Maulbronn Monastery
The monastery of Maulbronn is set in rolling hills among the woodlands
and waters of the Kraichgau, where the Cistercian order has left many
traces. Monks from Alsace came to this remote Salzach Valley in
1147 and began building the monastery in accordance with Cistercian
rules. For 390 years monks and lay brothers lived, built, prayed and
worked in Maulbronn. In 1556, after the Reformation, Duke
Christoph of Württemberg established a Protestant school
here. In 1807 it became a Protestant seminary, and as such it
still exists today. Some eminent names in the arts and sciences,
such as Johannes Kepler, Friedrich Hölderlin and Hermann Hesse,
took or gave instruction here, suffering somewhat in the process.
An impressive and varied assortment of buildings extends around the
monastery courtyard, enclosed by medieval walls and towers. The
abbey church, a Romanesque pier basilica with three aisles, was
consecrated in 1178. It is the oldest building here and aspires
to Bernhard of Clairvaux's ideal of bare, unadorned architecture.
The celebrated "Paradise", the porch built around 1220 and the
refectory, illustrate the transition from late Romanesque to early
Gothic. The Gothic cloisters with their bright vaulting, the
water house with its forever bubbling spring, the abundant utility and
residential buildings are silent proof of construction which continued
for many centuries. When exploring the precinct it is easy to
imagine the ascetic routine of the Cistercian order. The
monastery museum provides helpful background information about the
twists and turns of abbey history from its foundation until
secularization, about the life of the monks in white Catholics, the
"Maulbronn heads" and much else besides.
The former Cistercian abbey, now over 850 years old, is regarded as the
most fully preserved and thereby impressive medieval monastery north of
the Alps, and in 1993 it was placed on the UNESCO list of world
heritage sites.The Monk's Choir in the Former Abbey Church
The complex centers on the old monastery church, consecrated in 1178,
and early Maulbronn structure from the first heyday of the abbey.
As in all Cistercian churches, the adoration of Christ is combined with
the adoration of Mary, patroness of the order. A choir screen
partitions off the western end the church used by the lay brothers, now
the parish church. To the east, as an extension of the nave (the
central open space of the church), lies the inner chancel used by the
monks, consisting of the typically rectangular Cistercian choir and the
presbytery (an area reserved for the priests only). The monks
could enter the church directly from the cloisters, a closed
residential area which the old days was exclusively reserved for
them. Lighting improved vastly in the choir when a huge tracery
window was installed in the later 14th-century. The pews made
around 1450 hold 92 seats. The monks prayed and sang together
here eight times a day usually standing before folded seats, and also
attended Mass here.
Old Refectory
Maulbronn Abbey boasts one of the finest Early Gothic refectories still
in existence. A "refectory" is the communal dining hall of the
monastery. Seven sturdy, towering round pillars divide the room
built around 1220 into two parts, while supporting the thick Early
Gothic ribbing of the vaults. For the monks of spiritual
nourishment a monk was chosen to read aloud passages from the holy
Scriptures from an elevated pulpit attached to the east wall
specifically for this purpose. In prosperous days up to a hundred
Cistercians would take their meals here together and in silence,
listening and contemplating.
In terms of its size and the work and quality invested by stonemasons
in its capitals, this grand dining hall would be worthy of the king's
banquet. It borders on the northern cloister, an area similarly
once reserved for the monks, between the abbey kitchen and the warming
room, and measures about 65 feet by 35 feet wide and 30 feet
high. Reflecting these interior dimensions, the external
structure also stands out imposingly against the ensemble. The
monks wash their hands before eating at the Waterhouse opposite the
entrance to the refectory. On this spot a spring watered the
cloistered gardens in the early 13th century. The waterhouse and
refectory are both typical specimens of Cistercian monastic
architecture.
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