Ettal Abbey is a Benedictine
monasteryMonastery , a term derived from the Greek word μοναστήριον, neut. of μοναστήριος - monasterios denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer Monastery (plural: monasteries), a term derived from the Greek word μοναστήριον, neut. of μοναστήριος - monasterios...
in the village of
EttalEttal is a German town in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in Bavaria.-Geography:Ettal is situated in the Oberland area in the Graswangtal between the Loisachtal and Ammertal, approx. 10 km north of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the district capital, and approx...
close to
OberammergauOberammergau is a municipality in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in Bavaria, Germany. The town is famous for its production of a Passion Play and the NATO School.- Passion Play :...
and
Garmisch-PartenkirchenGarmisch-Partenkirchen is a market town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in the Oberbayern region, not far from the border with Austria.-History:...
in
BavariaBavaria , with an area of and almost 12.5 million inhabitants, is located in the southeast of Germany and is the largest state of Germany by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
,
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
.
Middle Ages and Early Modern period
Ettal Abbey was founded on 28 April 1330,
Saint Vitalis of MilanSaint Vitalis of Milan, known as San Vitale in Italian and Saint Vital in French, was an early Christian martyr.-Biography:Vitalis was a wealthy citizen of Milan, perhaps a soldier. He was married to Saint Valeria, and they were the parents of the perhaps legendary Saints Gervasius and Protasius...
's day, by Emperor
Ludwig the BavarianLouis IV , called the Bavarian, of the house of Wittelsbach, was the King of Germany from 1314, the King of Italy from 1327 and the Holy Roman Emperor from 1328....
in the Graswang valley, in fulfilment of an oath on his return from
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
, on a site of strategic importance on the primary trade route between Italy and
AugsburgAugsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria in Germany. It is a College town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a...
. The foundation legend is that Ludwig's horse genuflected three times on the site of the original church building, where a statuette of the Virgin Mary ("Frau Stifterin" or the "Ettal Madonna") of the
PisanoPisano is the name of several notable people:*Andrea Pisano , Italian sculptor and architect*Bernardo Pisano , Italian composer of the early 16th century...
School now stands, a gift from Ludwig to his new foundation. This statue soon became an object of pilgrimage. The church is dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin.
The foundation originally consisted of a Benedictine double monastery - a community for men and another for women - and also a house of the
Teutonic KnightsThe Order of the Teutonic Knights of St. Mary's Hospital in Jerusalem , or for short the Teutonic Order , is a German Roman Catholic religious order. It was formed to aid Catholics on their pilgrimages to the Holy Land and to establish hospitals to care for the sick and injured...
.
The original Gothic abbey church, built between 1330 and 1370, was a modest structure in comparison to the great churches of mediaeval Bavaria.
The abbey suffered great damage during the
ReformationThe Protestant Reformation was a Christian reform movement in Europe which is generally deemed to have begun with Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses in 1517 although a number of precursors such as Jan Hus predate that event...
at the hands of the troops of Maurice of Saxony, but survived the troubles of the
Thirty Years' WarThe Thirty Years' War was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history. The war was fought primarily in Germany and at various points involved most of the countries of Europe...
(1618–1648).
Baroque expansion
In 1709 under Abbot Placidus II Seiz, the golden age of Ettal began with the establishment of the "Knights' Academy" (
"Ritterakademie"), which developed into a highly successful school and began the educational tradition of the abbey. In 1744 the abbey and the abbey church were largely destroyed in a fire. The subsequent spectacular re-building in the
BaroqueBaroque is an artistic style prevalent from the late 16th century to the early 18th century. The popularity and success of the Baroque style was encouraged by the Roman Catholic Church, which had decided at the time of the Council of Trent that the arts should communicate religious themes in...
style, with a double-shelled dome, was to the plans of
Enrico ZuccalliEnrico Zuccalli, was a Swiss architect who worked for the Wittelsbach regents of Bavaria and Cologne....
, a Swiss-Italian architect working in
MunichMunich is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. It is located on the River Isar north of the Bavarian Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg...
, who had studied with Bernini. The decoration was primarily carried out by Josef Schmutzer of the
Wessobrunn SchoolWessobrunn Abbey was a Benedictine monastery near Weilheim in Bavaria, Germany.It is celebrated as the home of the famous Wessobrunn Prayer and also of a Baroque school of stucco workers and plasterers in the 18th century....
of stuccoists and
Johann Baptist StraubJohann Baptist Straub was an important German Rococo sculptor.Straub was born in Wiesensteig, into a family of sculptors. His father Johann George Straub and his brothers Philipp Jakob, Joseph, and Johann Georg Straub were also sculptors, as was his nephew Franz Xaver Messerschmidt. J. B...
, who was responsible for the altars and the chancel.
Ettal's importance as a place of pilgrimage grew with the new buildings, and it became one of the most important monasteries in the
AlpineThe Alps are one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east; through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany; to France in the west....
region.
Secularization
The abbey was dissolved in 1803 during the secularization of church property in Bavaria. The site was acquired in 1809 by Josef von Elbing and sold by his descendants in 1856 to Count Pappenheim. Some small building works were carried out during the 19th century, principally the renovation of the façade and the twin bell towers.
Second foundation
In 1898, the buildings were acquired by Baron Theodor von Cramer-Klett and in 1900 given to the Benedictines of
Scheyern AbbeyScheyern Abbey, formerly also Scheyern Priory is a house of the Benedictine Order in Scheyern in Bavaria.-First foundation:...
, who re-founded the monastery here.
The abbey church of the Ascension was declared a
basilica minor in 1920.
In the tradition of the "Ritterakademie" the abbey has established a secondary school (
"GymnasiumA gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools...
") specialising in the humanities and modern languages, with a boarding house. Ettal also runs a brewery and distillery, a bookshop, an art publishing business, a hotel, a cheese factory joint venture and various other small businesses.
In 1993 Ettal re-founded the former
Wechselburg AbbeyWechselburg Priory, formerly Wechselburg Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in Wechselburg in Saxony, dissolved in the 16th century and re-founded in 1993.-First foundation:...
in
SaxonyThe Free State of Saxony is a federal state of Germany, located in the southeastern part of present-day Germany. It is the tenth-largest German state in area and the sixth largest in population , of Germany's sixteen states.Long in the heart of German-speaking Europe, Saxony became one of the new...
, an old monastery of the Augustinian Canons, as a Benedictine priory.
The abbey, with a community (as of 2005) of more than 50 monks, and another 5 at Wechselburg, is one of the largest Benedictine houses and a major attraction for visitors.
Ettal maintains a Byzantine Institute. The abbot of Ettal, Joannes Hoeck, made a significant contribution on the role of Patriarchs in Church government at the Second Vatican Council.
Ettal has been a member of the
Bavarian CongregationThe Bavarian Congregation is a congregation of the Benedictine Confederation consisting of monasteries in Bavaria, Germany.It was founded on 26 August 1684 by the Blessed Pope Innocent XI .-First Congregation:...
of the
Benedictine ConfederationThe Benedictine Confederation of the Order of Saint Benedict is the international governing body of the Order of Saint Benedict.-Origin:...
since 1900.
[Baroque Church Interior:
http://www.alpenhof-kruen.de/f/haus/ettal.jpg
Abbots (Second foundation)
- 1907–1933 Willibald Wolfsteiner
- 1933–1951 Angelus Kupfer
- 1951–1961 Dr Johannes M. Hoeck
- 1961–1973 Dr Karl Gross
- 1973–2005 Dr. Edelbert Hörhammer
- From 2005 Barnabas Bögle
World War II
During the winter of 1940-41, the German pastor and theologian
Dietrich BonhoefferDietrich Bonhoeffer Dietrich Bonhoeffer Dietrich Bonhoeffer ( (February 4, 1906 – April 9, 1945) was a German Lutheran pastor and theologian. He was also a participant in the German Resistance movement against Nazism, a founding member of the Confessing Church...
(1906-1945) spent some months at the monastery as the friend and guest of the Abbot. Like Bonhoeffer, a number of those in the Ettal community were involved in the conspiracy against Hitler. While at Ettal, Bonhoeffer also worked on his book
Ethics. Catholic priest
Rupert MayerBlessed Rupert Mayer was a Jesuit priest and a leading figure of the Catholic resistance in the Third Reich in Munich. In 1987 he was beatified by Pope John Paul II.-Life:...
was kept at the Abbey from 1939 to 1945 by the Nazis to prevent him for further anti-Nazi preaching.
External links
Ettal Abbey's website (with separate pages for the
boarding house,
brewery,
publisher and
hotel)
Ettal Abbey's website: pages on the Monastic Community Benediktinergymnasium Ettal Klöster in Bayern: Benediktinerabtei Ettal