Territorial Abbey of Wettingen-Mehrerau
| Wettingen-Mehrerau Abbey | |
|---|---|
Wettingen-Mehrerau Abbey near Lake Constance
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| Basic information | |
| Location | Bregenz, Austria |
| Geographic coordinates | 47°30′13″N 9°43′14″E / 47.503611°N 9.720556°ECoordinates: 47°30′13″N 9°43′14″E / 47.503611°N 9.720556°E |
| Affiliation | Roman Catholic Church |
| State | Vorarlberg |
| Country | Austria |
| Ecclesiastical or organizational status | Active |
| Leadership | Anselm van der Linde, OCist |
| Architectural description | |
| Architectural type | Monastery |
| Architectural style | Romanesque, Gothic |
Wettingen-Mehrerau Abbey is a Cistercian territorial abbey and cathedral located at Mehrerau on the outskirts of Bregenz in Vorarlberg, Austria. Wettingen-Mehrerau Abbey is directly subordinate to the Holy See and thus forms no part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Salzburg. The abbot of Wettingen-Mehrerau, however, is a member of the Austrian Bishops' Conference. The official name of the abbey is Beatae Mariae Virginis de Maris Stella et de Augia Majore (Latin: Abbatia Territorialis Beatissimae Mariae Virginis Maris Stellae).
The first monastery at Mehrerau was founded by Saint Columbanus who, after he was driven from Luxeuil, settled here about 611 and built a monastery after the model of Luxeuil. A monastery of nuns was soon established nearby.
Little information survives on the history of either foundation up to 1079, when the monastery was reformed by the monk Gottfried, sent by abbot William of Hirsau, and the Rule of St. Benedict was introduced. (It is probable that when the reform was effected the nuns' community was suppressed).
In 1097-98 the abbey was rebuilt by Count Ulrich of Bregenz, its "Vogt" (secular administrator and protector) and re-settled by monks from Petershausen Abbey near Konstanz.
During the 12th and 13th centuries the abbey acquired much landed property; by the middle of the 16th century it had the right of patronage for sixty-five parishes.
During the Reformation the abbey was a strong support of Roman Catholicism in Vorarlberg. In particular Ulrich Mötz, later abbot, exerted much influence in the Bregenz Forest by his preaching against the spread of religious innovations while he was provost of Lingenau (1515–33).
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