Saint Vitus Monastery of Ellwangen

The town of Ellwangen, belonging to the province of Badem-Würrtemberg in the south of Germany, is situated mostly on the eastern bank of the river Jagst, which in turn flows through the manifold forested hills of the broader ‚Schwäbisch-Fränkische Waldberge‘. Though in modern days, the Jagst‘s course has been straightened to the demands of civilization and the forests have receded out of the valleys, in the time of the foundation of the monastery of St. Vitus, the primaeval old-growth forest resembled a hostile wilderness. Situated just north of the old roman Limes, the area was just sparsely populated and according to the Vita Hariolfi, the then so-called ‚Virngrundwald‘ was even roamed by elks. As such, one of the founders, the nobleman Hariolf, was led into the Virngrundwald chasing an elk. The hunt having been successfully concluded, Hariolf pitched camp for the night and as he was just about to fall asleep, he heard the sound of church bells ringing. Following, he fell asleep thrice and heard the bells just as often. The Vita elaborates how –in face of this miracle – Hariolf found himself converted and longing to commit his life to God. He interpreted the event as presaging the flocks of monks that would soon arrive. And indeed, the chapel that was founded just on that spot – which is probably to be identified with the southern transept of the Basilika of St. Vitius – quickly grew into a sprawling monastery, partly due to its beneficial positioning near two important trade roads to the manifold landed gifts from the new novices.

The first monks probably flocked to Ellwangen from Burgundy. At least the first reliquaries were transferred from the Burgundian abbey of Saint-Bénigne in Dijon. The handed-down date of the foundation is the year 764. Perhaps already under Charlemagne, but certainly under Louis the Pious, the monastery of Ellwangen was raised to the status of an imperial abbey and granted immunity, protection and the right of electing their own abbot in 814. It was just between the years of 981 to 987 that the then abbot Sandrad transferred an arm relict of Saint Vitus to the monastery, who thenceforth became the patron of Ellwangen. In comparison to other abbeys Fulda or Prüm however, Ellwangen soon lost its quickly gained prominence throughout the Carolingian period. It took until the reign of the Staufers for a renewed golden age to recommence under the abbotship of Kuno (1188-1211). Kuno came to hold prestigious offices under Frederick II. and was sent to Rome as a part of the delegation to negotiate the imperial coronation with the Pope. Under his supervision, the iconic ‚Schloss op Ellwangen‘, which rises above the skyline of Ellwangen, was built serving simultaneously as a defensive fortification and as the residence of the abbott. The church building in its current Romanesque form was built between the years 1182 and 1233 and goes largely back to his efforts.

The onset of the black death also brought upon Ellwangen a time of steady decline as of 1350. By the year 1384, Ellwangen only had seven monks, whose adherence to the oaths and benedictine rules waned. Attempts to reform the monastic life in Ellwangen were largely rejected. By 1430 only three monks were left and in 1443 a fire damaged the cloister. 1460 Pope Pius II. converted the monastery into a temporal canon. Under canon administration, Ellwangen regained economic stability and a new phase of Gothic architecture made its mark on Ellwangen, thanks to which the previously destroyed cloister was rebuilt. Attempts to establish Protestantism could be revoked both during the Reformation and the Swedish occupation during the Thirty Years War. Ellwangen remained an ecclesiastical domain with large territorial powers until it was abolished by the electorate of Würrtemberg in 1802 in the course of Secularisation. Though the Prince-Provost of Ellwangen often had more important domains to tend to, the Basilika benefitted from the artistic innovations of the Baroque. The current insides of the church were made between the years 1737 and 1750.

FORMAL ANALYSIS