Oelenberg Abbey (Latin: Abbatia B.M.V. de Oelenberg; French: Abbaye Notre-Dame d'Oelenberg; Alemannic German: Kloschter vum Eelabarg) is a Trappist monastery located in Reiningue near Mulhouse, France. It has been an important place of worship in Alsace since the 11th century and most recently hosted a small community of ten monks (as of 2024).[1]
The former Augustinian then Jesuit church with its nave, its two-level transept, its choir and its burial vault were listed as a Historic Monument on June 16, 1992.[2]
During the First World War, a major part of Oelenberg Abbey was destroyed by bombing on June 26, 1915. The church, the organ of Rinckenbach and the conventual buildings suffered extensive damage. The abbatial church and the convent were re-built in 1920 by architect Paul Kirchacker of Mulhouse using the remains of the church. The choir stalls carved by Théophil Klem were scrupulously restored.
During the Second World War in November–December 1944, the abbey was partly destroyed. The French artillery wanted to spare the monastery, but had to bomb an observatory built by the Germans in the bell tower of the church.
In 1951, a new organ was built by Georges Schwenkedel.[5]
In 1970, a manuscript was discovered in the monastery containing 54 tales collected by the Brothers Grimm. The Grimms had sent the manuscript in 1810 to the German writer Clemens Brentano, who never sent it back to them. Although the Brothers Grimm kept a copy of the book, it had since disappeared.[6] This manuscript, known as the 1810 Manuscript or the Oelenberg Manuscript, is thus the first known extant version of Grimms' Fairy Tales. It is now kept at the Bodmer Library in Cologny in the canton of Geneva, Switzerland.[7]
In 2016, the organ of the abbatial church was restored.[5]
In 2023, there were 10 monks in the abbey, including four in training.[8]
On the 8th of June 2024, the monks left the abbey to join a number of other monasteries. Mass is still celebrated every Sunday.
The abbatial church has Romanesque, late Gothic and Baroque elements from the 12th century, 1486 and 1755 respectively. It is adorned with a 12th-century processional cross, a 14th-century crucifix, and two statues of the Virgin Mary of the 15th and 18th centuries.
The organ of the abbatial church was made in 1951 by Georg Schwenkedel. It replaced an older instrument that was built in 1904 by Martin and Joseph Rinckenbach and destroyed by a bombing in 1915. The organ has 22 registers, two transmissions and two keyboards with a pedal.[5]
^Rimasson-Fertin, Natacha (November 22, 2008). L'autre monde est ses figures dans les Contes de l'Enfance et du foyer des frères Grimm et des Contes populaires russes d'A.N. Afanassiev (Thesis) (in French). Grenoble: Stendhal University.
^Blamires, David (2003). "The Grimm's Kinder- und Hausmärchen". A Companion to the Fairy Tale. Rochester, NY: Hilda Ellis Davidson & Anna Chaudhri, Boydell & Brewer. ISBN978-1-84384-081-7.
^"Clercx, Humbeline". Biographia Cisterciensis (in German). Retrieved June 2, 2017.
Bibliography
In French
Husser, Raymond (1985). Reiningue. Oelenberg. Deux noms, un destin (in French). Strasbourg: Editions Coprur.
In German
Ruff, Karl (1898). Die Trappistenabtei Oelenberg und der Reformierte Cistercienser-Orden (in German). Freiburg.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Hecker, Anton (1904). Ein Besuch bei den Trappisten auf Oelenberg i. E. Reise-Erinnerung (in German). Wörishofen.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link).
Sacerdos, Friedrich (1917). "Die Augustinerpropstei Oelenberg im Elsaß als Kommende (1530–1626)". Zeitschrift der Gesellschaft für Beförderung der Geschichts-, Altertums- und Volkskunde von Freiburg, dem Breisgau und den umliegenden Landschaften (in German). 32: 131–162.
Sacerdos, Friedrich (1922). "Die Propstei Oelenberg im Elsaß als Residenz der Freiburger Jesuiten 1626-1773". Freiburger Diözesan-Archiv (in German). 50: 82–143.
Krebs, Manfred (1940). "Die Nekrologfragmente des Chorherrenstiftes Oelenberg". Zeitschrift für die Geschichte des Oberrheins. Neue Folge (in German). 53: 241–255.
Kleiber, Eugène (1954). "Die drei Sundgau-Priorate St. Morand, St. Ulrich und Ölenberg". Annuaire de la Société d'Histoire Sundgauvienne (in German): 148–153.
Stintzi, Paul (1962). Geschichte der Abtei Oelenberg 1046–1954. Alsatica Monastica (in German). Vol. 4. Westmalle.
Schadelbauer, Karl (1966). Die Urkunden des Klosters Ölenberg im Elsaß von 1188 bis 1565. Veröffentlichungen aus dem Stadtarchiv Innsbruck. II. Reihe: Innsbrucker Archivnotizen zur Geschichte der Österreichischen Vorlande (in German). Vol. 5. Innsbruck.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
