Buch Abbey

Buch Abbey was first mentioned in a document of Emperor Heinrich IV who bestowed to it the parish of Leisnig According to Cistercian tradition, abbot Hildebert, twelve monks and twelve lay brothers left Sittichenbach Abbey in 1 August 1192 and reached Buch on 17 August 1192. The foundation of the new abbey was initiated by Burgrave Heinrich III of Leisnig, who resided in nearby Mildenstein Castle. The Burgraves of Leisnig gifted the monastery with many villages. In 1309 the monastery acquired the town of Belgern, where it established an ecclesiastical manor, together with its ferry across the river Elbe.

After abbot Antonius Dytz died on 20 December 1525, the monastery was dissolved in the course of the Protestant Reformation which had already prevailed in nearby Leisnig. The village of Klosterbuch grew from buildings surrounding the secularised monastery. In 1965 it was incorporated into Leisnig.

The Zeschau family had the abbot's house rebuilt and, probably around 1600, the manorial chapel built from the ruins of the choir of the abbey's church. During the Thirty Years' War the estate suffered much damage and had to be auctioned off. It was bought by Fürstenschule Grimma who had the manor chapel renovated and consecrated anew in 1678 by the church superintendent of Leisnig, and remained in possession of the estate until 1836, when it became property of the Saxon state.

Restoration works started in 1992, directed by the town of Leisnig and its local history club. Floods in 2002 caused severe damage which was completely repaired until 2008. Today the former abbey is used as a venue for exhibitions, guided tours and other events, among them a monthly farmer's market and the yearly monastery and harvest festival in September.

Of the medieval buildings, the eastern parts of the church, the chapter house, the infirmarium, the abbot's residence and several auxiliarybuildings have survived.

The church was a pillared basilica with a nave and two aisles and a transept. An outer wall of an aisle, the choir and three sidechapels are still extant. Using medieval parts (pillars, windows, and vaults), a smaller evangelical church was built in the choir to serve the manor with an altar on its western side.

The two-storied abbot's residence was built around 1400 as evidenced by dendrochronological studies of the roof timbers. Its outward appearance is determined by alterations performed in the 16th and 17th century, while the portal with its pointed arch dates back into the Middle Ages.

References:

• Wikipedia

Address

Klosterbuch 1, Leisnig, Germany

Details

Founded: 1192
Category: Religious sites in Germany
Historical period: Hohenstaufen Dynasty (Germany)