 Bebenhausen
Nestled in the midst of the Schönbuch. Beech forest country as the name implies, a spruce backdrop will generally go with a Black Forest location. ('Bebenhausen', wild guess, 'place of the quaking aspen'.) - Foreground: Hay making.
|  Bebenhausen
Cistercian abbey church to the right, royal residence (discreetly tucked away in the former guest house and infirmary) to the left.
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The church does not only look curtailed, it is so in fact. Anyone familiar with building stone recycling can go on autopilot for the rest. Somebody decides to build a new castle in Tübingen in 1535 (the reinstated duke Ulrich would be a prime suspect) and has a brainstorm as to how reduce building costs. There goes the nave. The abbey had been secularized in 1535 so all was fair game. (Maybe not the whole story. Some accounts to square. Sheer conjecture on my part. The Cistercian abbey may have gotten too chummy with the Hapsburg side who did run the state during Ulrich's time of exile. Recap: Impeachment due to irresponsible and a somewhat clumsy fiscal policy.) Particular twist, a church was needed again in 1560 for a Lutheran seminary (those were regularly lodged in secularized abbeys) so a mini nave (just three arches, the circular clearstory windows) is added. Inferior construction as might be expected. - Munchausen comment, did I ever tell you about the port...
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The usual High Gothic crescendo of pinnacles, finials, crockets and miniature flying buttresses. I suspect that the wind rose gargoyles are mainly for show. The open filigree structure will not capture much rain.
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spire internal lighting
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 Bebenhausen
The flower shaped finial. The cock will have been added later. Foreground, chimney structure rather than battlements.
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Roof ridge shrouded in the usual woodbine and ivy mix.
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|  Bebenhausen
Internal girdle wall. The fortifications are no longer too well maintained. The abbey was built on the exact location of an old 'castle mansion' which guarded a trade route to from Ulm to Speyer. The via rheni. The duke of the Palatinate who donated the site wanted to have a reliable 'crew' in place. (Cheaper than a regular garrison.)
|  Bebenhausen, maquette
Scale model. Easiest way to get your bearing is to home in on the well house in the cloister. The friar refectory is always right behind it. The West wing, opposite the East facing choir, was lay brethren territory. Standard Cluny feature. (On department store lay-out in general, if you have been in one you have been in all.) The maquette shows the state of affairs of the early 16th century when the church still had its full nave.
The small chapel abutting the Northern transept was built by prior Konrad von Lustnau (1320-1353). The local Scheltrup (Hirsau All Saints chapel reference). No surviving fragments of stained glass windows.
An outer perimeter wall encircles the hacienda buildings.
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 Bebenhausen, maquette
The lake is still there albeit greatly reduced in circumference. A dam did raise the water level in former times. The Cistercians were never daunted by a terraforming challenge.
|  Bebenhausen, Valerian off
The herb garden. Those monks must have been plagued by nightmares on end judging by their Valerian consumption. Cannot blame them with the overall political situation.
|  Bebenhausen, Valerian off
the pinnate leaves
|  Bebenhausen, Centranthus ruber
Red Valerian. Related with medical valerian. Some herb books claim that it has no medical value whatsoever, others regard it as only slightly inferior to the former. The red color will certainly enhance any placebo effect.
|  Bebenhausen, Armoracia rustica
Thought at first it might be sorrel but it is in fact horseradish. Cabbage family.
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 Bebenhausen, Salvia sclarea
Clary sage. You cannot go too far wrong with anything from the mint family. - The flora of the recreated herb garden is somewhat biased towards a Mediterranean setting (hardly unexpected).
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The fountain in the center of a maze of privet or box hedges. The fountain is the usual 19th century construction based on the surviving blueprints of the missing well house fountain.
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The basswoods (linden trees) form an outer perimeter. There is still a beekeeping station near the old pond.
|  Bebenhausen, cloister
|  Bebenhausen, cloister
auxiliary spire, just to keep everything well balanced
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 Bebenhausen, cloister
down scaled spires
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This gargoyle (4 digit life form, Gollum? or harpy class) did fall victim to sophisticated copper eaves. - As an aside, much of the technical regression of the Medieval Ages can probably be explained by metal penury. Dormant technology so to speak.
|  Bebenhausen, cloister
To throw out the feet with the bath water. Just a mnemonic crib. The sinks in the cloister walkways were useful for the 'mandatum' (foot washing rituals). Problem, you could not throw out your dishwater through the window. Glazed but fixed, neither sliding nor hinged. Somewhat difficult to implement either technique in stone.
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Dated student graffiti. Wilhelm Christian Burckhardt,1694. The graffiti artist will have been a Lutheran seminarian rather than an abbey novice. (Chomsky specialist Schelling, minor attempt at deep structure humor, did not leave his personal signature, either chiseled or red inked.)
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Keystone boss, cloister walkway. St Martin of Tours.
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 Bebenhausen, cloister
keystone boss. Somebody is watching.
|  Bebenhausen, choir
The Gothic East window was commissioned in 1335 by prior Konrad von Lustnau. I strongly suspect that various Cîteaux rules were violated. The whole lower part of the window is a replacement. Ulrich for once innocent. This particular vandalism occurred as late as 1781. Technical: I do not know how you recycle the panes of stained glass window. I suppose you have to treat them with paint stripper first for removing the contour lines, most stained glass will still be painted (or etched) for some of the finer details, and then start recutting. Aborted project by the way. A few of the removed panes survive uncut (12,5% if my chessboard mullion arithmatic serves me right). I suspect that the removed panes will still have been composed of irregular pieces encased in glazier's lead which had to be recut one by one. One thing is certain, you cannot repeat the recutting too many times or you will wind up with clutter. Could be worse. Kay has to solve a giant jigsaw puzzle o...
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The tracery shows the coats of arms of Tübingen, Württemberg, Bebenhausen and Montbéliard. Some vines can also be made out. Vineyards and tax free press houses were one of the biggest sources of revenue for the monastery.
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Abbot Peter von Gomaringen makes a special votive offering to the patroness of the abbey. The swan wings will be a personal coat of arms.
Quite a number of the priors come from the rank of the nobility. The mother abbey may have been strict with regard to building code, an election, or, more exactly, the official post election 'firman' had still to be financed. The main beneficiary being the mother convent. Cîteaux or Morimond in this case. The emperor himself in Imperial abbeys. (It is only simony if the beneficiary is somebody else.)
Just as I thought, the spire chanticleer is a seminary time addition.
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To the right, epitaph of the bookreading prior Johannes von Fridingen. (The actual burial place of most abbots in Bebenhausen was the chapter hall.)
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 Bebenhausen, pulpit
The pulpit decorations may have once adorned on a merry-go-round. Certainly not out of place in either set up. Commissioned in 1565 by Bidembach the first prior of the Lutheran seminary. Local artist. Colored plaster rather than wood.
|  Bebenhausen, pulpit
|  Bebenhausen, pulpit
Renaissance nudity alone is no guaranty for Sistine Chapel quality.
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The rest of the family. Short leather breechers would not look out of place.
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I cannot determine if it is just a dogfight or if an unlucky weasel is also involved.
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 Bebenhausen, choir
Encounter on a spiritual plane. Personae dramatis, a white dog (watch-dog of the church, different dream vision), the prior Bernhard Rockenbauch, Bernard of Clairvaux, an open meditation book and the rood. Off hand, Aeneas carrying Anchises out of the burning Troy with just a touch of Hindenburg handshake. Technically, an amplexus scene cum accolade. Bernard of Clairvaux interacts with the incarnation of God offering his shoulder. You can hardly ask for more. I do not believe for one instance that this scene was mistaken for a deposition from the cross after the Reformation as some sources claim. Pia fraus as far as I would go. About half the monks of Bebenhausen (18, the recruitment heydays were over by then) did defect to the Lutheran side. They may simply have drawn a chalk line in the chapter hall. - Backdrop, the abbey of Bebenhausen.
|  Bebenhausen, artifacts
The crozier of Sebastian Lutz, the last prior. Ulrich allowed him to return for some time with a handful of faithful (educated guess, after signing a certain number of property transfer papers). Lutz had to start practically from scratch. All former insignia had been lost. This crozier was custom made for him. Personal verdict, even a well done crozier will not help you when the Gods have abandoned you. Lutz (alias Hebenstreit) was mainly a prior in exile. He did spend some time in Parias, the same monastery which also sheltered the Maulbronn refugees. The more the merrier. He accepted a monetary compensation towards the end of his life. Not quite the expected Job denouement but times do change.
|  Bebenhausen, chapter hall
|  Bebenhausen, chapter hall
You either have a wide angle lens or you wait till no tour group is around and get very close to the floor.
|  Bebenhausen, chapter hall
Sculpa plate. (Exculpation plate?). Looks harmless enough but probably fairly uncomfortable if you had to kneel there for hours (with or without a dunce cap?). The chapter hall served also as impromptu court room.
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