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Saint Emmeram's Abbey

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Saint Emmeram's Abbey (German: Kloster Sankt Emmeram or Reichsabtei Sankt Emmeram) was a Benedictine monastery founded around 739 at Regensburg in Bavaria (modern-day southeastern Germany) at the grave of the itinerant Frankish bishop Saint Emmeram.[1] The original abbey church is now a parish church named St. Emmeram's Basilica. The other buildings on the site form a large complex known as Schloss Thurn und Taxis or Schloss St. Emmeram, which has served as the main residence of the Thurn und Taxis princely family since the early 19th century.

Imperial Abbey of St. Emmeram
Reichsabtei Sankt Emmeram (German)
1295–1803
Coat of arms of Saint Emmeram's Abbey
Coat of arms
StatusImperial abbey
CapitalSt. Emmeram's Abbey
GovernmentTheocracy
Historical eraMiddle Ages
• Abbey founded
c. 739
• Separated from
    bishopric

975 1295
• Gained Reichsfreiheit
1295
• Abbot raised to
    Reichsfürst

1731
• Mediatised to new
    Archbishopric¹
1803
• Ceded to Bavaria on
    Imperial collapse

January 6, 1806
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Electorate of the Palatinate
Principality of Regensburg
Today part ofGermany
1: The Bishopric, the Imperial City and all three Imperial Abbeys were mediatised simultaneously.
Small section of the extensive St. Emmeram's buildings
Main inner courtyard
Map of the site in 2014

History

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When the monastery was founded in about 739, the bishops of Regensburg were abbots in commendam, a common practice at the time which was not always to the advantage of the abbeys concerned. In 975, Saint Wolfgang of Regensburg, then bishop of Regensburg and abbot of St. Emmeram's, voluntarily gave up the position of abbot and severed the connection, making the abbots of St. Emmeram's independent of the bishopric. He was one of the first German bishops to do this, and his example in this was much copied across Germany in the years following. The first independent abbot was Ramwold (later the Blessed Ramwold). Both he and Saint Wolfgang were advocates of the monastic reforms of Gorze.

Saint Wolfgang, who was made bishop in 972, ordered that a library be constructed at St. Emmeram shortly after his arrival in Regensburg. An active scriptorium had existed at St. Emmeram in the Carolingian period, but it is not known whether it occupied a special building, and it appears that relatively few manuscripts, of poor quality, were produced there during the early tenth century.[2] Over time, some works in the scriptorium were copied by monks, some works were preserved from the Carolingian period, and others were acquired as gifts.[2] The library became well supplied with works by early Christian writers such as Saint Augustine, as well as by ancient writers such as Virgil and Seneca. In addition to works that had an overt religious or inspirational purpose, the library held a large collection of manuscripts used in the monastery school, focusing on subjects such as logic, arithmetic, rhetoric, grammar, and even astronomy and music.[2] By the early eleventh century, the library at St. Emmeram had acquired a reputation for its collection. Neighboring libraries began requesting to borrow books for copying. An eleventh-century librarian at the monastery, Froumund of Tegernsee, referred to the book room as a bibliotheca, a term implying an extensive manuscript collection.[2] St. Emmeram's scriptorium in the Early Middle Ages became a significant centre of book production and illumination, the home of works such as the sacramentary of Emperor Henry II (produced between 1002 and 1014) and the Uta Codex (shortly after 1002).

In 1295, the counter-king Adolf of Nassau granted the abbey the regalia and made it reichsunmittelbar (i.e., an Imperial abbey, an independent sovereign power subject directly to the emperor).

After a decline in its significance during the 16th century, the abbey enjoyed a resurgence in the 17th and 18th centuries under abbots Frobenius Forster, Coelestin Steiglehner, Roman Zirngibl and Placidus Heinrich, who were great scholars, particularly in the natural sciences. Under their leadership, the abbey's academy came to rival the Münchner Akademie. St. Emmeram's had a long tradition of scientific enquiry dating from the Middle Ages, in witness of which the monastery preserved the astrolabe of William of Hirsau.

In 1731, the abbots were raised to the status of Princes of the Empire (Reichsfürsten). Between 1731 and 1733, there followed the magnificent Baroque refurbishment (by the Asam brothers) of the abbey church, which had been repeatedly burnt out and repaired.

In 1803, St. Emmeram's Abbey (along with the Imperial City of Regensburg, the Bishopric of Regensburg and the two other Imperial abbeys, Niedermünster and Obermünster) lost its previous politically independent status to the newly formed Principality of Regensburg, often referred to as the Archbishopric of Regensburg, under the former Prince-Primate Carl Theodor von Dalberg. In 1803, he donated a large garden at the abbey to the Royal Bavarian Botanical Society of Regensburg for construction of a botanic garden that was maintained until 1855.[3][4] After the Treaty of Paris of 1810, the entire Principality of Regensburg was transferred to Bavaria.

The treasures of St. Emmeram's Abbey (for example, the ciborium of Arnulf, now in the Residenz) and its valuable library (including Muspilli, the Codex Aureus of St. Emmeram, and Dialogus de laudibus sanctae crucis) were mostly removed to Munich.[5]

Schloss Thurn und Taxis

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Schloss Thurn und Taxis

In 1812, the secularized monastic buildings were granted to the Princes of Thurn und Taxis, who converted the abbey into a palatial residence known from then on as Schloss Thurn und Taxis, also called Schloss St. Emmeram. It is the largest private residence in Germany, with 517 rooms and a floor area of 21,460 m2 (231,000 sq ft).[6]

The residence with its park in Regensburg's city center covers five hectares.[7] The Thurn und Taxis princely family still uses the Schloss as its primary residence,[6] thus it can be considered to be the family seat.

St. Emmeram's Basilica

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St. Emmeram's Basilica

The abbey church became a parish church, to which Pope Paul VI accorded the status of a basilica minor on 18 February 1964.[8] The Romanesque basilica with three aisles, three choirs and a west transept is based on an original church building from the second half of the 8th century. Since that time, it has been many times partly destroyed and rebuilt. The oldest extant part of the building is the ring crypt under the choir of the northern aisle. The three medieval, carved stone reliefs on the north portal, dating from about 1052, the oldest of their type in Germany, represent Christ, Saint Emmeram and Saint Denis. The west transept has a painted wooden ceiling depicting Saint Benedict of Nursia. The crypt of Saint Wolfgang is beneath the choir of Saint Denis. Next to Saint Denis's altar in the northern aisle is the tomb of Emma, Queen of the East Franks (died 876), let into the wall. The high altar dates from 1669. The tower has six bells.

  •  
    Central nave of the church and apse with high altar and two side altars
  •  
    Large square pillars of the Ramwold church building from around 980/1000
  •  
    Wolfgang Crypt in the west building (c. 1050)
  •  
    Painted wooden ceiling depicting Saint Benedict of Nursia

Notable burials

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St. Rupert's church

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St. Rupert's church

St. Rupert's church was formerly the parish church of the monastery. The church, with two aisles, was constructed in the second half of the 11th century, but was frequently adapted and enlarged. The nave is from the 14th century, the choir from 1405, the high altar with four pillars and a picture of the baptism of Duke Theodo of Bavaria by Saint Rupert from 1690, and the decoration and fittings from the 17th and 18th centuries. The tabernacle on the north side of the choir has figures of Saint Rupert and other saints. The altar of Saint Michael dated from 1713. The nave is decorated with pictures of the miracles of Saint Rupert.

Abbots

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Bishops of Regensburg (abbots ex officio)

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  • Gaubald (739–761)
  • Sigerich (762–768)
  • Sintpert (768–791)
  • Adalwin (792–816)
  • Baturich (817–847)
  • Erchanfrid (c. 847–864)
  • Ambricho (c. 864–891)
  • Aspert (891–894)
  • Tuto (c. 894–930)
  • Isangrim (930–941)
  • Gunther (942)
  • Michael (c. 942–972)
  • Wolfgang (972–975)

Abbots

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  • Blessed Ramwold (975–1001)
  • Wolfram (1001–1006)
  • Richolf (1006–1028)
  • Hartwich (1028–1029)
  • Burkhard (1030–1037)
  • Ulrich I (1037-1042)
  • Erchanbert (1042–1043)
  • Peringer I (1044–1048)
  • Reginward (1048–1060 ?)
  • Eberhard I (c. 1060–1068)
  • Rupert (1068–1095)
  • Pabo (1095 – c. 1106)
  • Reginhard (c. 1106–1129?)
  • Engelfrid (1129–1142)
  • Pabo (2nd time) (1142–1143)
  • Berthold I (1143–1149)
  • Adalbert I (1149–1177)
  • Peringer II (1177–1201)
  • Eberhard II (1201–1217)
  • Ulrich II (1217–1219)
  • Berthold II (1219–1235)
  • Wulfing (c. 1235 – c. 1247)
  • Ulrich III (1247–1263)
  • Friedrich I von Theuern (1263–1271)
  • Ulrich IV von Prunn (1271)
  • Haimo (1272–1275)
  • Wolfgang I Sturm (1275–1279)
  • Wernher (1279–1292)
  • Karl (1292–1305)
  • Heinrich von Winzer (1305–1312)
  • Baldwin Kötzl (1312–1324)
  • Adalbert II (Albert) von Schmidmühlen (1324–1358)
  • Alto von Tannstein (1358–1385)
  • Friedrich II von Weidenberg (1385–1395)
  • Johannes I Hauner (1395–1402)
  • Ulrich V Pettendorfer (1402–1423)
  • Wolfhard Strauß (1423–1452)
  • Hartung Pfersfelder (1452–1458)
  • Konrad Pebenhauser (1459–1465)
  • Michael Teuer (1465–1471)
  • Johannes II Tegernpeck (1471–1493)
  • Erasmus I Münzer (1493–1517)
  • Ambrosius I Münzer (1517–1535)
  • Leonhard Pfenningmann (1535–1540)
  • Erasmus II Nittenauer (1540–1561)
  • Blasius Baumgartner (1561–1575)
  • Ambrosius II Mayrhofer (1575–1583)
  • Hieronymus I Weiß (1583–1609)
  • Hieronymus II Feury (1609–1623)
  • Johannes III Nablaß (1623–1639)
  • Placidus Judmann (1639–1655)
  • Coelestin I Vogl (1655–1691)
  • Ignatius von Trauner (1691–1694)
  • Johannes IV Baptist Hemm (1694–1719)
  • Wolfgang II Mohr (1719–1725)

Prince-Abbots

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  • Anselm Godin de Tampezo (1725–1742)
  • Johann V Baptist Kraus (1742–1762)
  • Frobenius Forster (1762–1791)
  • Coelestin II Steiglehner (1791–1803; died 1819)

Notes

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  1. ^ Sankt Emmeram is sometimes referred to as Sankt Emmeran
  2. ^ a b c d Kyle, Joseph D. (1980). The Monastery Library at St. Emmeram (Regensburg). The Journal of Library History, Vol. 15, No. 1 (Winter, 1980), pp. 1-21. University of Texas Press.
  3. ^ Bauer, Karl (2014). Regensburg Kunst-, Kultur- und Alltagsgeschichte. MZ-Buchverlag in H. Gietl Verlag & Publikationsservice GmbH. pp. S. 29 ff. ISBN 9783866463004.
  4. ^ "History". Regensburg Botanical Society. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  5. ^ "Dialogue in Praise of the Holy Cross". World Digital Library. 1170. Retrieved 2014-06-03.
  6. ^ a b Guinness World Records / Castles / pp. 198 (255 pages). Guinness World Records. September 11, 2014. ISBN 9781908843708. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
  7. ^ "Schloss Thurn und Taxis Gartenschau, Ratisbonne". FoiresInfo (in French). June 21, 2018. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
  8. ^ Old church layout Archived 2005-12-31 at the Wayback Machine (JPEG image)

References

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  • Kallmünz, 1992. St. Emmeram in Regensburg. Geschichte - Kunst - Denkmalpflege. Thurn und Taxis-Studien 18.
  • Morsbach, P. (photos: A. Bunz), 1993: St. Emmeram zu Regensburg. Ehem. Benediktiner-Abteikirche. Großer Kunstführer Nr. 187. Schnell & Steiner: Regensburg.
  • 1803 – Die gelehrten Mönche und das Ende einer 1000-jährigen Tradition. Exhibition guide. Bischöfliches Ordinariat Regensburg: Regensburg, 2003.
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49°0′55″N 12°5′34″E / 49.01528°N 12.09278°E / 49.01528; 12.09278

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