Saint Maximin'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
Trier
Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...
in the
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...
,
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 ...
.
History
The abbey, traditionally considered one of the oldest monasteries in western Europe, was held to have been founded by Saint
Maximin of Trier in the 4th century. Maximin (died 346) and other early bishops of Trier were buried in the crypt of the church on the site, an early Christian cemetery, and the church, at first dedicated to Saint
John the Evangelist
John the Evangelist ( – ) is the name traditionally given to the author of the Gospel of John. Christians have traditionally identified him with John the Apostle, John of Patmos, and John the Presbyter, although there is no consensus on how ...
, was later renamed after Maximin. A Benedictine monastery was established here in the 6th century, possibly replacing an earlier community. It was destroyed by the
Normans
The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Franc ...
in 882 and re-built from 942 to 952. In the 13th century it was destroyed by a fire and re-built again on the plan of the previous buildings.
[A detailed account with bibliography is in Sanderson 1965.]
Albero de Montreuil failed to subject the abbey to
Trier's jurisdiction in the early 12th century, but the question of the abbey's
Imperial immediacy
In the Holy Roman Empire, imperial immediacy ( or ) was the status of an individual or a territory which was defined as 'immediate' () to Emperor and Empire () and not to any other intermediate authorities, while one that did not possess that stat ...
() was for centuries a matter of conflict, contested by Trier, to whom in 1669 the abbot formally renounced all claim to the status, making submission to the archbishop in his capacity as
Prince-elector
The prince-electors ( pl. , , ) were the members of the Electoral College of the Holy Roman Empire, which elected the Holy Roman Emperor. Usually, half of the electors were archbishops.
From the 13th century onwards, a small group of prince- ...
.
In 1674 the abbey was completely destroyed by
French troops. It was rebuilt between 1680 and 1684 but, unusually for the period, still in a
Gothic form.
The abbey was secularised in 1802. The monastic buildings were put to various secular uses — barracks, prison, school — and were totally destroyed in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
except for the freestanding gateway. A school stands on the site.
The church of Saint Maximin survived the war, but was de-consecrated, and between 1979 and 1995 converted to secular uses. In 1995 it opened as a concert hall, now well known for its exceptional acoustics.
File:Lid of a box (fragment), Muse of Comedy with lyre, masks and sword, found at Trier, St. Maximin (Germany).jpg, Early 6th century A.D., Trier. Artwork found at Trier, a "Muse of Comedy" holding a lyre, masks and sword. The artwork was the lid to a box.
Burials
*
Regino of Prüm
Regino of Prüm or of Prum (, ; died 915 AD) was a Benedictine Order, Benedictine monk, who served as abbot of Prüm Abbey, Prüm (892–99) and later of St. Maximin's Abbey, Trier, Saint Martin's at Trier, and chronicler, whose ''Chronicon'' is ...
*
Maximin of Trier
See also
*
Giant Bible of Saint Maximin
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Maximin's Abbey, Trier
Benedictine monasteries in Germany
Monasteries in Rhineland-Palatinate
Religion in Trier
Roman Catholic churches in Trier
Monasteries used as prisons