Bypass Repeated Content
  • German
  • English
  • French

An extraordinary ensemble in an idyllic setting

Bebenhausen Monastery and Palace

History worth reading about

Files

Interested in learning more about what took place in this impressive monument? Looking for unusual stories about life in centuries past? Wondering how the monument is managed today? Explore historic snapshots, unusual events and interesting research findings.

Saint Bernhard von Clairvaux, keystone in the cloister of Maulbronn Monastery. Image: Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten Baden-Württemberg, Arnim Weischer
Austerity and hard work

Founded as a countermodel to the Benedictines, the Cistercians became one of the leading orders of the Catholic church.

The Cistercians
Bebenhausen Monastery in the landscape of Schönbuch. Image: Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten Baden-Württemberg, Günther Bayerl
Successful cultivation and lively trade

Farming was enormously important in Bebenhausen and contributed to making the abbey among the wealthiest in the land.

Farming with monks
The herb garden at Bebenhausen Monastery. Image: Staatsanzeiger für Baden-Württemberg GmbH, Barbara Erbsen-Heim
The right herb

In the Middle Ages, herbs were used when cooking and in the healing arts. A classic example of an herb garden can be seen in Bebenhausen Monastery.

Culinary and medicinal herbs in the monastery
Wild boar hunt at Bebenhausen, washed pen and ink drawing, 1576. Image: Wikipedia, in the public domain
A PRIVILEGE OF THE NOBILITY

Wild game has always been a popular food. However, hunting was also a pastime for the nobility and also offered representational opportunities.

Hunts in Bebenhausen
Detail of a menu from Bebenhausen Palace, Weiblen, 1895. Image: Hauptstaatsarchiv Stuttgart
Saddles of venison and pancakes

An ample table was set at the great royal hunts. Handwritten menus told guests about the courses to come.

Menus for the royal table
Detail of a letter. Image: pixabay_in the public domain
The spoken word

An important element of the Reformation was the translation of the Bible into the vernacular. This also had an effect on schools.

The vernacular
Mural in the winter refectory of Bebenhausen Monastery. Image: Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten Baden-Württemberg, Arnim Weischer
Postwar history up close

After World War II, the state parliament of Württemberg-Hohenzollern met in Bebenhausen Monastery until its dissolution in 1952.

The state parliament of Württemberg-Hohenzollern