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Werden Abbey

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(Redirected from Bishop of Werden) Abbey in Essen-Werden, Germany
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51°23′17″N 7°00′17″E / 51.38806°N 7.00472°E / 51.38806; 7.00472

Imperial Abbey of Werden-HelmstedtReichsabtei Werden-Helmstedt
877–1803
Coat of arms of Werden-Helmstedt Coat of arms
Main building of the former abbeyMain building of the former abbey
StatusImperial Abbey
CapitalWerden
Common languagesLow Saxon
Religion Roman Catholic
GovernmentTheocracy
Historical eraMiddle Ages
• Werden founded 809 877
• Helmstedt founded 827
• Gained Reichsfreiheit May 22, 877
• Secularised to Prussia 1803
• Lost to Berg, Westphalia 1806–14
Preceded by Succeeded by
Duchy of Saxony Duchy of Saxony
Kingdom of Prussia
St Ludger's basilica in Werden

Werden Abbey (German: Kloster Werden) was a Benedictine monastery in Essen-Werden (Germany), situated on the Ruhr.

The foundation of the abbey

Near Essen Saint Ludger founded a monastery in 799 and became its first abbot. The little church which Saint Ludger built here in honor of Saint Stephen was completed in 804 and dedicated by Saint Ludger himself, who had meanwhile become Bishop of Münster. Upon the death of Ludger on 26 March 809, the abbacy of Werden passed by inheritance first to his younger brother Hildigrim I (809–827), then successively to four of his nephews: Gerfried (827–839), Thiadgrim (ruled less than a year), Altfried (839–848), Hildigrim II (849–887). Under Hildigrim I, also Bishop of Châlons-sur-Marne, the new monastery of Helmstedt in the Diocese of Halberstadt was founded from Werden. It was ruled over by a provost, and remained a dependency of Werden till its secularization in 1803.

Werden was a wealthy abbey with possessions in Westphalia, Frisia, eastern Saxony and around the abbey itself, where it had a territory of 125 km.

On 22 May 877, under Hildigrim II, the monastery, which up to that time had been the property of the family of Saint Ludger, obtained Imperial immediacy, which amounted to the right of free abbatical election and immunity. Henceforth the abbots of Werden were imperial princes and had a seat in the Imperial Diet. The abbey church of Werden, destroyed by fire in 1256, was rebuilt in the late-Romanesque style (1256–75). Two of the most obscure yet intriguing men to hold seats of authority in Werden Abbey (found in the Archives in North Rhine-Westphalia), were Abt Johann I., (1330–44) and Abt Johann II. von Arscheid (Arscheyt, Arschott-Brabant), (1344–60). Thereafter the monastery began to decline to such an extent that under Abbot Conrad von Gleichen (1454–74), who was a married layman, the whole community consisted of only three men, who divided the possessions of the abbey among themselves. After a complete reform, instituted in 1477, by Abbot Adam von Eschweiler of the Bursfelde Congregation, Werden continued in existence until its secularization in 1803.

Early modern times

Problems arose after the Reformation, when the Vögte (lords protectors) of the abbey were the Protestant rulers of Brandenburg, who had inherited the neighbouring County of the Mark.

The construction of Baroque abbey buildings, textile production and coal mining formed the economic basis of the territory of Werden in the 18th century.

The end of the abbey

During the secularization in 1803 the abbey and its territory became part of Prussia, but three years later it was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Berg. In 1815 it became Prussian again, as part of the Rhine Province.

The buildings are now used by the Folkwang Hochschule.

References

 Holy Roman EmpireImperial abbeys of the Rhenish College
Imperial abbeys and colleges
(Reichsabteien, Reichsklöster
und Reichsstifte
)
Ecclesiastical states of the Holy Roman Empire, 1648
Ecclesiastical states of the Holy Roman Empire, 1648
Imperial provostries and
priories (Reichspropsteien)
Imperial charterhouse
(Reichskartause)
* Also a Prince of the Empire     † Also in Swabian College
Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle (1500–1806) of the Holy Roman Empire
Prince-bishops
Map of a large region (in white) including all the territory of modern Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands, plus parts of most neighbouring countries, including most of Northern Italy. Some of the northwest part region is highlighted in color, including Münster, most of the Netherlands and parts of modern Belgium.
The Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle (red) within the Holy Roman Empire (white) after 1548
Prince-abbots
Secular
Counts / Lords
From 1500
From 1792
Status
uncertain
Cities
from 1648     until 1648     without seat in Imperial Diet     status uncertain

Circles est. 1500: Bavarian, Swabian, Upper Rhenish, Lower Rhenish–Westphalian, Franconian, (Lower) Saxon

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