5/5 Thus Wurstbursch Kögl de Waldinutzy, Attaknabe (De x-träjm Soup m. 2 months ago on Google • 442 reviews New
The
Heiligenberg
monastery
ruins
are
the
remains
of
a
medieval
nunnery.
It
was
founded
in
the
middle
of
the
13th
century
at
the
latest
by
the
Lords
of
Bickenbach.
At
that
time
they
built
up
their
territory
and
ruled
it
from
their
Bickenbach
Castle
(today
Alsbach
Castle).
The
monastery
probably
served
to
care
for
unmarried
or
widowed
female
family
members.
It
could
also
have
been
intended
as
a
burial
place.
Gottfried
von
Bickenbach
and
his
wife
Agnes
are
believed
to
be
the
founders.
However,
this
can
no
longer
be
determined
exactly,
partly
because
a
church
has
stood
on
this
site
since
the
late
10th
or
early
11th
century.
The
small
monastery
probably
only
ever
housed
a
few
nuns.
Only
a
few
graves
were
found
during
excavations
(the
location
of
the
monastery
cemetery
is,
however,
unknown).
The
women's
community
may
have
initially
lived
according
to
the
Benedictine
Rule,
but
in
a
document
from
1413
the
convent
was
assigned
to
the
Franciscan
order.
In
1304,
relatives
of
the
Bickenbach
family
dedicated
shares
to
the
monastery:
the
four
brothers
Reinhard,
Gerhard,
Giso
and
Conrad,
grandsons
of
Konrad
II
von
Bickenbach.
Gerhard
and
Giso
are
the
two
brothers
who
built
the
nearby
Jossa
Castle
around
1290-1300.
In
1413,
the
Archbishop
of
Mainz
incorporated
the
nunnery
into
the
Lorsch
monastery,
probably
at
the
instigation
of
the
Lorsch
monks.
Reason:
his
income
could
no
longer
ensure
independent
survival.
The
last
two
nuns
were
forbidden
in
the
incorporation
certificate
from
accepting
new
members
into
their
convent.
In
return,
Lorsch
paid
them
a
lifelong
annuity.
Contrary
to
what
is
stated
in
this
document,
the
women's
monastery
probably
had
sufficient
income.
The
monastery
continued
to
be
used
for
over
a
century.
It
is
still
documented
until
around
1550.
The
monastery
was
then
reformed
and
continued
to
operate
as
part
of
the
secularized
Lorsch
domain.
After
the
looting
during
the
Thirty
Years'
War,
the
decline
finally
set
in.
A
church
register
recorded
in
1632
that
the
“little
nunnery
on
the
Heiligenberg
was
now
completely
dilapidated”.
His
vineyards
were
still
cultivated
even
after
the
Thirty
Years'
War.
With
the
Säk'lar'sation
in
1803,
the
possessions
of
the
Lorsch
monastery
fell
to
the
Landgraviate
of
Hesse-Darmstadt.
In
1810
the
Heiligenberg
was
given
to
the
secret
finance
councilor
Hofmann
as
a
thank
you
for
his
restructuring
of
the
state
finances.
From
1813
onwards
he
had
an
estate
built
on
Marienberg
and
the
first
security
work
carried
out
in
the
monastery
complex.
In
1827,
Grand
Duchess
Wilhelmine
acquired
the
estate.
From
1831
the
facility
was
renovated/redesigned.
Wilhelmine
had
an
artificial
church
ruin
built
on
the
remains
of
the
foundation
in
the
spirit
of
Romanticism,
for
which
tracery
from
the
demolished
church
in
Gronau
was
brought
in.
Any
remaining
remains
were
included,
but
others
were
removed.
The
wall
adjoining
the
choir
to
the
west
was
added
in
1866
when
the
Kreuzgarten
was
enclosed.
The
ruins
were
ultimately
part
of
an
open
park
that
stretched
from
the
castle
to
the
vineyards
on
the
southwest
slope
of
the
Heiligenberg.
The
church
ruins
are
now
freely
accessible
and
are
protected
as
a
cultural
monument.
Its
current
appearance
largely
dates
back
to
Wilhelmine's
reconstruction,
although
hardly
any
visible
traces
of
the
medieval
complex
have
been
preserved.
Only
excavations
revealed
the
structures
of
the
monastery
complex:
it
was
divided
into
a
small
church
in
which
the
foundations
of
two
brick
altars
were
dug,
each
with
a
grave
in
front
of
it.
This
church
dates
from
the
early
Romanesque
period.
A
tower
was
then
added
around
1240.
In
the
south
a
residential
building
adjoined
the
church.
To
the
south
of
it
were
found
the
foundations
of
the
surrounding
wall
and
the
still
visible
outer
walls
of
two
outbuildings.
Another
outer
wall
suggests
a
multi-story
gatehouse.
