Reichenbach (), also known as Reichenbach am Regen, is a municipality in the district of Cham in Bavaria, Germany. It lies on the river Regen, approximately 20 kilometres northeast of Regensburg. The town is home to Reichenbach Abbey, a former mediaeval Benedictine monastery and Baroque church. Currently living within the renovated monastery are more than 400 people with physical and mental disabilities and about 500 staff. This makes it the most important employer in the region.
Geography Reichenbach lies in the Falkensteiner Vorwald, in the middle Regental, on the river Regen. To the north and west it borders with Walderbach, to the south with Wald and to the west with Nittenau (District Schwandorf)
Subdivisions The municipality of Reichenbach is subdivided in seven localities:Alle Orte in der Gemeinde Reichenbach, Bayerische Landesbibliothek Online Heimhof Hochgart Kaltenbach Kienleiten Linden Reichenbach Windhof
As of November 1, 2013, a part of the dissolved municipality-free area of Einsiedler and Walderbacher Forst was incorporated into Reichenbach.Amtsblatt Oberpfalz: Verkündung Berichtigung
History
Early history and Middle Ages
The first human presence in the area of Reichenbach may date back to the Paleolithic Age. This is proved by the findings of hunting weapons and sacrificial altars in the surrounding districts.
The settlement in the valley of the river Regen lies on a ford and was the center of a manorial district in the early Middle Ages. 1118 saw the founding of Reichenbach Abbey and from then on the history of the settlement became heavily intertwined with that of the monastery.
Reichenbach experienced an early bloom in the first decades of its existence. After the Wittelsbach dynasty took over the Vogtei (bailiwick) in 1204, Reichenbach lost its regional importance. At the beginning of the 15th century, the monastery was largely rebuilt in Gothic style and surrounded by fortifications. These averted the Hussite invasions in 1428 and 1433.
Under the principle of cuius regio, eius religio after 1555 it was up to the ruler to determine the religion of his subjects. Otto Henry, Elector Palatinate from 1556 to 1559, made official the Lutheran confession and dissolved the monastery in 1556. In Reichenbach, it was up to Johannes Hagnus, a graduate of the University of Wittenberg, to enforce the regulation. During the subsequent reign of Elector Friedrich III (1559–1576), who was a follower of the reformed Calvinist school, Hagnus was dismissed together with many other Lutheran clergymen. Around 1570 many works of art inside Reichenbach Abbey were destroyed by Calvinist iconoclasts.
From 1626, the new Electorate of Bavaria re-catholicized Reichenbach. Under the new Electoral administration in 1661, Benedictines moved back into the monastery which from 1669 fell under the management of Saint Emmeram's Abbey in Regensburg. In 1695, the monastery again became an independent abbey and experienced a second flourishing.
18th and 19th centuries
With the dissolution and secularization of the monastery in 1803, the lively scientific and literary activity of the Reichenbach Benedictines came to an end. Since then, the church has been a filial church of the parish of Walderbach. The monastery initially became state property, before the buildings were auctioned off in 1820. The monastery buildings found various uses, including an earthenware factory founded in 1841 by Heinrich Waffler, which he operated until 1863.
On February 20, 1882, the Reichenbach Volunteer Fire Department was founded due to several fires in the village. The citizens joined to form a community and purchased firefighting equipment. 56 citizens were among the founding members. Statutes were drawn up, the first purpose of which was to provide service in case of fire danger for the protection of persons and their property, first in the village of Reichenbach, then also in the surrounding area. The first Captain was Alois Pestenhofer.
In 1890 the order of the Barmherzige Brüder (Brothers of Mercy) took over the monastery buildings and established a sanatorium and nursing home for the mentally and physically handicapped.
In 1893, the monastery began to operate its own brewery. At the beginning of Holy Week in the same year, the planned construction of the new and larger water pipeline was started. The springs were located at the Windhof.
In 1897, during the night of September 23–24, a fire broke out in the monastery buildings. The fire spread at breakneck speed, and 140 patients had to be evacuated. Of great help was the new water pipe, as the adjacent pond was already pumped dry after a short time. The fire raged for eight days, and even after six weeks, glowing debris was still being pulled out of the rubble. The fire did not claim any human lives, but the monastery was left nothing more than a smoking ruin. The people of Reichenbach lent a huge hand in the reconstruction. Around Christmas 1897, the patients who had been transferred to Straubing and Attl could be brought back. As a result of the fire, a permanent night watchman was employed in Reichenbach in 1898.
At the turn of the 19th century, the village was in bitter poverty. The population was mostly rural, and there was not enough food for the cattle. Many residents had no proper homes, adequate clothing, or a steady income. Many cycled great distances to neighbouring towns like Wackersdorf and Maxhütte to earn scant wages. Others saw emigrating to America as their only hope of survival.
Beginning of the 20th century
In 1900, the tavern in the monastery was closed. For the washhouse and garden, a new water pipe was installed, since the one built in 1893 did not supply enough water in dry weather. In 1908, under Father Eberhard Forstner from Kaisheim, the Reichenbach mortuary was built. He had a hopfield planted near the monastery, the yield of which was quite sufficient to meet the needs of the monastery's brewery. In addition, a granite quarry was discovered between Windhof and the nearby forest, where a field forge was built at the same time.
The biggest and best work of the prior was the construction of the road between Kienleiten and Roßbach (today's Kreisstraße CHA 25). The road conditions in Reichenbach were at the time very bad. The only road to the monastery led through the village (Pfisterstraße) and there were massive difficulties with the neighbors during the construction. In 1911, under Prior Father Sympert Fleischmann, the infrastructure in the village was improved. His main focus was to push the continuation of the road to Roßbach. Half of the village was canalized and a wide road crossed through Reichenbach. A new water pipeline was built for about 20 houses in Reichenbach. This water pipeline was in operation until the introduction of the district-wide water supply in 1967. Users were allowed to use the water only after it had been boiled because bacteria were repeatedly found in it.
First World War and the inter-war period
The First World War (1914–1918) claimed its victims in Reichenbach as well. The men of the village and also 23 brothers were drafted into military service, with 25 not surviving the war and 5 going missing. During the war, food had already become very scarce, therefore ration stamps were issued in town. This situation continued for a long time after the war. In addition, came extreme inflation, which rendered money worthless.
Starting in 1919, an electrically operated grinding mill was put into operation, which was discontinued in 1943 by order of the authorities. On May 1, 1920, electricity generated from steam was brought to the monastery.
In 1921, in view of the general housing shortage in the community of Reichenbach, all immigration from outside the community was prohibited as of March 1. In 1922 the water turbine on the nearby Regen River was improved. Then in 1923 electric light was introduced in the whole community. The currency reform in 1923 brought a great improvement.
In 1924, a devastating fire struck the monastery during the night of March 2 to 3. The woodyard and the barn burned down completely. All supplies of fodder and straw were lost, together with many wagons and plows. As soon as March 5, the monastery bell announced another fire. This time a barn in Kienleiten was on fire. Thanks to prompt intervention, the nearby residential house could be saved. On March 7, two days later, there was a third fire alarm. This time the house next to it burned down.
Also in 1924, the monastery's own sawmill was built. During the completion phase of the hydroelectric power plant on the Regen River, two floods occurred. The rain rolled in enormous masses of water and the building threatened to collapse. These events delayed the construction, which was finally completed in 1926. It now had a capacity of 20 horsepower.
In 1927, the municipal council decided to levy a beer tax, 1 Reichsmark per hectoliter, as of July 1. Effective as from December 11, 1927, at the request of the monastery, the tax on beer was reduced to 50 pfennig.
From 1933, Reichenbach and the monastery were not spared by the terror of the Nazi regime. Disabled people housed in the monastery, considered "unworthy of life" at that time, suffered inhumane atrocities.
Second World War
Out of the men drafted from the town, 31 were killed in action and 6 were missing. In contrast to the First World War, the civilian population was also directly affected by the acts of war in the Second World War and often had to leave their homes and seek shelter in the cellars of the monastery.
When Nittenau was bombed, Reichenbach citizens were also among those seriously injured and killed. Because of the air raids, all windows had to be darkened from the inside. This was mandatory and its enactment was strictly controlled. Forced labourers from occupied areas of the German Reich, mainly France and Poland, were also used in Reichenbach, mostly in agricultural operations. In 1942, bell tollsThe seizing of bells during the First and Second World War Legion Magazine had to be paid again, and only the smallest bell remained in the clock tower.
End of the war and postwar period
Towards the end of the war, the monastery became home to a military training camp where the Hitler Youth was to be trained for service at the front. The commander of the camp wanted to resist the approaching American troops and had tank barriers erected. The American response was clear: if even one shot was fired, Reichenbach would be bombed. Thereupon the population fled to Hochgart. The commander also fled but was captured and shot by the Americans in Falkenstein a short time later.
When the Allies approached, the Flossenbürg concentration camp was evacuated. On the death march that followed, the prisoners passed also through Reichenbach. Since it was night, some of them took the chance and dared to escape to the Häring brewery. Some of them were shot immediately; a few others hid in barns. On April 24, 1945, American troops occupied the monastery. For the villagers and especially the children, who had never seen a person with a different skin color, the black soldiers were a surprise. The occupation of Reichenbach by the Americans passed without major incidents.
After the war, Reichenbach had to accommodate German refugees. Just as in World War I, food was issued only on ration stamps, both during the war and afterwards. The villagers were partly able to provide for themselves since almost all of them had at least a small farm.
In 1946 the re-erection of the host cross took place and on June 9 the wooden cross was consecrated at the end of the eight-day mission of the Reichenbach branch.