Marienstatt Abbey (German: Abtei Marienstatt, Latin: Abbatia Loci Sanctae Mariæ) is a Cistercian monastery and a pilgrimage site in Streithausen, Westerwaldkreis, Rhineland-Palatinate, in the Nister valley near Hachenburg.
The abbey has an early-Gothic Basilica with the largest organ in the Westerwald, a library, a brewery with restaurant, a shop for books and art, a guest house, and a privately supported secondary school, the Privates Gymnasium Marienstatt.
History
The abbey was established by Heisterbach Abbey, which was created by Himmerod Abbey, which in turn was founded from Clairvaux Abbey in 1134, in a direct succession. In 1212, it was first founded in Neunkhausen, made possible by a donation from Eberhard of Arenberg and his wife Adelheid von Molsberg. The site was abandoned because of the climate and soil, and the monastery was transferred to the present location in 1222. According to legend, the abbot had a dream of a hawthorn bush that flowered in winter, which led him to choose the new site. The first church there was consecrated on 27 December 1227 under Conrad, the third abbot. The monastery at the time belonged to the Diocese of Cologne.
From 1476, lay people were permitted to attend services in the abbey church, and in 1485 the pilgrimage day was made the octave of Corpus Christi.abtei-marienstatt.de: Geschichte (Year 1486). From 1561, the Counts of Sayn introduced the Reformation in their territories.Daniel Schneider: Die Entwicklung der Konfessionen in der Grafschaft Sayn im Grundriss, in: Heimat-Jahrbuch des Kreises Altenkirchen 58 (2015), pp. 74–80. In the Thirty Years' War, Sweden claimed the property as Swedish crown land on 3 October 1633, expelling the brothers and vandalizing the premises. Some brothers returned when the Swedes left. However, abbot Johannes Wittig lived with only one brother and one novice there in 1637. After the war, the monastery flourished again, and most present buildings were erected. Under abbot Benedikt Bach, the church was decorated in Baroque style. The old buildings were demolished and replaced from 1735 to 1751 under Petrus Emons.
The monastery served as an infirmary during the War of the First Coalition in 1794/95 and 1796/97. On 19 October 1802, the abbey was dissolved as part of secularisation and was given to Frederick William, Prince of Nassau-Weilburg. The last brothers left in 1803, but Catholic masses were still held. From 1831, masses were officially tolerated by the Nassau government, when the abbey church became the church of a new parish, Marienstatt, saving it from demolition. In 1842, Nassau County bought the buildings back in poor condition, but plans for a workhouse were not carried out. On 18 May 1864, the county sold Marienstatt to the Bishop of Limburg, , who established a home for neglected boys. It was directed by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit. When the order was dissolved during the 1873 Kulturkampf, diocesan priests took over. They were supported by sisters of the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ. Eventually, the institution was moved to Kloster Marienhausen in Aulhausen.Katharina Kasper: Schriften. vol. I, pp. 166ff. In 1888, the abbey was bought back by brothers of the Wettingen-Mehrerau Abbey. The abbot (and later Bishop of Limburg) cared for a new settlement, now as part of the .
In 1909, abbot Konrad II Kolb built a library and in 1910 opened an Oblatenschule, a school for the preparation of young men for the order. During the Nazi regime, the abbey was almost closed. During World War II, it served again as an infirmary, and as a home for children from Dormagen, senior citizens from Frankfurt am Main, and the Jesuit college Sankt Georgen.
After the war, the school was reopened and expanded into a gymnasium with boarding facility, .Privates Gymnasium der Zisterzienserabtei Marienstatt (ed.): Einhundertjahrbuch. 100 Jahre Schule in Marienstatt. 1910–2010. Oblatenschule – Progymnasium – Privates Gymnasium. Festschrift mit Schlaglichtern aus dem Jubiläumsschuljahr 2009/2010. Marienstatt 2010. p. 118 The former boarding house is now a guest house, with school rooms in the basement. The church belongs to the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, while the other buildings belong to the Cistercian abbey. In 2015, the parish was merged into a larger parish, Maria Himmelfahrt Hachenburg.
Abbots Marienstatt has had a continuous line of abbots since its founding in the early 13th century, interrupted by the abbey's secularization in 1803 and its refounding by monks from Wettingen-Mehrerau Abbey in 1888. Abbot Dominikus Willi, who led the community following its 1888 refounding, was elected Bishop of Limburg in 1898.
Abbot Years Notes Hermann 1167–1223 Also abbot of Heisterbach and Himmerod abbeys Ulrich 1223 Konrad I 1223–1227 Heinrich I 1228–1235 Kuno 1235–1245 Petrus I 1246–1247 Wilhelm I 1247–1255 Johannes I 1255–1258 Dietrich I 1258–1289 Nikolaus 1289–1298 Wigand von Greifenstein 1298–1338 Dietrich II 1338–1351 Albert 1351–1365 Enolph 1365–1366 Dietrich III 1366–1374 Johannes II 1374–1380 Bernhard I von Mudersbach 1381–1391 Heinrich II von Köln 1391–1404 Dietrich IV von Ingelbach 1404–1409 Rorich Schappelier 1409–1425 Wilhelm II von Köln 1425–1428 Bruno von Köln 1428–1459 Godert I von Köln 1459–1462 Friedrich Scharnekell 1457–1490 As dated by Germania Sacra; this overlaps the terms of the preceding and following abbots. Johannes III von Flach von Westerburg 1490–1514 Tilmann Raßelbank 1514–1519 Heinrich III von Cleeberg 1519–1542 Petrus II von Wenden 1542–1558 Dietrich V von Birnbach 1558–1559 Petrus III von Köln (gen. von Herchenhelden) 1560–1563 Adam von Seelbach 1563–1565 Johannes IV von Wenden 1565–1576 Gottfried II von Drolshagen 1576–1586 Philipp Seiler (gen. Funarius) 1586–1623 Adolf Stroitz 1623–1633 Johannes V Weiler 1633–1636 Michael Leyendecker 1636 Johannes VI Wittig 1636–1658 Johannes VII Caspar Pflüger 1658–1688 Benedikt Johannes Bach 1688–1720 Alberich Bergh 1720–1735 Petrus IV Emons 1735–1751 Bernhard II Colonia 1734–1770 As dated by Germania Sacra; this overlaps the preceding abbot's term. Edmund Leser 1770–1784 Joseph Christian Frosch 1784–1802 Last abbot before secularization Dominikus I Conrad 1740–1803 Also Provisor of Kerpen and Prior of Drolshagen — Abbey dissolved 1802; refounded from Wettingen-Mehrerau Abbey 1888 — Dominikus Willi 1889–1898 Elected Bishop of Limburg in 1898; served until his death in 1913 Konrad II Kolb 1898–1918 Eberhard Hoffmann 1918–1936 Idesbald Eicheler 1936–1971 Thomas Denter 1971–2006 Andreas Range 2006–2022 Retired on reaching the mandatory age of 75 (Prior-administrators) 2022–2025 Interim leadership pending a new election Ignatius Fritsch 2025–present
Allegations concerning the former boarding school In 2010, a former student of the abbey's boarding school, Arno Benner, spoke to the regional newspaper Rhein-Zeitung about his experience there, describing humiliating treatment and characterizing the school's atmosphere as having "fascistoid" (authoritarian, oppressive) features. Benner said he was not seeking retribution but felt the monastic community had never openly reckoned with this period of its history.
In 2024, regional historian Uli Jungbluth published two books, drawing on the recollections of former boarding-school students, describing conditions at the school between 1947 and 1954. Coverage in the Siegener Zeitung summarized the accounts as describing oppression, psychological terror, mistreatment, and harsh disciplinary methods directed at children, and noted that Benner contributed commentary to the project.
Church organ
In the 16th century, the church had an organ installed in a Schwalbennest on the north wall. At the end of the 18th century, a large organ was on a balcony in front of the west window. In 1854, Daniel Raßmann from Möttau replaced it with an instrument with 16 stops on two manuals and pedal, reusing some material from the former instrument. The organ and the balcony were demolished in 1941 when the church was restored.
A choir organ served the chorale singing from 1912, with 45 stops. During the restoration, it was relocated to the parish hall. In 1950, Anton Feith from Paderborn used material from this organ to build a new instrument. It was sold to the parish St. Peter (Köln-Neuehrenfeld) in 1964, while the abbey church used a small rented organ.
The present organ was built from 1969 to 1970 by Franz Rieger. The organ features the only authentic Spanische Trompete outside Spain, dating back to 1732. The organ was expanded in 2006 and 2007 by Orgelbau Romanus Seifert & Sohn from Kevelaer. In 2015, the organ was expanded by three stops. It now has 67 stops (more than 5,000 pipes) on four manuals and pedal, the largest organ in the region.Die große Rieger-Orgel July 2018
Pilgrims Marienstatt is a known place for pilgrim tours, also the Marienwanderweg connects Marienstatt Abbey to the former Franciscan monastery Kloster Marienthal in Seelbach bei Hamm near Altenkirchen.
Amenities
Kunst- und Buchhandlung The arts and books store, which is located at the avenue sells local products as well as books about the Cisterciens and the abbey.
Garden
This garden is a place of recreation as well as herb production. The garden is of two sections, Barockgarten is the section that is for taking rest, it should light the minimalism lifestyle of the Cisterciens monks, it includes flowers and plants as well as a fountain, it has been reconstruated in 2010 and 2011. The monastery wall borders the Barockgarten, it is made by nature stone, many wild, not common plants have settled down on it. The gardens section Heilpflanzengarten is for production of herbs that have a health supporting affect.
Library A public library nowadays is located in the main school building, which was constructed in 1910. It houses about 112,700 books, with about 21,500 of them protected as antiquary, historic property since 2017. Before that, the Marienstatt library was located in two other places on the grounds of Marienstatt.
Chapels
Beside the church, three chapels are located on the grounds, Marienkapelle and Kriegerkapelle, which are permanent accessible as well as Annakapelle, which is located within the buildings and used by the Abbey, school or groups for events, it has space for approximately 200 people.
School
A private school is located on the grounds of Marienstatt Abbey.
Guest house
The guest house is located in the main building.
Brauhaus
The brewery of Marienstatt produces their own beer, called Marienstätter and hosts a restaurant with guest garden.
Seminar rooms Marienstatt Abbey has seminar rooms available, most common seminar room is St. Bernhard.
Cemetery
The Abbey has its own cemetery which is for the monks that have passed away.
Food production The monastery used to have its own farm on which food has been produced, but it has been closed since 1971.
Forum The Forum Abtei Marienstatt e. V. is an officially registered, volunteer-based interest group of people that have the goal to support and conserve the abbey, which is a listed cultural heritage and create a dialogue between the abbey and people outside.
The Forum Abtei Marienstatt e. V. also is organizer of public podcasts, exhibitions, guided walking tours and excursions to teach about the history of the Cistercians.
Freundeskreis The Spiritual Friends' Circle is an initiative of the monks of Marienstatt. It consists of people who feel connected to the monastery and its community and support it chiefly through daily prayer, in particular praying for spiritual vocations for the abbey.
Musikkreis The Marienstatter Musikkreis is the music group of Marienstatt Abbey that organizes concerts and perform regularly, the leader is Frater Gregor Brandt.
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