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31-500: Fischbach has the longest history of any of Luxembourg's castles. The Abbey of Echternach , the wealthiest institution in Luxembourg for centuries, was the first owner of the estate of Fischbach. Records show the first liege independent of the Church took possession of the castle in 1050. The castle underwent several renovations and alterations, including complete destruction in 1635, during

62-409: A Luxembourgish building or structure is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Abbey of Echternach 49°48′50″N 06°25′21″E  /  49.81389°N 6.42250°E  / 49.81389; 6.42250 The Abbey of Echternach is a Benedictine monastery in the town of Echternach , in eastern Luxembourg . The abbey was founded in the 7th century by St Willibrord ,

93-453: A 'royal abbey', and granted it immunity . Beornrad , the third abbot of Echternach, was a great favourite of Charlemagne , and was promoted to Archbishop of Sens in 785. When Beornrad died, in 797, Charlemagne took direct control of the abbey for a year. The work of the monks at the abbey was heavily influenced by Willibrord's roots in Northumbria and Ireland , where a great emphasis

124-467: A rest home for German artists, calling it Künstlerheim Fischbach . Despite this designation, Fischbach did not avoid the looting of art and historic artefacts that befell other palaces in Luxembourg. However, unlike the other palaces, it was not renovated or partly demolished to suit the Nazis' intentions, leaving it habitable by Grand Duchess Charlotte upon her return from exile. Due to the unsuitability of

155-556: Is an annual Roman Catholic dancing procession held at Echternach , in eastern Luxembourg . Echternach's is the last traditional dancing procession in Europe . The procession is held every Whit Tuesday . It honours Willibrord , the patron saint of Luxembourg, who established the Abbey of Echternach . Echternach has developed a strong tourism industry centred on the procession, which draws many thousands of tourists and pilgrims from around

186-551: Is the last such traditional dancing procession in Europe . The event draws to Echternach tens of thousands of visitors a year, be they pilgrims or tourists, who either participate or observe the quaint and distinctive procession. On 9 February 2010 Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden, published a two-volume catalogue of the manuscripts in the library on behalf of the Bibliothèque nationale de Luxembourg . Dancing procession of Echternach The dancing procession of Echternach

217-534: The French Revolution effectually prevented it, it was revived in 1802, and has continued ever since. In 1826, the government tried to change the day to a Sunday. Since 1830, it has always taken place on Whit Tuesday , selected for reasons of tradition with no direct relation to Saint Willibrord himself, whose own feast day in the General Roman Calendar is 7 November. In bygone days the procession

248-567: The Golden Gospels of Henry III were also produced in Echternach at this time, when production of books at the scriptorium peaked. Around the middle of the 19th century, the choir began to crumble and it was feared that it might collapse completely. For this reason, an association was founded in 1862 for the reconstruction of the church (the Kirchbauverein). The rebuilding in a neo-roman style

279-456: The Thirty Years' War . During the second quarter of the 19th century, industrialist and metallurgist Auguste Garnier owned the castle and turned the estate into an industrial centre by constructing blast furnaces there. Grand Duke William II was the first head of state to own the castle in 1847, when he bought the estate to consolidate his political control of Luxembourg and to placate

310-665: The civil wars under Louis the Pious , so too did the power of the abbey. In 847, the Benedictine monks were ejected and replaced by lay -abbots. The fortunes of the abbey continued to vary with the fortunes of the Holy Roman Empire . When Otto the Great reunited the Empire, he sought to rejuvenate the intellectual and religious life of his dominions, including Echternach. In 971, he restored

341-432: The patron saint of Luxembourg. For three hundred years, it benefited from the patronage of a succession of rulers, and was the most powerful institution in Luxembourg. The abbey is currently a popular tourist attraction mostly on account of an annual dancing procession that is held every Whit Tuesday . Tens of thousands of tourists, day-trippers , pilgrims , and clergy visit Echternach to witness or participate in

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372-465: The Benedictines to Echternach with forty monks of that order from Trier. The abbey entered a second Golden Age, as it once again became one of northern Europe 's most influential abbeys. In 1031, a new Romanesque church was consecrated. The Codex Aureus of Echternach , an important surviving codex written entirely in gold ink was produced here in the 11th century. The so-called Emperor's Bible and

403-537: The Cross of Saint Willibrord. A “cattle-bell dance” used to take place in front of the Cross, which stood in the marketplace; this was ended in 1664. The Abbey of Echternach was a major Christian centre in the Middle Ages , and maintained a famous library and scriptorium . However, it owes its modern fame to the dancing procession. This aspect of the cultus of Saint Willibrord may be traced back almost to his death; among

434-461: The backing of Wilfrid , with whom he had served at Ripon . Willibrord secured the backing of many Irish monks, who would become part of the first settlement at Echternach. Willibrord spent much time at Echternach, and died there in 739. Willibrord was buried in the oratory , which soon became a place of pilgrimage , particularly after he was canonised . In 751, Pepin declared the Abbey of Echternach

465-534: The castle, where they lived until Henri succeeded his father, Jean , as Grand Duke , in 2000. Grand Duke Jean lived at Fischbach until his death on 23 April 2019. Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie moved into Fischbach Castle in late 2019 upon returning to Luxembourg after living in London for one year. 49°44′52″N 6°11′12″E  /  49.74765°N 6.18657°E  / 49.74765; 6.18657 This article about

496-634: The choice was due to Willibrord's reputation as a talented proselytiser (he is known as the Apostle to the Frisians ). Willibrord opened the first church at Echternach in 700 with financial backing from Pepin of Herstal . Pepin's son, Charles Martel , founder of the Carolingian dynasty, had his son Pepin the Short baptised at Echternach in 714. In addition to Carolingian support, Willibrord's abbey at Echternach had

527-466: The hopping saints goes back to 1497, but the origins must be from much earlier. The procession took place annually without interruption until 1777. There was an uneasy relationship with Church hierarchy, for the music and dancing were forbidden by Archbishop Wenceslas, who declared that there should only be a pilgrim's procession, and in 1786, Emperor Joseph II banned the procession altogether. Attempts were made to revive it ten years later, and, although

558-531: The last of the dancers reach the church. A large number of priests, nuns, and monks accompany the procession, and frequently, there are several bishops as well. On arrival at the church, the dance is continued past the tomb of Saint Willibrord in the crypt beneath the high altar . Litanies and prayers in the Saint's honour are recited, and the event concludes with a Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament . In

589-623: The local populace after the Belgian Revolution . He immediately ordered the demolition of Garnier's blast furnaces. In 1884, Duke Adolphe of Nassau , who would become Grand Duke of Luxembourg when the personal union of the Netherlands and Luxembourg ended in 1890, bought Fischbach Castle from Grand Duke William III . During the Nazi occupation of the Second World War , Fischbach served as

620-507: The other royal palaces, Charlotte continued to live at Fischbach after the war, and took a liking to the place. Even after the full restoration of Berg Castle and the Grand Ducal Palace , Grand Duchess Charlotte lived at Fischbach for the rest of her reign. Indeed, even after she abdicated, in 1964, she remained at Fischbach until her death in 1985. Two years after Charlotte's death, Prince Henri and Princess Maria Teresa moved into

651-401: The past, the dancing procession had other forms. At one point, the pilgrims would take three steps forward and two steps backwards, thus making five steps in order to advance one; another variation had the pilgrims repeatedly stop at the sound of a bell donated by Emperor Maximilian , falling to their knees before moving forward a few more steps. Again, pilgrims would crawl under a stone, facing

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682-486: The small town of Prüm , in the Eifel as early as 1342. Legends are told that relate the dancing procession to an averted plague or offer a fable about an unjustly condemned fiddler, who, allowed to play his fiddle one last time, caused the townspeople to dance. He made his escape, while they continued to dance until Willibrord arrived to break the charm. The story dates back to the eighth century. The first written reference of

713-475: The standard Carolingian minuscule , which predominated for the next four centuries. At the start of the ninth century, a larger, Carolingian-style church was constructed, but it was destroyed in a fire some 200 years later. The abbey, as it enjoyed power, both spiritual and temporal. However, this was all guaranteed only by the Carolingians. When the authority of the centralised Frankish state collapsed during

744-402: The stream of pilgrims to his tomb in the abbey church have been Emperors Charlemagne , Lothair I , Conrad , and later Maximilian (in 1512). There might be pagan elements, such as the ones that were criticised by Saint Eligius in the 7th century. Documents of the fifteenth century already speak of it as a long-established custom, and that a similar "dancing" procession used to take place in

775-538: The streets of Echternach towards the basilica , a distance of about 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi). Musicians play the Sprangprozessioùn, a centuries-old tune similar to an Irish jig or reel , based on the folk song "Adam had seven sons". Pilgrims in rows of four or five abreast hold the ends of white handkerchiefs, and "dance" or "jump" from left to right and thus slowly move forward. The number of pilgrims attending causes it to be usually well after midday before

806-546: The traditional ceremony. Located by the River Sauer , Echternach had originally been the site of a 1st-century Roman villa. By the 6th century, the estate had been passed to the see of Trier , who constructed a small monastery on the estate. In 698, Irmina of Oeren granted the Northumbrian missionary Willibrord, Bishop of Utrecht , land at Echternach to build a larger monastery, appointing Willibrord as abbot . In part,

837-690: The world. The procession is inscribed in 2010 as hopping procession of Echternach on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity . The ritual begins in the morning at the bridge over the River Sauer , with a sermon delivered by the parish priest (formerly by the abbot of the monastery ). “ Willibrordus-Bauverein ” officials organise the Procession, forming several dozen alternating groups of musicians and pilgrims. The group then moves through

868-404: Was again re-consecrated in 1953, though the 8th-century crypt has survived throughout with no major damage. There have been six churches built on the site at Echternach: Despite the long history of the abbey and the city , Echternach is best known today for its traditional dancing procession, held around the town of Echternach. It is held every Whit Tuesday in honour of Saint Willibrord, and

899-436: Was completed in 1868, and the abbey was re-consecrated. In recognition of its importance as a national centre of pilgrimage to St. Willibrord, Pope Pius XII granted the abbey the status of minor basilica in 1939. Part of the basilica was destroyed by shells in 1944, necessitating another reconstruction - its sixth in 14 centuries - in the original Roman style. The facade is a nod to the basilica of Paray-le-Monial. The building

930-598: Was put on codices , and Echternach developed one of the most important scriptoria in the Frankish Empire . The abbey at Echternach produced four gospels (in order of production): the Augsburg Gospels, Maaseyck Gospels , Trier Gospels , and the Freiburg Gospel Book Fragment . Manuscripts produced at Echternach are known to have been in both insular and Roman half uncial script. As Echternach

961-448: Was so prolific, and enjoyed the patronage of Pepin the Short and Charlemagne, it played a crucial role in the development of the early Carolingian Renaissance . Seeing the work of the abbey at Echternach at taming the native German script, and eager to further the reform, Charlemagne sent for Alcuin , to establish a scriptorium at the court in Aachen . Alcuin synthesised the two styles into

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