Salem Abbey

{{Infobox country

|native_name = Reichsabtei Salem

|conventional_long_name = Imperial Abbey of Salem

|

|image_coat = Wappen Reichsabtei Salem.svg

|image_map = Salem Wahrhaffte Abbildung2.jpg

|image_map_caption = Salem Abbey, c. 1708

|

|status = Imperial Abbey

|

|year_start = 1155

|year_end = 1803

|

|event_pre = Abbey founded

|date_pre = 1137

|event_start = Gained immediacy

|date_start =

|event_end = Mediatized to Baden

|date_end =

|

|p1 = Duchy of Swabia

|s1 = Margraviate of Baden

}}

In 1134, a knight named Guntram von Adelsreute,{{sfn|Klöster in Baden-Württemberg: Salem}}{{sfn|Schütz|2004|p=318}} inspired by a sermon held by Bernard of Clairvaux at the Konstanz Minster, donated an estate in the Linzgau region to Bernard's monastic order, the Cistercians.{{sfn|Schütz|2004|p=318}} That estate, called the Salmannsweiler,{{sfn|Schütz|2004|p=318}}{{sfn|Süddeutscher Barock: Salem}} had an area of about {{convert|200|ha}}{{sfn|Salem Abbey: Milestones}} and was too small to support a monastery. Regardless,{{sfn|Klöster in Baden-Württemberg: Salem}} in 1137 a party of 12 monks were sent from Lucelle Abbey, in Alsace.{{sfn|Süddeutscher Barock: Salem}} These monks combined existing farms with further donations from Guntram in 1138 that gave the new monastery a stable economic base.{{sfn|Klöster in Baden-Württemberg: Salem}} Its abbot, Frowin, a friend of Bernard, named the monastery Salem, likely as an allusion to Jerusalem.{{sfn|Schütz|2004|p=318}}

The foundation of the abbey was confirmed by Linzgau nobility led by the {{ill|County of Heiligenberg|de|Grafschaft Heiligenberg|lt=Count of Heiligenberg}} in 1138, and again in 1140 by Frederick II, Duke of Swabia, and Pope Innocent II and once more in 1142 by Conrad III, King of Germany. Finally, in 1155, Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor, granted Salem imperial immediacy, making it an imperial abbey, and took the abbey under his personal patronage. Salem Abbey profited greatly from the patronage of Frederick's house, the Hohenstaufen, and its territory rapidly expanded through donations and purchases. This rapid growth brought Salem into contention with the Bishop of Constance and with local nobility and peasantry. Under Abbot {{ill|Eberhard von Rohrdorf|de}}, however, the monastery continued to expand and secured the protection of the Archbishop of Salzburg in 1201.{{sfn|Klöster in Baden-Württemberg: Salem}} The Archbishop of Salzburg also gave a saltwork at Hallein to Salem for it to export salt across Lake Constance and further enrich the abbey.{{sfn|Klöster in Baden-Württemberg: Salem}}{{sfn|Schütz|2004|p=318}}

With the beginning of the Great Interregnum in the mid-13th century and the loss of Hohenstaufen protection, Salem began to decline as its possessions were attacked by local rivals and was driven into debt. Salem's situation improved with the election of Rudolf I as King of Germany and the creation of the {{ill|Landvogtei Schwaben|de}} at the end of the century, which aligned Salem with the House of Habsburg. That alignment brought more attacks on Salem in 1314, led by the Counts of Werdenberg to Heiligenberg, that lasted until Emperor Charles IV granted Salem further political exemptions.{{sfn|Klöster in Baden-Württemberg: Salem}}

By 1300, 300 choir monks and lay brothers inhabited Salem.{{sfn|Schütz|2004|p=318}}

From 1615 to 1620, Abbot Thomas I demolished the medieval monastery buildings to construct a new complex.{{sfn|Salem Abbey: Milestones}} In 1697, every building of the monastery complex except its church was destroyed by fire.{{sfn|Salem Abbey: Complex}}

The abbey saw renewed prosperity during the 18th century, however, and it was able to rebuild.{{sfn|Salem Abbey: Milestones}}

In 1802, as part of the process of German mediatization, Salem Abbey was ceded to the Margraviate of Baden by Napoleon to compensate Baden for territories on the Left Bank of the Rhine that had been annexed into France.{{sfn|Salem Abbey: Milestones}}

In 1920, Prince Maximilian of Baden and the educator Kurt Hahn established the Schule Schloss Salem on the grounds of the abbey.{{sfn|Salem Abbey: Milestones}}

The House of Baden sold most of the abbey's grounds to the State of Baden-Württemberg in 2009. {{sfn|Salem Abbey: Abbey and Palace}}

File:Aerial image of the Salem Abbey (view from the southwest).jpg

A wall was built to enclose the monastery complex around the year 1300. The northern edge of the extant monastery is made up by service buildings that house a stable, mill, bakery, blacksmithy, prison, and also include a wine cellar and a tithe barn.{{sfn|Salem Abbey: Monastery Area}}

The ceilings of the rebuilt cloister are adorned with stucco and frescoes depicting the life of Bernard of Clairvaux.{{sfn|Salem Abbey: Complex}}

Construction of the Salem Minster building (the church of the abbey complex) began in 1299. It was not finished until 1414, when the Archbishop of Salzburg consecrated it.

Before the abbey was secularized, the Prälatur was the residence of Salem's abbots. Afterwards, it was a residence of the House of Baden.{{sfn|Salem Abbey: Complex}}

{{reflist}}

• {{cite book|last=Schütz|first=Bernard|title=Great Monasteries of Europe|others=Translated by Steven Lindberg|year=2004|publisher=Abbeville Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-789-20829-3}}

{{refbegin|25em}}

• {{cite web|last=Kuhn|first=Elmar L.|title=Zisterzienserabtei Salem - Geschichte|url=https://www.kloester-bw.de/klostertexte.php?kreis=&bistum=&alle=&ungeteilt=&art=&orden=&orte=&buchstabe=&nr=652&thema=Geschichte|work=Klöster in Baden-Württemberg|publisher=Baden-Württemberg State Archive|language=de|access-date=|ref={{sfnref|Klöster in Baden-Württemberg: Salem}}}}
• {{cite web|title=Das Kloster und das Schloss|url=https://www.salem.de/erlebnis-kloster-schloss/kloster-und-schloss|publisher={{ill|Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten Baden-Württemberg|de}}|language=de|access-date=27 November 2021|ref={{sfnref|Salem Abbey: Abbey and Palace}}}}
• {{cite web|title=Die Gebäude|url=https://www.salem.de/erlebnis-kloster-schloss/kloster-und-schloss/gebaeude|publisher=Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten Baden-Württemberg|language=de|access-date=27 November 2021|ref={{sfnref|Salem Abbey: Complex}}}}
• {{cite web|title=Das Münster|url=https://www.salem.de/erlebnis-kloster-schloss/kloster-und-schloss/gebaeude/muenster|publisher=Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten Baden-Württemberg|language=de|access-date=28 November 2021|ref={{sfnref|Salem Abbey: Minster}}}}
• {{cite web|title=Das Konventgebäude|url=https://www.salem.de/erlebnis-kloster-schloss/kloster-und-schloss/gebaeude/konventgebaeude|publisher=Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten Baden-Württemberg|language=de|access-date=28 November 2021|ref={{sfnref|Salem Abbey: Baroque Monastery}}}}
• {{cite web|title=Das Sommerrefektorium|url=https://www.salem.de/erlebnis-kloster-schloss/kloster-und-schloss/gebaeude/das-sommerrefektorium|publisher=Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten Baden-Württemberg|language=de|access-date=28 November 2021|ref={{sfnref|Salem Abbey: Summer Refectory}}}}
• {{cite web|title=Die Prälatur|url=https://www.salem.de/erlebnis-kloster-schloss/kloster-und-schloss/gebaeude/praelatur|publisher=Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten Baden-Württemberg|language=de|access-date=28 November 2021|ref={{sfnref|Salem Abbey: Prelacy}}}}
• {{cite web|title=Der Kaisersaal|url=https://www.salem.de/erlebnis-kloster-schloss/kloster-und-schloss/gebaeude/kaisersaal|publisher=Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten Baden-Württemberg|language=de|access-date=28 November 2021|ref={{sfnref|Salem Abbey: Kaisersaal}}}}
• {{cite web|title=Die Bibliothek|url=https://www.salem.de/erlebnis-kloster-schloss/kloster-und-schloss/gebaeude/bibliothek|publisher=Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten Baden-Württemberg|language=de|access-date=28 November 2021|ref={{sfnref|Salem Abbey: Library}}}}
• {{cite web|title=Das Klosterareal|url=https://www.salem.de/erlebnis-kloster-schloss/kloster-und-schloss/klosterareal|publisher=Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten Baden-Württemberg|language=de|access-date=28 November 2021|ref={{sfnref|Salem Abbey: Monastery Area}}}}
• {{cite web|title=Die Garten|url=https://www.salem.de/erlebnis-kloster-schloss/kloster-und-schloss/garten|publisher=Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten Baden-Württemberg|language=de|access-date=28 November 2021|ref={{sfnref|Salem Abbey: Gardens}}}}
• {{cite web|title=Meilensteine|url=https://www.salem.de/wissenswert-amuesant/meilensteine|publisher=Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten Baden-Württemberg|language=de|access-date=27 November 2021|ref={{sfnref|Salem Abbey: Milestones}}}}
• {{cite web|last=Bieri|first=Pius|title=Ehemalige Zisterzienser-Reichsabtei Salem|url=https://www.sueddeutscher-barock.ch/In-Werke/s-z/Salem.html|work=Süddeutscher Barock|language=de|access-date=27 November 2021|ref={{sfnref|Süddeutscher Barock: Salem}}}}

{{refend}}

{{commons|Monastery of Salem}}

• [https://www.salem.de/en/ Salem Monastery and Palace] – official website
• [https://www.schule-schloss-salem.de/en/ Schule Schloss Salem] – school website
• [http://www.zum.de/Faecher/G/BW/Landeskunde/rhein/bodensee/kloester/salem/index.htm Salem overview]

{{Swabian College}}

{{Castles in Bodenseekreis}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Imperial abbeys disestablished in 1802–03

Category:Monasteries in Baden-Württemberg

Category:Cistercian monasteries in Germany

Category:Christian monasteries established in the 1130s

Category:Historic house museums in Baden-Württemberg

Category:Religious museums in Germany

Category:Bodenseekreis

Category:1130s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire