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The abbey of Murbach is located in Alsace, at the bottom of the Vosgean valley of Guebwiller after the commune of Buhl, where a junction carries out towards the small valley of Murbach.

Since this site are visible the two high towers of sandstone, vestiges of a famous Romance abbey. On the keystone of the porch of entry the weapons of the prince-abbot are reproduced: the money greyhound formerly called the dog of Murbach by the inhabitants of the area. The abbey counted among richest and most influential of the Saint Germanic Roman Empire.

History of the abbey

Origins

The abbey of Murbach was founded in 727 by the Count Eberhard d' Eguisheim, nephew of Sainte Odile and powerful lord who had just lost his single heir. It with this intention called Saint Pirmin, which already had founded or organized many monasteries and in particular Reichenau. According to the chronicles of the monk and erudite Hermann, Pirmin came in Murbach accompanied by twelve monks by Reichenau. It seems however that Pirmin rather organized in Murbach a small community of monks, installed since the beginning of VIIe century with Bergholtz-Zell. The abbey will take the name of Vivarius Peregrinorum (what would attest according to certain authors the origin Scottish or Irish of the first monks) and certain Romanus will be placed at the head of the convent.

July 12th 727, the frank king Thierry IV grants to the monastery the privilege immunity and confirms the donations of Eberhard. May 12th 728, the Widegern bishop of Strasbourg grants to the monks the right to elect their abbot freely. The abbey of Murbach will very quickly become flourishing, because of the prestigious gifts and legacy from which it profited. Its library will impress the scientists of the time.

January 13rd 772, Charlemagne confirms with the abbey its immunity. In 792, it calls the abbot of Murbach Simbert on the episcopal see of Augsburg. The sovereign will become consequently and during one year, abbot laic of Murbach (Pastor Murbacensis). Charlemagne will in addition preserve during many years the title of Vice-chancellor of Murbach.

July 4th 926, the Hungarian devastate the abbey and assassinate seven monks, who will be venerated like martyrs in the Church of Alsace until the Revolution.

The abbey will then be restored under the direction of the Abbaye of Cluny and thanks to generous gifts of the Empress Adélaïde of Burgundy. At the request of his wife Théophanu, the Emperor Otton II confirms with the abbey on April 27th, 977 all his possessions and all his privileges.

Temporal power of the abbey

In the Middle Ages, the abbey of Murbach was particularly rich, having goods in nearly 350 localities, to the Palatinat to the Suisse, and in particular the town of Lucerne. The abbey will have not only grounds and castle-forts but also of the hydropathic establishments, glassmakings and mines.

In 1228, the Emperor Frederic II grants to the abbot Hugo von Rothenburg the title of prince of the Saint Worsens. Thereafter, the abbot of Murbach will have the privilege more not to sit within the Conseil of the prelates of Empire as the majority of the abbots of the time but to sit at the time of the imperial Diets within the Conseil of the princes d' Empire (where only ten superiors of monasteries had right to sit). In addition, the abbot of Murbach had, as well as his counterparts of Fulda, Kempten and Wissembourg, precedence of all the regular abbots of the Empire.

The Emperor Charles Quint also grants in 1544 to the abbey a new privilege, that to beat currency.

In addition, in 1554, the abbey of Murbach is joined together perpetually with the abbey of Lure, founded with the Life century by Desle saint.

Decline and the era of the commende

In 1570, Johann Ulrich von Raitenau is crowned prince-abbot of Murbach. It makes name in 1576 its nephew, Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau, as coadjutor, although this one was old only 19 years. In February 1587, died of his/her uncle, Wolf Dietrich succeeds to him, but as of the next month, prince-archbishop of Salzburg is named and resigns himself abbatiat. The convent elects to succeed Gabriel Giel to him von Gielsberg, but this election does not find the approval of the Pope. The monks are constrained to elect like abbot, the cardinal André of Austria. It is the beginning of the Commende which will last until the middle of the XVIIIe century and will be a great source of conflict between the convent, the Pope and the sovereign (the Emperor then the King of France).

The abbey is in addition devastated between 1625 and 1640 by the troops of the Duke of Weimar. In 1648, Alsace is mainly yielded by the Empire to the Kingdom of France. The abbey of Murbach preserves its imperial immediacy but loses the right of coinage.

Secularization

In 1704 and after several abbots commendataires, from which some never came in Murbach, a coadjutor is elected within the convent. It is about Célestin de Beroldingen, which succeeds in 1720 the prince-abbot Philippe-Eberhard de Loewenstein. It is under its abbatiat that the monks decide to leave their small valley isolated to settle with Guebwiller, capital of the ecclesiastical principality, where the prince-abbot resided already. The apostolic nuncio in Switzerland refuses. Rebuilding works of the abbey will become the pretext for the monks to leave Murbach (where they will not return).

In 1736, Dom Célestin is constrained to abdicate with the profit of a new commendatory abbot, François-Armand de Rohan-Soubise, future cardinal and prince-bishop of Strasbourg. N the other hand, the convent can again elect a coadjutor in his center. It will be about Leger (Casimir) of Rathsamhausen, which will become prince-abbot in 1756. Three years later, Dom Leger obtains from the Pope Clément XIII the official authorization for the convent to be established in Guebwiller and in 1764, the abbey, which did not count any more that 10 monks, are secularized by the Pope. The monastery becomes a chapter of noble canons but the abbot remains prince d' Empire and preserves all his rights on the collegial chapter of Thann.

In 1789, the chapter is ransacked and will close its doors the following year. The last prince-abbot, Benoit-Frederic d' Andlau-Hombourg, die in 1839 exiled with Eichstätt.

The abbey church Saint-Leger

The abbey one of Murbach is regarded as one of the large masterpieces of the Rhenish Romanesque art. It was built in the middle of XIIe century and was devoted in 1216 by the bishop of Basle, Heinrich, in the honor of the Trinity, the co. Cross, the Virgin Mary and Saint Leger.

The three naves were demolished in 1738, in order to leave the place to a building baroque which will never be born. The abbey church became parish church of Murbach in 1760.

It was in particular restored in 1868 - 1869, 1900 - 1905, 1964 - 1966 and 1981 - 1986. At the conclusion of this last restoration, the church received two new doors out of bronze and three new bells.

See too

Angeot and Phaffans

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