Elchingen Monastery

The monastery in a vast valley near the Danube was founded before 1120 by Count Adalbert of the Ravenstein clan (d. 1121) and his wife Berta von Ball (d. 1142). After the fire, the monastery was rebuilt already in its present place - in the medieval castle complex: the next generation of local lords became the second founders. Sources give different dates for the opening of the monastery in a new place: from 1128 to 1142. The first monks came from Hirsau and Lorch , and the first abbot was Andreas von Eichheim, who held his post from 1128 to 1139. In any case, the foundation of the monastery was confirmed by Pope Innocent II in a document dated February 26, 1142; The monastery was protected by the Apostolic throne in 1147.

The first 60-meter three-nave Romanesque basilica - built in 1150-1160 and dedicated to the Virgin and the apostles Peter and Paul - despite the fires and some structural changes, has survived to the present day in its main part: almost all modern masonry dates back to the XII century. Thanks to a series of large donations, the monastery soon acquired significant land and accumulated wealth - which were only partially reduced during the monastery reforms of the XIV century. At the same time, the location at the intersection of several trade routes at once led to the fact that the monastery was plundered several times: often “bare walls” remained from it.

After another fire that occurred in 1430, the abbots of the 15th century Friedrich Zwirner (reigned from 1431 to 1461) and Paulus Caste (1461–1491) were actively engaged in construction, including the strengthening of the monastery walls. Researchers have suggested that the magnificent appearance of the monastery buildings led to the fact that Emperor Frederick III spontaneously decided to visit the monastery, simply by seeing it from afar. The political influence of the abbey also increased: its monks regularly became rectors in other Swabian monasteries.

For almost a century, the community had been arguing with the imperial city of Ulm : as a result, Emperor Maximilian I elevated the monastery to the status of “free imperial abbey ” in 1495. However, the Reformation that soon followed brought difficult times for the monastery: so neighboring Ulm forbade Catholic worship, and the abbot and monks were forced to temporarily leave their homes. At the same time, the monastery and its possessions were not plundered by Protestant citizens.

The devastation nevertheless occurred during three major wars: during the Schmalkalden war in 1546, during the Second Margrave war in 1552 and during the Thirty Years War . It took the monastery half a century to overcome the consequences of the destruction. The pilgrimage stimulation by the abbots contributed to the financial well-being of the monastery. In the XVIII century, the monastery in Elchingen reached its peak: in 1715, there were 42 monks. In 1802, the monastery was secularized - at that time 25 monks lived in it. In 1921, the monks from the Congregation Missionary Oblate of the Immaculate Virgin Mary re-settled it: due to the lack of new members, the monastery was transferred to the Polish union Oblatenprovinz in 2006.

• Herrenkimze Monastery
• Himmelkron Monastery
• Astheim Monastery

• Hagel, Franz Josef: Kloster Elchingen. Augsburg 1928.
• Konrad, A .: Die Reichsabtei Elchingen. Ihr Bild im Wandel der Jahrhunderte. Weißenhorn 1965.
• Hemmerle, Josef, Die Benediktinerklöster in Bayern, München 1970 (Germania Benedictina 2), S. 87-90.
• Georg Dehio. Handbuch der Deutschen Kunstdenkmäler, Bayern III: Schwaben, bearb. v. Bruno Bushart und Georg Paula, München 1989, S. 792-794.
• Brenner, Bernhard: Das ehemalige Reichsstift Elchingen / Oberelchingen, in: Schiedermair, Werner: Klosterland Bayerisch Schwaben. Zur Erinnerung an die Säkularisation der 1802/1803, Lindenberg 2003, S. 217-219.

• Christine Riedl-Valder. Elchingen - benediktinisches Reformkloster und napoleonisches Schlachtfeld (German) . hdbg.eu. Haus der Bayerischen Geschichte . Date of treatment April 23, 2019.