Kloster und Basilika Benediktbeuern
The monastery, dedicated to Saints James and Benedict, was founded in around 739/740 as a Benedictine abbey by members of the Huosi, a Bavarian noble clan, who also provided the three brothers who served one after the other as the first three abbots, traditionally named as Lanfrid, Waldram (or Wulfram), and Eliland, for nearly a century. It seems certain that Saint Boniface had an involvement in the foundation. There was here a school of writing, whose work survives in the form of numerous codices of the 8th and 9th centuries.
In 955 however the monastery was destroyed by the Hungarians [1]. It was restored in 969 by Wolfold, a priest, as a house of canons.
Under the influence of Emperor Henry III it was rebuilt by Saint Ulrich, Bishop of Augsburg, and in 1031 returned to the Benedictine rule and re-settled by monks from Tegernsee Abbey under the first abbot of the new foundation, Ellinger. Under the second abbot, Gothelm (1032–1062), and the monks Gotschalk and Adalbert the school and scriptorium were re-established. Gotschalk, later third abbot, was responsible for the translation of the relics of Saint Anastasia here in 1053, which by making the abbey a place of pilgrimage added substantially to its fame and prosperity; he was also its first historian [2].
Benediktbeuern suffered four serious fires, in 1248, 1377, 1378, and 1490, but was prosperous enough to re-build each time.
The abbey enjoyed for centuries an extremely high reputation as a place of learning and research. Botanical research and the establishment of a medicinal herb garden in about 1200 are also evidenced. In about 1250 the library [3] covered the whole range of higher education as it then existed. The abbey also excelled at theological, philosophical and scientific studies. In the 1530s Dom Antonius Funda made considerable advances in the systematic writing of monastic history.
During the secularisation of Bavaria in 1803 the abbey, then comprising thirty-four monks, was dissolved. Some of the former monks took posts as university professors: for example, Ägidius Jais went to Salzburg as a pastoral theologian; Sebastian Mall to Landshut as an orientalist; and Florian Meilinger to Munich as a mathematician.
In the course of the disposal of the library and archives, there came to light the manuscript of the Carmina Burana, a 13th century collection of songs by wandering scholars. The manuscript, also known as the Codex Buranus, is also now in the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek.
The abbey premises were acquired by Josef von Utzschneider, who in 1805 set up an experimental glassworks here, known as the Optical Institute. He was joined by Joseph von Fraunhofer, who was able here among other things to develop flawless or "waveless" flint glass and discover the Fraunhofer lines which have become of importance in the development of spectroscopic analysis.
Since 1930 the buildings have been used by the Salesians, of whom about 45 now live and work here.
The abbey church was declared a "basilica minor" in 1972.
Eine Information zur Kirche in Deutsch findet sich hier:
Kloster und Basilika Benediktbeuern
The monastery, dedicated to Saints James and Benedict, was founded in around 739/740 as a Benedictine abbey by members of the Huosi, a Bavarian noble clan, who also provided the three brothers who served one after the other as the first three abbots, traditionally named as Lanfrid, Waldram (or Wulfram), and Eliland, for nearly a century. It seems certain that Saint Boniface had an involvement in the foundation. There was here a school of writing, whose work survives in the form of numerous codices of the 8th and 9th centuries.
In 955 however the monastery was destroyed by the Hungarians [1]. It was restored in 969 by Wolfold, a priest, as a house of canons.
Under the influence of Emperor Henry III it was rebuilt by Saint Ulrich, Bishop of Augsburg, and in 1031 returned to the Benedictine rule and re-settled by monks from Tegernsee Abbey under the first abbot of the new foundation, Ellinger. Under the second abbot, Gothelm (1032–1062), and the monks Gotschalk and Adalbert the school and scriptorium were re-established. Gotschalk, later third abbot, was responsible for the translation of the relics of Saint Anastasia here in 1053, which by making the abbey a place of pilgrimage added substantially to its fame and prosperity; he was also its first historian [2].
Benediktbeuern suffered four serious fires, in 1248, 1377, 1378, and 1490, but was prosperous enough to re-build each time.
The abbey enjoyed for centuries an extremely high reputation as a place of learning and research. Botanical research and the establishment of a medicinal herb garden in about 1200 are also evidenced. In about 1250 the library [3] covered the whole range of higher education as it then existed. The abbey also excelled at theological, philosophical and scientific studies. In the 1530s Dom Antonius Funda made considerable advances in the systematic writing of monastic history.
During the secularisation of Bavaria in 1803 the abbey, then comprising thirty-four monks, was dissolved. Some of the former monks took posts as university professors: for example, Ägidius Jais went to Salzburg as a pastoral theologian; Sebastian Mall to Landshut as an orientalist; and Florian Meilinger to Munich as a mathematician.
In the course of the disposal of the library and archives, there came to light the manuscript of the Carmina Burana, a 13th century collection of songs by wandering scholars. The manuscript, also known as the Codex Buranus, is also now in the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek.
The abbey premises were acquired by Josef von Utzschneider, who in 1805 set up an experimental glassworks here, known as the Optical Institute. He was joined by Joseph von Fraunhofer, who was able here among other things to develop flawless or "waveless" flint glass and discover the Fraunhofer lines which have become of importance in the development of spectroscopic analysis.
Since 1930 the buildings have been used by the Salesians, of whom about 45 now live and work here.
The abbey church was declared a "basilica minor" in 1972.
Eine Information zur Kirche in Deutsch findet sich hier: