WEINGARTEN, ABBEY OF

Benedictine, in Württemberg, Germany. After 934 Count Henry, father of St. conrad of constance, founded a cloister of nuns, who in 1056 moved to Altomünster in Freising, while monks from there came to Weingarten. The imperial abbey, established by Welf IV and his wife Judith, followed the customs of hirsau (after 1088), joined the Swabian congregation of Benedictines (1603) and the Salzburg confederation (1653), was suppressed (1803) and restored (1922) with monks from erdington and beuron. Bequests from guelfs of Altdorf-Weingarten (990–1126) who are buried in Weingarten and from Hohenstaufen, as well as purchases by the abbey contributed to the endowment that in 1802 amounted to 124 square miles with 10,000 inhabitants and 1,200 farms. The 271-foot-long basilica and the cloister (Romanesque, late Gothic, and Renaissance), both built after 1123, are still standing. Rebuilding begun in 1685 is incomplete. The 335-foot-long baroque church (1715–24), the largest in Germany, has choir stalls by J.A. Feuchtmayer and two organs (77 and 46 registers) by Joseph Gabler (1737–50). A relic of the precious blood occasions a feast and cavalcade the Friday after Ascension Thursday. Freising, England, and Normandy, homelands of the monks and of the foundress Judith, influenced the scriptorium, which produced the most important Romanesque miniature painting in south Germany. In 1630 the library of the cathedral of Constance was purchased. Today the abbey is noted for music, history, translations from English, its school or Progymnasium, and its parish apostolate. (For illustrations, see following page.)

Bibliography: l. h. cottineau, Répertoire topobibliographique des abbayes et prieurés, 2 v. (Mâcon 1935–39) 2:3437–39. g. spahr, ed., Weingarten 1056–1956: Festschrift zur 900 Jahrfeier des Klosters (Weingarten 1956). w. ellerhorst, Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche, ed. m. buchberger, 10 v. (Freiburg 1930–38) 10:787–789. "Weingarten," Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche, ed. j. hofer and k. rahner, 10 v. (2d, new ed. Freiburg 1957–65) v.10.

[g. spahr]