Everything about Salem Abbey totally explained
Salem Abbey (
Kloster or
Reichskloster Salem), also known as
Salmansweiler and in
Latin as
Salomonis Villa, was a very prominent
Cistercian monastery in
Salem in the
district of Bodensee about ten miles from
Konstanz,
Baden-Württemberg,
Germany.
Abbey
The abbey was founded in
1136 by Gunthram of Adelsreute (d. 1138) as a daughter house of
Lützel Abbey in
Alsace, in the foundation of which Gunthram had also been involved. Lützel was a daughter house of
Bellevaux Abbey, in its turn the first daughter house of
Morimond. Blessed
Frowin of Bellevaux, formerly the travelling companion and interpreter of
Bernard of Clairvaux, became the first abbot of Salem. He had been professed at Bellevaux, and was of the colony sent to found Lützel, and this has caused some misunderstandings in the past to the effect that Salem was founded from Bellevaux rather than from Lützel.
The abbey soon became very prosperous. Extensive and magnificent buildings, erected in three squares, and a splendid church were constructed between
1182 and
1311. Salem was noted as the richest and most beautiful monastery in Germany, being particularly renowned for its hospitality. Amongst its greatest benefactors and patrons were
Conrad of Swabia and
Frederick Barbarossa. The former placed the abbey under the special protection of himself and his successors, whence the title of "
Imperial abbey" (
"Reichsabtei" or
"Reichskloster" — independent from all
territorial lordship bar that of the emperor alone) which was renewed several times under Barbarossa and his successors.
Pope Innocent II also took the abbey under his particular patronage.
Its growth was continuous; after having made three important foundations — Raitenhauslach Abbey (
1143),
Wettingen Abbey or
Stella Maris (
1227), and
Königsbronn Abbey (
1303) — it still numbered 285 monks at the beginning of the
14th century. Its abbot, from
1454 on, was privileged to confer subdeaconship on his monks.
The abbey gradually declined, and with the exception of the church was almost entirely destroyed by a fire in
1697. Rebuilding started immediately and Salem was reconstructed as an impressive
Baroque complex.
Later in the century the abbey undertook between
1746 and
1749 the development of the pilgrimage church of
Birnau under the supervision of
Peter Thumb.
Caspar Oexle, who, as librarian, had increased the library to 30,000 volumes and a great number of manuscripts, was elected abbot in March
1802. In September of the same year the abbey was suppressed and given to the
Margrave of Baden, while the library was added to that of
Petershausen Abbey, and finally sold to the
University of Heidelberg.
The church, known as
Salem Minster (
"Salemer Münster"), a
Gothic structure which escaped the fire of 1697, became a parish church; but the famous grand tower with its fifteen bells, the largest weighing 10,000
lb, was destroyed in
1805–
07.
Secularization
Following the
Reichsdeputationshauptschluss 1803 and the nearly complete
secularization in Germany the history of the monastery ended and the monks left the abbey.
Castle
The other abbey buildings were used as the castle of the
Grand Dukes of Baden, and the site was from then on known as
Schloss Salem.
School
In
1920, part of the castle premises were acquired for use as a boarding school, which continues to this day as the
Schule Schloss Salem.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Salem Abbey'.
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