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38-475: Gandersheim can refer to either: Gandersheim Abbey , convent in Lower Saxony (9th century-1810) Bad Gandersheim , town in Lower Saxony, called Gandersheim until 1931 Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Gandersheim . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change

76-476: A large Imperial monastery, where the manuscript may well have spent much of its life. The abbey is also known as the home of the Annals of Quedlinburg ( Latin : Annales Quedlinburgenses , German : Quedlinburger Annalen ), begun in 1008 and finished in 1030 in the abbey, quite possibly by a female writer. Quedlinburg was well suited for gathering information on current political affairs, given its connections to

114-907: A seat and voice at the Imperial Diet . She sat on the Bench of the Prelates of the Rhineland of the Ecclesiastical Bench of the College of Ruling Princes. During the Reformation the abbey became Protestant, under Abbess Anna II (Countess of Stolberg) . In the course of the German Mediatisation of 1802 and 1803 the Imperial Abbey was secularized and its territory, properties and subjects were absorbed by

152-440: Is a significant Romanesque building. Construction of the three-nave basilica on the remains of three predecessor buildings began sometime before 997 and finished in 1021. The immediate predecessor building where Henry I was initially buried in 936 in front of the main altar had been a small three-aisled church with narrow side aisles. In 961 the remains of St Servatius were brought from Maastricht to Quedlinburg. The basilica

190-583: Is used by the Lutheran Evangelical Church in Germany . Since 1994, the church has been a World Heritage Site designated by UNESCO . It is also a designated stop on the tourist route Romanesque Road . The graves of Heinrich der Vogler (Henry the Fowler), King of East Francia and his wife Mathilda are located in the crypt of the church. Heinrich's grave only contains a battered empty stone coffin;

228-758: The Gesta Ottonis , expressing her veneration of Otto I . She wrote in Latin. In the Great Gandersheim Conflict , as it is called, originating from the turn of the 10th and 11th centuries, the Bishop of Hildesheim asserted claims over the abbey and its estates, which were located in an area where the boundaries between the Bishopric of Hildesheim and the Archbishop of Mainz were unclear. The pressure from Hildesheim moved

266-588: The Holy Roman Empire . It was disestablished in 1802/3. The church, known as Stiftskirche St Servatius , is now used by the Lutheran Evangelical Church in Germany . The castle, abbey, church, and surrounding buildings are exceptionally well preserved and are masterpieces of Romanesque architecture . As a result, and because of their historical importance, the buildings were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994. Quedlinburg Abbey

304-705: The Kingdom of Prussia as the Principality of Quedlinburg . Between 1807 and 1813 it belonged to the short-lived French puppet state Kingdom of Westphalia . In the first decades after the foundation the community was favoured by numerous gifts of land, particularly from the Imperial family. All later clearances (i.e., of previously uncultivated land) in the immediate vicinity were also theirs, but in addition they acquired far more distant possessions, such as Soltau , 170 kilometres away, given by Otto I in 936. Among other property

342-587: The Kingdom of Westphalia . The abbess, who had fled, was permitted by Napoleon to return to the abbey and to live there until her death on 10 March 1810, after which there were no further elections for a successor. The abbey was dissolved and its assets were taken by the Westphalian crown, with the remaining occupants pensioned off. Even after the end of the Kingdom of Westphalia in 1813 the Duchy of Brunswick did not restore

380-446: The reliquary of Saint Servatius, from the time of Charles the Bald ; the 9th century Samuhel Evangeliary ( Samuhel Evangeliar ); the printed St. Wipert's Evangeliary ( Evangelistar aus St Wiperti ) of 1513; and a liturgical ivory comb . The stolen items reappeared in 1987 and after much litigation were returned to the church in 1993. The most famous illuminated manuscript associated with

418-458: The westwork , consisting of a flat-roofed nave and two vaulted side-aisles. The transept has a square crossing with more or less square arms, with a square choir to the east. Beneath the crossing choir is a hall-crypt. The westwork consist of two towers and a connecting two-storey block; it originally had in addition a projecting entrance hall, also on two storeys, the "paradise". The present church building, which has been subject to restoration in

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456-459: The 19th and 20th centuries, was begun in about 1100 and dedicated in 1168. Remains of the previous building are incorporated into the present structure. Gandersheim Abbey was a proprietary foundation by Count Liudolf of Saxony and his wife, Oda , who during a pilgrimage to Rome in 846 obtained the permission of Pope Sergius II for the new establishment and also the relics of the sainted former popes Anastasius I and Innocent I , who are still

494-535: The Franciscan friaries were suppressed. A period now began of conflict between the abbess and the duke as both tried to extend their spheres of influence, a conflict which was not settled until 1593 when a treaty finally settled the points of disagreement. Under the abbesses Henriette Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and Elisabeth Ernestine of Saxe-Meiningen there began a new golden age of the abbey. The abbesses promoted arts and sciences. Elisabeth Ernestine Antonie had

532-472: The Imperial family and the proximity of Magdeburg , an Imperial centre. The "Annals" are mostly concerned with the history of the Holy Roman Empire . The collegiate church or Stiftskirche St. Servatius , is sometimes colloquially referred to in German as Quedlinburger Dom (Quedlinburg Cathedral), although it was never the seat of a bishop. It is dedicated to Saint Servatius of Tongeren and Saint Denis and

570-704: The Liudolfingers gave it especial importance during the Ottonian period . Until the foundation of Quedlinburg Abbey in 936, Gandersheim was among the most important Ottonian family institutions, and its church was one of the Ottonian burial places. The canonesses, commonly known as Stiftsdamen , were allowed private property and, as they had taken no vows, were free at any time to leave the abbey. The Ottonian and Salian kings and their entourages often stayed in Gandersheim, and

608-437: The abbey also received the following: The abbey also received numerous gifts of precious books, manuscripts and liturgical items, which were stored in the treasury. The Deutsche UNESCO-Kommission describes the treasure as "the most valuable medieval church treasure" next to Aachen and Halberstadt . At the end of World War II a number of the most valuable items were stolen by an American soldier, Joe Tom Meador, including

646-529: The abbey church, where they destroyed images and altars. Henry V changed his mind however and the principality changed back to Roman Catholicism . He made good at least some of the damages, and the church was re-dedicated. In 1568 the Reformation was again implemented under Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg . The abbey and its dependencies at Brunshausen and Clus became Lutheran, and the Marienkloster and

684-419: The abbey increasingly into the sphere of Mainz. The situation was only eventually resolved by a privilege of Pope Innocent III of 22 June 1206 freeing the abbey once and for all from all claims of Hildesheim, and granting the abbesses the title of Imperial princesses ( Reichsfürstinnen ). With the death of the last Salian king in 1125 the importance of the abbey began to diminish and it came more and more under

722-499: The abbey under the protection of the Empire, which gave it extensive independence. In 919 King Henry the Fowler , a grandson of Liudolf and Oda, granted it Imperial immediacy . The close connection to the Empire meant that the abbey was obliged to provide accommodation to the German kings on their travels, and numerous royal visits are recorded. The establishment of the abbey by the founder of

760-593: The abbey was to place relatives in the abbess's chair. This took the Dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg rather longer to achieve, but they were at last successful in 1402 with the election of their first family abbess, Sophia III, Princess of Brunswick-Lüneburg. The Reformation was first introduced into the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel in 1542 when troops of the Schmalkaldic League occupied it. The Reformers ignored

798-408: The abbey's Imperial immediacy and ordained the use of Lutheran church services , the introduction of which however the canonesses were able to postpone on account of the absence of the prioress ( Dekanin ) who was governing the abbey on behalf of the seven-year-old abbess. The townspeople of Gandersheim had received the Reformation enthusiastically and on 13 July 1543 undertook an iconoclastic attack on

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836-582: The abbey. The abbey is now used by the Evangelical-Lutheran parochial group of St. Anastasius and St. Innocent. During restoration works in 1997 there came to light some of the old church treasure : relics, textiles and reliquaries. These have been on display since March 2006. 51°52′13″N 10°01′34″E  /  51.870397°N 10.026097°E  / 51.870397; 10.026097 Quedlinburg Abbey Quedlinburg Abbey ( German : Stift Quedlinburg or Reichsstift Quedlinburg )

874-522: The canonesses were by no means remote from the world. Apart from the memorial Masses for the founding family, one of the main duties of the canonesses was the education of the daughters of the nobility (who were not obliged to become canonesses themselves). One of the abbey's best-known canonesses was Roswitha of Gandersheim , famous as the first female poet of the German people. During a period of approximately 20 years – from about 950 to 970 or so – she wrote historical poetry, spiritual pieces and dramas, and

912-442: The greater nobility and royalty leading a godly life. The greatest and most prominent foundations of this sort were Essen Abbey , Gandersheim Abbey , Gernrode Abbey , and Herford Abbey , in the last of which the young Queen Mathilda had been brought up by her grandmother, the abbess. Through the efforts of Queen Mathilda, Quedlinburg Abbey became one of the scholastic centers of Western Europe. Thanks to its Imperial connections

950-497: The influence of the local territorial rulers. The Welfs in particular attempted to gain control over the abbey, until its dissolution. The abbey was not able to establish its own territorial lordship. No later than the mid-1270s, the Dukes of Brunswick succeeded in obtaining the Vogtei of the abbey and in the late 13th century built a castle in Gandersheim. Another way to gain influence over

988-487: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gandersheim&oldid=932836581 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Gandersheim Abbey The "Imperial free secular foundation of Gandersheim" ( Kaiserlich freies weltliches Reichsstift Gandersheim ), as it

1026-485: The new foundation attracted rich endowments and was soon a wealthy and thriving community. Ecclesiastically, the abbess was exempt from the jurisdiction of her diocesan, the Bishop of Halberstadt , and subject to no superior except the Pope. The Bishops of Halberstadt were constantly engaged in a dispute with the abbesses, as they claimed to have spiritual jurisdiction over the abbey. The abbess, as head of an Imperial Abbey, had

1064-564: The patron saints of the abbey church. The community settled first at Brunshausen ( Brunistishusun ). The first abbess was Hathumod , a daughter of Liudolf and Oda. In 856 construction began on the church at Gandersheim and in 881 Bishop Wigbert dedicated it to the Saints Anastasius, Innocent and John the Baptist, after which the community moved in. Already in 877 King Louis the Younger placed

1102-614: The summer castle at Brunshausen built, as well as the Baroque wing of the abbey with the Kaisers' Hall ( Kaisersaal ), and she refurbished the church. In 1802, faced with imminent secularisation , the abbey surrendered its Imperial immediacy to the sovereignty of the Dukes of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, thus ending the centuries-long struggle with the Welfs. During the French occupation Gandersheim belonged to

1140-552: The town, the 5th-century Quedlinburg Itala fragment , once in the church, had been moved to a museum in Berlin and was not stolen. The Quedlinburg Itala fragment (Berlin, Staatsbibliothek Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Cod. theol. lat. fol. 485) is a fragment of six folios from a large 5th-century illuminated manuscript of an Old Latin Itala translation of parts of 1 Samuel of the Old Testament. It

1178-553: The whereabouts of the king's remains and time and circumstances of their disappearance are unknown. Under the Nazis, Heinrich Himmler , the Reichsführer SS , came to Quedlinburg several times to hold a ceremony in the crypt on the anniversary of the King's death, 2 July. This started in 1936, 1,000 years after Henry died. Himmler considered him to be the "first German King" and declared his tomb

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1216-557: Was a house of secular canonesses ( Frauenstift ) in Quedlinburg in what is now Saxony-Anhalt , Germany . It was founded in 936 on the initiative of Saint Mathilda , the widow of the East Frankish King Henry the Fowler , as his memorial. For many centuries it and its abbesses enjoyed great prestige and influence. Quedlinburg Abbey was an Imperial Estate and one of the approximately forty self-ruling Imperial Abbeys of

1254-433: Was consecrated in 997. A fire in 1070 caused severe damage. The building was rebuilt in its previous form, and was rededicated in 1129 in the presence of Lothar III . The church contains the architectural feature known as the niedersächsischer Stützenwechsel . Later alterations included a new choir (c. 1320), the southern wall of the transept (1571) and the southern wall of the nave (1708). Significant renovation work

1292-438: Was done in 1863-82. The western towers were rebuilt. The pulpit was also added at that time and the crypt was given a new front. In 1936-9 changes were made to the choir to make it better suited as a Nazi shrine (also see below under burials). The Gothic structure was internally "returned" to Romanesque style. The church was rededicated in 1945 and restoration work on some part of the church has since been ongoing to this day. It

1330-503: Was founded on the castle hill of Quedlinburg in the present Saxony-Anhalt in 936 by King Otto I , at the request of his mother Queen Mathilda , later canonised as Saint Mathilda, in honour of her late husband, Otto's father, King Henry the Fowler , and as his memorial. Henry was buried here, as was Mathilda herself. In the early and high Middle Ages, next to the abbey there was an imperial palace in Quedlinburg (a Kaiserpfalz ), which

1368-403: Was officially known from the 13th century to its dissolution in 1810, was a community of the unmarried daughters of the high nobility, leading a godly life but not under monastic vows, which is the meaning of the word "secular" in the title. In the collegiate church the original Romanesque church building is still visible, with Gothic extensions. It is a cruciform basilica with two towers on

1406-470: Was often used by the Holy Roman Emperor for Easter celebrations. The later " Kaiserlich freie weltliche Reichsstift Quedlinburg " ("Free secular Imperial abbey of Quedlinburg"), as its full style was until its dissolution in 1802, consisted of a proprietary church of the Imperial family to which was attached a college of secular canonesses ( Stiftsdamen ), a community of the unmarried daughters of

1444-547: Was probably produced in Rome in the 420s or 430s. It is the oldest surviving illustrated biblical manuscript and has been in the Berlin State Library since 1875-76. The pages are approximately 305 x 205 mm large. The fragments were found from 1865 onwards (two in 1865, two in 1867, one in 1887) re-used in the bindings of different books that had been bound in the 17th century in the town of Quedlinburg, home of Quedlinburg Abbey,

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