| Abbey church of Corvey | |
|---|---|
 TheWestwork of Corvey Abbey | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Catholic |
| Year consecrated | 844 |
| Location | |
| Municipality | Höxter |
| State | North Rhine-Westphalia |
  Shown within Germany Show map of Germany Princely Abbey of Corvey (North Rhine-Westphalia) Show map of North Rhine-Westphalia | |
| Coordinates | 51°46′44″N9°24′34″E / 51.77885°N 9.40943°E /51.77885; 9.40943 |
| Architecture | |
| Style | Carolingian, High Romanesque, Baroque |
| Official name: Carolingian Westwork and Civitas Corvey | |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | ii, iii, iv |
| Designated | 2014 (38thsession) |
| Reference no. | 1447 |
| State Party | Germany |
| Region | Europe and North America |
| Property | 12 ha (30 acres) |
| Buffer zone | 69 ha (170 acres) |
ThePrincely Abbey of Corvey (German:Fürststift Corvey or German:Fürstabtei Corvey) is a formerBenedictine abbey andecclesiastical principality now inNorth Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was one of the half-dozen self-rulingprincely abbeys of theHoly Roman Empire from theLate Middle Ages until 1792 when Corvey was elevated to aprince-bishopric. Corvey, whose territory extended over a vast area, was in turn secularized in 1803 in the course of theGerman mediatisation and absorbed into the newly createdPrincipality of Nassau-Orange-Fulda. Originally built in 822 and 885 and remodeled in theBaroque period, the abbey is an exceptional example ofCarolingian architecture, the oldest surviving example of awestwork, and the oldest standing medieval structure inWestphalia.[1] The original architecture of the abbey, with its vaulted hall and galleries encircling the main room, heavily influenced later westernRomanesque andGothic architecture. The inside of the westwork contains the only known wall paintings of ancient mythology with Christian interpretation in Carolingian times.[1] The former abbey church was listed as aUNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014.[1]
In theSaxon Wars which lasted more than thirty years after 772,Charlemagne, king of the Franks, was eventually victorious, adding the Saxon territory to his empire and starting the Christianisation of the Saxon people. To that end, bishoprics were established (atHildesheim andHalberstadt). In addition, the idea of setting up an abbey in Saxony was first mooted during Charlemagne's reign. However, the plan was only implemented under his son, EmperorLouis the Pious, who announced the creation of an abbey east of the river Weser at asynod inPaderborn in 815. This was located at a place namedHethis. Although there is some uncertainty over the exact location,[2] it is today thought to be nearNeuhaus im Solling [de]. The first monks arrived in 816 from theBenedictine abbey fromCorbie Abbey in Picardy. They set up aProbstei, a subsidiary of the motherhouse. Due to the inappropriate location chosen, the monks chose to move in 822 – to the current location near what was then calledVilla Huxori. The new house became known asNova Corbeia (Latin for the "new Corbie"; Old German:Corveypronounced[ˈkɔʁvaɪ]).[3][4]: 4
The first abbot of Corvey was a cousin of Charlemagne,Adalard of Corbie.Ansgar, who later became the "Apostle of Scandinavia", founded the abbey school in 823. The abbey library was established with works from Corbie, augmented by the output of the local scriptorium. In 826, Corvey became an independent abbey, dedicated toSaint Stephen. In 833, it was granted the right of coinage within the Franconian realm, as the first place east of theRhine.[4]: 4–7
In 836, the remains ofSaint Vitus were gifted to Corvey by the abbey ofSt Denis near Paris. Saint Vitus now became the patron saint of the Saxons. Since he was also one of theFourteen Holy Helpers, his veneration was very popular in the Middle Ages and Corvey became a destination for pilgrims. Other gifts and donations by individuals made Corvey one of the richest abbeys in Central Europe and made possible ambitious building projects. Its position asReichsabtei meant that its abbot was answerable directly to the emperor in secular matters.[4]: 7
The first stone church was consecrated in 844.[5] In 873–885, theWestwerk that is still extant today was constructed.[6]
Corvey thus became "one of the most privileged Carolingian monastic sanctuaries in the 9th-centuryDuchy of Saxony".[7] It soon became famous for its school, which produced many celebrated scholars, among them the 10th-century Saxon historianWidukind of Corvey, author ofRes gestae Saxonicae. From its cloisters went forth a stream of missionaries who evangelised Northern Europe.
The site of the abbey, where the east-west route called theHellweg crossed the Weser, was of some strategic importance and assured its economic and cultural importance. The abbey's historian H. H. Kaminsky estimates that the royal entourage visited Corvey at least 110 times before 1073, occasions for the issuance of charters.[citation needed]
A diploma granted byOtto I in 940, the first of its kind, established the abbot, Folcmar, in a new kind of setting. The abbot was grantedbannus – powers of enforcement – over the population of peasants that were to seek refuge in the fortress built in the monastery's lands; in return they were expected to maintain its structure, under the abbot's supervision. The workforce under monastic protection was drawn from threepagi, under the jurisdiction of fourcounts, who, however, were to have no rights to demand castlework from them.[8]
In theInvestiture Controversy, the abbot of Corvey took a stand with the Saxon nobles againstHenry IV, Holy Roman Emperor. Its abbotMarkward (served 1081–1107), "without doubt one of the most important abbots of the thousand-year history of the abbey" (Kaminsky), and his successor Erkenbert (1107–28) saw the abbey through the critical period.[citation needed]
The abbey also participated in attempts to reform the Catholic Church during the 11th century. It was the dominant theological centre in the region and established numerous subsidiary abbeys.[4]: 8
A final period of prosperity followed under the leadership ofWibald (abbot from 1146–58). At that time, theWestwerk was reconstructed in theHigh Romanesque style, and the Carolingian three-tower set-up was replaced with twin towers. By the mid-12th century, a substantial town (also named Corvey) had grown up around the abbey.[4]: 8
In 1265, the neighbouring town ofHöxter, jealous of its nearby rival and its Weser bridge, allied itself with the Bishop of Paderborn and their troops destroyed the town of Corvey and damaged the abbey. The town never recovered and over the following decades reverted to a small village. This event marked the beginning of the long period of decline of the abbey.[4]: 8
The Reformation threatened Corvey as it did the other ecclesiastical territories in north-west Germany but the princely abbey did survive somewhat precariously as a self-ruling principality at the border of Protestant Brunswick and Hesse-Kassel. From the mid-16th century onward, the prince-abbot and his monks ran the administration in cooperation with a partly Protestant assembly consisting of three noble families, one town (Höxter) and a prelate. The prince-abbot, who had a seat and vote in theReichstag as a member of the College of Ruling Princes, took only a modest part in imperial affairs, while the home affairs of the abbey were limited to little more than gentry-like estate management.[9]
In 1508, books 1–6 ofTacitus'Annals were discovered at the abbey byGiovanni Angelo Arcimboldi (futureArchbishop of Milan).[10]
In 1634, during theThirty Years War the abbey building was sacked by imperial troops who also laid siege to Höxter. It was later demolished. Only theWestwerk remained.[4]: 8 [5]
It took decades for the local area to recover from the devastation of the war. AfterChristoph Bernhard von Galen, Bishop of Münster became prince and administrator of the abbey in 1665, reconstruction began. The Carolingian church was replaced by aGothic building, with the exception of theWestwerk. Under von Galen's successors Christoph von Bellinghausen (1678–96), Florenz von der Felde (1696–1714) and Maximilian von Horrich (1714–22) the other substantial Baroque buildings still there today were erected.[4]: 10
In 1792, Corvey ceased to be a Benedictine abbey and was raised by popePius VI to the status of a prince-bishopric.Theodor von Brabeck [de] (abbot/bishop 1776–94) andFerdinand von Lüninck [de] (bishop 1794–1825, also bishop of Munster 1821–1825) were the last ecclesial princes at Corvey.[4]: 10
In 1803, the Prince-Bishopric of Corvey wassecularized underNapoleonic administration and became briefly part of thePrincipality of Nassau-Orange-Fulda. In 1807, it went toJérôme Bonaparte'sKingdom of Westphalia. After theCongress of Vienna, Corvey fell toPrussia in 1815. As compensation for lost territory west of the Rhine, it was awarded toVictor Amadeus, theLandgrave of Hesse-Rotenburg, in 1820.[4]: 10–11
While Corvey had ceased to exist as a political state in 1803, it continued to exist as adiocese until 1825.[4]: 10
Landgrave Victor Amadeus rebuilt the abbey buildings as aSchloss (palace). In 1834, the property fell toVictor von Hohenlohe-Schillingfürst, a member of the House ofHohenlohe. In 1840, he was granted the titleHerzog von Ratibor und Fürst von Corvey (Duke of Ratibor and Prince of Corvey) by KingFrederick William IV of Prussia. Since then,Schloss Corvey has remained property of the family.[4]: 11
The famous abbey library has long since been dispersed, but the "princely library" (Fürstliche Bibliothek), an aristocratic family library, containing about 74,000 volumes, mainly in German, French, and English, with a tailing off circa 1834, survives in the Schloss. One striking feature of the collection is the large number of EnglishRomantic novels, some in unique copies, for in Britain fiction was more often borrowed than bought, and was read extensively in thelending libraries.[11] The poet and author of theDeutschlandlied,August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben, worked here as librarian from 1860 until his death in 1874.[5] He is buried in the church graveyard.[4]: 50
The present owner of the palace is Viktor, 5th Duke of Ratibor and 5th Prince of Corvey, Prince of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst-Metternich-Sándor (b. 1964). The palace, library, and church are today open to the public.
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1 from 1648 2 until 1648 3 without seat inImperial Diet ? status uncertain Circles est. 1500:Bavarian,Swabian,Upper Rhenish,Lower Rhenish–Westphalian,Franconian,(Lower) Saxon
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