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Founded: 1345Category: Religious sites in Germany
Historical period: Habsburg Dynasty (Germany)
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Freiburg Charterhouse is a former Carthusian monastery founded in 1345 or 1346 by Johannes Schnewlin, knight, Bürgermeister of Freiburg. It was dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, in honour of the Grande Chartreuse near Grenoble. In the early 16th century, the premises were extended by the addition of the refectory and the church, which was constructed in the Late Gothic style with ribbed vaulting and flying buttresses. It featured magnificent stained glass windows to designs by the Swabian painter Hans Baldung Grien.
At its height the charterhouse maintained close contact with the University of Freiburg. From 1502 to 1525 the prior was Gregor Reisch, a significant representative of late Scholasticism and a professor at the university. The monastery supported impoverished students and in its turn received donations and novices from the circles round the university.
The monastery gradually built up a significant library, particularly through its contact with the university, mainly through the gifts of new entrants to the monastery, and also through legacies from university staff and local clergy. For example, in 1537 the monastery inherited the library (consisting of c. 390 books) and the estate of Otmar Nachtgall.
The Thirty Years' War and the ravages of the Swedish army caused a huge disruption. Like many other Carthusians the monks of Freiburg took refuge in Ittingen Charterhouse in Switzerland. Between 1753 and 1756 the buildings were enlarged by the addition, in front of the medieval cell range, of a grand Baroque courtyard of three wings for the accommodation of prelates, plus a guest wing. The prior's attempt to attain the rank of prelate caused an internal revolt, which was put aside in 1781, after the monastery had suffered a serious fire the previous year.
Emperor Joseph II commanded the dissolution of all Carthusian monasteries, including Freiburg, within five months of the decree dated 13 February 1782. Its buildings and lands became the property of the state and were sold to the Baron von Baden in 1783. The library was dispersed; only a few incunabula can now be traced, in the library of Freiburg University.
After the dissolution the buildings were converted for a country house of the nobility, with the prior's lodging as the main residence. The cloisters with the monks' cells were demolished to make way for a park, but the church was kept. The precious stained glass windows were sold off to various villages.
The charitable foundation of Freiburg acquired the property in 1894 and converted it into a nursing home. From fall 2014 onwards, the facilities will accommodate a college of the UWC which will be called Robert Bosch College.
References:The Palazzo Colonna is a palatial block of buildings built in part over ruins of an old Roman Serapeum, and has belonged to the prestigious Colonna family for over twenty generations.
The first part of the palace dates from the 13th century, and tradition holds that the building hosted Dante in his visit to Rome. The first documentary mention notes that the property hosted Cardinal Giovanni and Giacomo Colonna in the 13th century. It was also home to Cardinal Oddone Colonna before he ascended to the papacy as Martin V (1417–1431).
With his passing, the palace was sacked during feuds, and the main property passed into the hands of the Della Rovere family. It returned to the Colonna family when Marcantonio I Colonna married Lucrezia Gara Franciotti Della Rovere, the niece of pope Julius II. The Colonna"s alliance to the Habsburg power, likely protected the palace from looting during the Sack of Rome (1527).
Starting with Filippo Colonna (1578–1639) many changes have refurbished and create a unitary complex around a central garden. Architects including Girolamo Rainaldi and Paolo Marucelli labored on specific projects. Only in the 17th and 18th centuries were the main facades completed. Much of this design was completed by Antonio del Grande (including the grand gallery), and Girolamo Fontana (decoration of gallery). In the 18th century, the long low facade designed by Nicola Michetti with later additions by Paolo Posi with taller corner blocks (facing Piazza Apostoli) was constructed recalls earlier structures resembling a fortification.
The main gallery (completed 1703) and the masterful Colonna art collection was acquired after 1650 by both the cardinal Girolamo I Colonna and his nephew the Connestabile Lorenzo Onofrio Colonna and includes works by Lorenzo Monaco, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Palma the Elder, Salviati, Bronzino, Tintoretto, Pietro da Cortona, Annibale Carracci (painting of The Beaneater), Guercino, Francesco Albani, Muziano and Guido Reni. Ceiling frescoes by Filippo Gherardi, Giovanni Coli, Sebastiano Ricci, and Giuseppe Bartolomeo Chiari celebrate the role of Marcantonio II Colonna in the battle of Lepanto (1571). The gallery is open to the public on Saturday mornings.
The older wing of the complex known as the Princess Isabelle"s apartments, but once housing Martin V"s library and palace, contains frescoes by Pinturicchio, Antonio Tempesta, Crescenzio Onofri, Giacinto Gimignani, and Carlo Cesi. It contains a collection of landscapes and genre scenes by painters like Gaspard Dughet, Caspar Van Wittel (Vanvitelli), and Jan Brueghel the Elder.
Along with the possessions of the Doria-Pamphilij and Pallavacini-Rospigliosi families, this is one of the largest private art collections in Rome.