930s. History Gorze Abbey was founded in around 757 by Bishop Ch ...

(ca. 1057) and

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 ...

(12th century). Construction included the

narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of Early Christian art and architecture, early Christian and Byzantine architecture, Byzantine basilicas and Church architecture, churches consisting of the entrance or Vestibule (architecture), ve ...

(1168) under Abbot Engelhard and the polygonal topping-up of the two eastern towers (1249) under Abbot Konrad. Since its establishment, the abbey had been a proprietary monastery of the Bishop of Würzburg. It thus did not have a ''

Vogt An , sometimes simply advocate, (German, ), or (French, ), was a type of medieval office holder, particularly important in the Holy Roman Empire, who was delegated some of the powers and functions of a major feudal lord, or for an institutio ...

''. The convent was completely made up of nobles. In late Medieval times life in the abbey significantly deviated from the Benedictine rule. Yielding to the request of the monks,

Pope Pius II Pope Pius II (, ), born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini (; 18 October 1405 – 14 August 1464), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 August 1458 to his death in 1464. Aeneas Silvius was an author, diplomat, ...

, in a

papal bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...

dated 4 February 1464, changed the abbey church into a

(''Ritterstift''), and permitted the former monks to remain as canons. The abbot, Johann von Allendorf, became '' Probst''. Through this change the abbey became the second noble ''Stift'' in Würzburg (next to the ''Domstift'' of the cathedral). The provost was henceforth always a member of the cathedral chapter. In 1495, a late-Gothic high altar was added. Around that time construction of the polygonal east choir and the transept started. However, few works of art survived the destruction caused by the

Peasants' War This is a chronological list of revolts organized by peasants. Background The history of peasant wars spans over two thousand years. A variety of factors fueled the emergence of the peasant revolt phenomenon, including: * Tax resistance * So ...

of 1525. One of them was a Madonna by

Tilman Riemenschneider Tilman Riemenschneider ( 1460 – 7 July 1531) was a German wood carving, woodcarver and sculptor active in Würzburg from 1483. He was one of the most prolific and versatile sculptors of the transition period between the Gothic art, Late Gothi ...

(ca. 1490). Due to the possession of significant forest properties the abbey had sufficient income throughout its history. Nevertheless, debts were a problem from time to time. In the 16th century, "loose morals" among the then 18 canons became an issue. As a consequence, Bishop

Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn (18 March 1545 – 9 September 1617) was Prince-Bishop of Würzburg from 1573. He was born in Mespelbrunn Castle, Spessart (Lower Franconia) and died in Würzburg. Life Mespelbrunn was born the second so ...

temporarily put St. Buchard under forced administration. During 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 ...

the abbey wasa sacked by Swedish troops and the church was severely damaged. Only from 1667 did the ''Stift'' again have its own consecrated church. During the

Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also sometimes called the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to, and as an alternative to or from similar insights as, the Protestant Reformations at the time. It w ...

and

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

periods the canons focused on the pastoral care of its 17 parishes.

In 1663-7, Bishop

Johann Philipp von Schönborn Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name '' Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Gracious ...

had the original west choir, western transept and western tower demolished to make room for a new fortification of the slopes beneath

Marienberg Fortress Marienberg Fortress (German: ''Festung Marienberg'') is a prominent landmark on the left bank of the Main river in Würzburg, in the Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. It is a symbol of Würzburg and served as a home of the local prince-bi ...

and a shipping canal. At that time the interior of the east choir and east transept was finished, the work having been repeatedly interrupted by war. In 1803, the abbey was dissolved in favour of the

Electorate of Bavaria The Electorate of Bavaria () was a quasi-independent hereditary electorate of the Holy Roman Empire from 1623 to 1806, when it was succeeded by the Kingdom of Bavaria. The Wittelsbach dynasty which ruled the Duchy of Bavaria was the younger ...

. At the time, it consisted of the provost, the dean, eight canons, nine ''Domizellare'' (aspirants to the position of canon) and twelve vicars who were responsible for the parish work. The abbey church (''Stiftskirche'') became a parish church. On 16 March 1945, during the Allied

Bombing of Würzburg in World War II A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechanica ...

the church was mostly spared. The truss was burned as was the nave, but choir and transept survived. The church was re-opened in 1950.

Description

Church

The architectural features include Romanesque and Gothic ones. The Romanesque three-aisled nave, the two towers and the north portal from the times of the

Salian dynasty The Salian dynasty or Salic dynasty () was a dynasty in the High Middle Ages. The dynasty provided four kings of Germany (1024–1125), all of whom went on to be crowned Holy Roman emperors (1027–1125). After the death of the last Ottonia ...

are partially still extant. One feature that illustrates the transition to early-Gothic is a capital with reliefs now used as an offering box. The ''Katharinenglocke'' (bell) from the mid-13th century is the oldest extant bell in the diocese.

References

;Attribution * The entry cites: ** LINK, Klosterbuch der Diocese Würzburg, I (Würzburg, 1873), 105-8. ** WIELAND, Kloster und Ritterstift zu St. Burkard in Archiv des hist. Vereins fur Unterfranken, XV, fasc. 1-2. ** LINK, Klosterbuch, I (Würzburg, 1873), 395-402; ** , Schriftsteller, O.S.B., in Bayern, 1750-1880, II (Ratisbon, 1880), 196-202. ** WIELAND, Dad Schottenkloster zu St. Jakob in Würzburg in Archiv des hist. Vereins fur Unterfranken, XVI, 21-182; LINK, Klosterbuch, I, 402-9.

External links

Website of the parish

History

Description

Church

References

External links

Further reading