Ellwangen Abbey

St. Vitus's Basilica
Monastery information
Order	Benedictine
Established	764
People
Founder	Herulph
Site
Location	Ellwangen an der Jagst

Ellwangen Abbey (German: Kloster Ellwangen) was the earliest Benedictine monastery established in the Duchy of Swabia, at the present-day town of Ellwangen an der Jagst, Baden-Württemberg, about 100 km (60 mi) north-east of Stuttgart.

History

Imperial abbey

According to the monastery chronicles authored by Abbot Ermanrich (d. 874), who became Bishop of Passau, the abbey was established in Alamannia about 764 by Herulph and his brother Ariolf, both documented as Chorbishops of Langres.

Ellwangen in its early days was home to Abbots Lindolf and Erfinan, who were respected authors. Abbot Gebhard wrote part of the Life of Saint Ulrich there, but died before completing it. Abbot Ermanrich (c. 845) wrote a biography of Saint Solus. The monk Adalbero was made Bishop of Augsburg in 894. Abbot Liutbert became Archbishop of Mainz, as also did Abbot Hatto (891). Saint Gebhard, Abbot of Ellwangen, became Bishop of Augsburg in 995. Abbot Milo about the middle of the tenth century was one of the visitors appointed for the visitation of the Abbey of St. Gall. Abbot Helmerich introduced the Hirsau Reforms.

While Emperor Louis the Pious had already placed the monastery under his royal protection in 814, Ellwangen became an Imperial abbey (Reichsabtei), with the privilege of Imperial immediacy, (Reichsfreiheit) probably granted in 1011 by King Henry II and again confirmed by Emperor Charles IV of Luxembourg in 1347. Financial accounts of the abbey indicate that it purchased raw honey to make lattweg, a honey-based paste for medicinal use.

In 981 the imperial monastery had to provide Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor with 30 armored riders free of charge for his campaigns in Italy. In February 1431, the abbey bore the cost of hosting Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor and his court, on the Emperor's return to Nuremberg. During the Hussite Wars, the abbey was required, along with other ecclesiastical institutions, to provide a military contingent, complete with horses, weapons, armor, and wagons for Frederick I, Elector of Brandenburg's campaign of August 1431. It also had to provide for the defense of its own territory against potential Hussite raids.

At the same time however, the conventual life declined and the Benedictine occupation of Ellwangen came to an end in the first half of the 15th century. On 14 January 1460 with the consent of Pope Pius II it was converted into a college of secular Canons Regular under the rule of a provost.

Prince-provostry

The provost of Ellwangen achieved the status of a Prince of the Empire (Reichsfürst), who not only ruled over an immediate territory but also held a direct vote (votum virile) in the Reichstag assembly. As the head of a secular college of Augustinian canons, he was one of only two prince-provosts, beside the Provost of Berchtesgaden.

In the late 16th and early 17th century, the territory became one of the main areas of witch-hunting in Germany. In reaction to the Protestant Reformation, the provostry joined the Catholic League in 1609; it was occupied by Swedish troops during the Thirty Years' War in 1632, but again vacated after the 1634 Battle of Nördlingen.

In the course of the German Mediatisation of 1802, Ellwangen fell to the Duchy of Württemberg. In 1803 Ellwangen Abbey became the first see of General Vicariate of Württemberg, it later became the Diocese of Rottenburg.

Territory

Nothing is known of Ellwangen's property during the period of its Benedictine history, but after it had passed into the hands of the secular canons, its possessions included the court manor of Ellwangen, the manors of Jagstzell, Neuler, Rötlen, Tannenberg, Wasseralfingen, Abtsgmünd, Kochenburg near the town of Aalen, Heuchlingen on the River Lein, and Bühlertann where the abbey had a number of holdings.

Buildings

Most of the ecclesiastical buildings still exist, though they are no longer used for religious purposes. In the secularisation of 1802 the abbey was dissolved and its assets taken over by the Duchy of Württemberg.

The present-day Late Romanesque Basilika St. Vitus (Ellwangen) was consecrated in 1233, after a 12th-century preceding building had been devastated by a blaze. Today it serves as the parish church of Ellwangen. A cloister was added in 1467 and in the 17th century the interior was largely refurbished in a Baroque style. From 1737 onwards it was again decorated with further Rococo supplements, among them works by Carlo Carlone. In 1964 the church was elevated to the status of a basilica minor by Pope Paul VI.

Ellwangen Castle (Schloss ob Ellwangen) from 1460 on served as the residence of the Prince-provosts. It was rebuilt in a Baroque style about 1726. From 1802 a property of the House of Württemberg, it was for a short time the place of exile of Princess Catharina and her husband Jérôme Bonaparte in 1815/16. The castle is today administered by the State of Baden-Württemberg. It hosts a museum and a youth hostel.

Notable Prince-provosts

• Henry of the Palatinate 1551-1552
• Otto Truchsess von Waldburg 1553-1573
• Count Palatine Francis Louis of Neuburg 1694-1732
• Franz Georg von Schönborn-Buchheim 1732-1756
• Prince Clemens Wenceslaus of Saxony 1787-1802

From the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia

Ellwangen Abbey, the earliest Benedictine monastery established in the Duchy of Würtemberg, situated in the Diocese of Augsburg about thirty miles northeast of the town of Stuttgart. Hariolfus, Bishop of Langres, was the founder, and the date of foundation was about 764, though there are a few authorities for as early a date as 732. In later times it became a royal abbey, a privilege which seems to have been conferred in 1011 by the Emperor Henry II, and afterwards confirmed by the Emperor Charles IV, in 1347. Some authorities date the granting of this privilege as late as 1555. This cannot be correct, for it is known that the superior of Ellwangen took his seat in the Diet among the princes of the country in 1500. The Benedictine occupation of the abbey came to an end in the first half of the fifteenth century. In 1460 it was changed into a college of secular canons under the rule of a provost. Ellwangen had many men of renown connected with it: the Abbots Lindolf and Erfinan, whom Mabillon speaks of as famous authors; Abbot Gebhard began to write the life of St. Udalricus but died before completing it; Abbot Ermenrich (c. 845), author of the life of St. Solus which may be found in the fourth volume of the "Acta Sanctorum" of Mabillon. Adalbero, a monk of this abbey, was made Bishop of Augsburg in 894. Abbot Lindebert became Archbishop of Mainz, as also did Abbot Hatto (891). St. Gebhard, Abbot of Ellwangen, became Bishop of Augsburg in 995. Abbot Milo about the middle of the tenth century was one of the visitors appointed for the visitation of the famous Abbey of St. Gall. Nothing is known of the property connected with Ellwangen during the period of its Benedictine history, but in the eighteenth century, after it had passed into the hands of the secular canons, its possessions included the court manor of Ellwangen, the manors of Taxstell, Neuler, Rothlein, Tannenburg, Wasseralfingen, Abts-Gmundt, Kockenburg near the town of Aalen, Henchlingen on the River Lein, and Lautern. Most of the ecclesiastical buildings still exist, though they are no longer used for religious purposes. Since the secularization they have been held by the State and used for state purposes.

Further reading

• Otto Beck: Die Stiftsbasilika St. Vitus in Ellwangen – Führer durch ein sehenswertes Gotteshaus. Lindenberg, 2003 ISBN 3898700054
• Bruno Bushart: Stiftskirche Ellwangen. München 1953
• Bruno Bushart: Die Basilika zum heiligen Vitus in Ellwangen. Ellwangen 1988

External links

• Klöster in Baden-Württemberg: Fürstpropstei St. Vitus Ellwangen - Geschichte

48°57′43″N 10°7′55″E / 48.96194°N 10.13194°E