Wertheim-Bronnbach ⋅ The 800th anniversary of the dedication of the church, which is being commemorated these days in the former Cistercian monastery in Bronnbach, offers an opportunity to honor the outstanding importance of the cultural monument. As one of the very few of the 750 (men’s) abbeys of the reform order that once spread across half of Europe, the complex in the Tauber Valley near Wertheim, which ranges from Romanesque to Baroque, has remained almost completely intact. As only in Eberbach or Maulbronn, the overall organism designed for self-sufficiency gives an idea of the Cistercian self-image, which always knew how to combine both, spirituality and rationality.
Behind a thousand meter long wall there is still a mill, fruit store, farm building and the hospital, albeit converted into a regional archive, gastronomy or research facilities of the Fraunhofer Society. Preservation through use was the guiding principle when the Main-Tauber district acquired the complex from the princes of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg in 1986 after the princely house, which was compensated with Bronnbach in 1803, was unable to maintain it in the long term.
Original archaic
The general renovation carried out by the district and above all the state of Baden-Württemberg corresponded to a new foundation. No part of the architecture was left out, starting with the Romanesque-Gothic church and its Baroque interior, through the unique, 90 square meter outdoor fresco of the Orangery (now the restaurant) to the recent creation of the Gardens in front of the Prelature. surprises included. In the so-called Bernhard Hall, hidden ceiling paintings with motifs from the life of Bernhard von Clairvaux came to light.
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Since the extensive restoration, you can visit the facility individually, but guided tours and various themed tours are offered at fixed times, and the range of lectures, concerts and even wine tastings in the vinotheque has been greatly expanded.
The Church of St. James in Urphar am Main is a much smaller example of the original archaic style that Bronnbach probably had before the major conversion and expansion to the Baroque style. Originally a fortified choir tower, the nave added in the late 13th century opened up more space for paintings. The fact that they have been preserved borders on the miraculous, as does the double gallery, which probably dates from the early 16th century, and the narrow seating.
Directions
Thanks to the railway and country road, the once isolated Bronnbach Monastery is easily accessible. There is a large car park in front of the Tauber Bridge, which is still medieval. The train stop is on the left. A good half hour is estimated for visiting the church and cloister as well as the baroque halls.
Then it can go out into the landscape cultivated by the hard-working religious, which is now partially recultivated, such as the viticulture near the orangery or the ingenious water management. A directional post opposite the abbey garden provides numerous signs. The view of the “vine” over a red background is sufficient for the beginning.
With a few others, she bends slightly to the left under the trees and slightly up. At renewed moats it goes beyond the forest, there the Konradkapellchen, and with a view of the Schafhof through fields and then left into the unchanged agriculturally used outpost of the monastery (Grangie). The stables for hundreds of sheep are still standing, as are two baroque administration buildings.
Despite extensive new construction and renovations, the medieval core of the former Cistercian monastery in Bronnbach has been preserved. The church, consecrated exactly 800 years ago, shows the typical Romanesque-Gothic transitional style of the order.
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Image: Thomas Klein
Past it and behind it up the footpath to the right, after crossing the road, you strive towards the vineyard on the left. At the top, in a grove, we let the “vine” go to the left and either choose the yellow shell of the Way of St. James straight ahead or right, more extensively, the wine trail between Reicholzheim and Homberg (RH). The green signs accompany you down through open country to the Mittelhof and before that, 250 meters to the left next to the small road, before pointing left into a varied wooded area.