The abbey was founded in 1148 by a knight, Stephan of Mörlheim, and settled by twelve Cistercian monks from Villers-Bettnach Abbey in Lorraine (of the filiation of Morimond). The monks' first task was the clearing of the river valley, to make it cultivable. In 1186 Emperor Frederick Barbarossa put the monastery under Imperial protection. It subsequently received rich gifts, including many vineyards in the south of the Palatinate. A village quickly grew up round the monastery.
The monks served at Trifels Castle as chaplains, and watched over the Imperial Regalia while they were kept in the castle during the 12th and 13th centuries. Eusserthal never founded any daughter houses, but it had a priory at Mörlheim.
After that the importance of the abbey declined. In the 15th century it was looted several times. In 1525, during the German Peasants' War, it was looted and set on fire; it was rebuilt in 1552 under Abbot Martin II. In 1561 Elector Frederick III dissolved the abbey in consequence of the Reformation.
In the 17th and 18th centuries several attempts were made to revive the monastery, but without success.
Church buildingedit
The building of the church is thought to have been begun about 1220; it was dedicated in 1262. The plan and basic structure are Romanesque but the vaulting shows Early Gothic influence. In accordance with Cistercian custom the church has no towers, just a flèche, or miniature spire, over the crossing, and the interior is without colour. The construction is of local red sandstone. The structure is of a pillared basilica of three aisles and a transept on a Latin cross ground plan. The vaults in the nave and the choir are secured by open buttresses. The resemblance to the church of Otterberg Abbey, which was built earlier, is unmistakable, although the church at Otterberg is larger.
The conventual buildings and the cloisters have disappeared, and of the church there now remain only the choir, the transept and the first bay of the nave. In the wall of the choir is a rose window with tracery, and over the arch of a door a well-preserved relief sculpture of a dragon in sandstone.
In the 18th century the remains of the abbey church were re-worked as a parish church. At that time the upper window openings were closed and the ruins of the bulk of the nave were demolished, and replaced by a simple west front. The acoustics of the resulting building are ideal for the performance of church music, and the summer concerts held here are well-known.
In 1961 substantial restorations took place, which have had the effect of emphasizing the Romanesque character of the structure.
Sourcesedit
Feldhaus, Heribert (2008): Das ehemalige Zisterzienserkloster Eusserthal. Imhof Petersberg ISBN3-86568-255-3
eusserthal, abbey, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, august, . This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Eusserthal Abbey news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2013 Learn how and when to remove this template message Eusserthal Abbey German Kloster Eusserthal was a Cistercian abbey in Eusserthal near Annweiler am Trifels in the Rhineland Palatinate Germany All that now remains of it is the front portion of the abbey church which is now used as a parish church Eusserthal the former abbey church now the parish church Contents 1 History 2 Church building 3 Sources 4 External linksHistory editThe abbey was founded in 1148 by a knight Stephan of Morlheim and settled by twelve Cistercian monks from Villers Bettnach Abbey in Lorraine of the filiation of Morimond The monks first task was the clearing of the river valley to make it cultivable In 1186 Emperor Frederick Barbarossa put the monastery under Imperial protection It subsequently received rich gifts including many vineyards in the south of the Palatinate A village quickly grew up round the monastery The monks served at Trifels Castle as chaplains and watched over the Imperial Regalia while they were kept in the castle during the 12th and 13th centuries Eusserthal never founded any daughter houses but it had a priory at Morlheim After that the importance of the abbey declined In the 15th century it was looted several times In 1525 during the German Peasants War it was looted and set on fire it was rebuilt in 1552 under Abbot Martin II In 1561 Elector Frederick III dissolved the abbey in consequence of the Reformation In the 17th and 18th centuries several attempts were made to revive the monastery but without success Church building editThe building of the church is thought to have been begun about 1220 it was dedicated in 1262 The plan and basic structure are Romanesque but the vaulting shows Early Gothic influence In accordance with Cistercian custom the church has no towers just a fleche or miniature spire over the crossing and the interior is without colour The construction is of local red sandstone The structure is of a pillared basilica of three aisles and a transept on a Latin cross ground plan The vaults in the nave and the choir are secured by open buttresses The resemblance to the church of Otterberg Abbey which was built earlier is unmistakable although the church at Otterberg is larger The conventual buildings and the cloisters have disappeared and of the church there now remain only the choir the transept and the first bay of the nave In the wall of the choir is a rose window with tracery and over the arch of a door a well preserved relief sculpture of a dragon in sandstone In the 18th century the remains of the abbey church were re worked as a parish church At that time the upper window openings were closed and the ruins of the bulk of the nave were demolished and replaced by a simple west front The acoustics of the resulting building are ideal for the performance of church music and the summer concerts held here are well known In 1961 substantial restorations took place which have had the effect of emphasizing the Romanesque character of the structure Sources editFeldhaus Heribert 2008 Das ehemalige Zisterzienserkloster Eusserthal Imhof Petersberg ISBN 3 86568 255 3External links editkarlsruhe Eusserthal Bilder Stadtwiki Karlsruhe photos of the abbey in German 49 14 30 N 7 58 13 E 49 24167 N 7 97028 E 49 24167 7 97028 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Eusserthal Abbey amp oldid 1086895766, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
