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Founded: 983 ADCategory: Religious sites in Germany
Historical period: Ottonian Dynasty (Germany)
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Petershausen Abbey was founded as an exempt abbey named after Saint Peter in 983 by Bishop Gebhard of Constance, located on the northern shore of the Rhine river opposite to the episcopal residence at Constance with its cathedral. Gebhard dedicated the monastery church to Pope Gregory the Great and settled the abbey with monks descending from Einsiedeln.
Under Bishop Gebhard III of Zähringen and Abbot Theodoric (1086–1116), the Hirsau Reforms were introduced. In 1097 a filial monastery was established at Mehrerau near Bregenz. As Petershausen sided with the papacy in the Investiture Controversy, Gebhard III in 1103 was deposed at the instigation of Emperor Henry IV. The abbey was closed until 1106, the monks fled to the newly established Kastl Abbey in Bavaria. In 1159 the monastery burnt down, and was rebuilt and extended between 1162 and 1180. Facing the claims of Swabian nobles like the Counts of Montfort, the abbots became supporters of the Imperial Hohenstaufen dynasty. Under Emperor Frederick II (1220–50), Petershausen became reichsfrei, gaining territorial independence.
During the Council of Constance (1414–18), the German king Sigismund of Luxembourg stayed at the abbey and the Petershausen abbot even gained the pontifical vestments from Antipope John XXIII. Nevertheless the monastery declined during the 14th and 15th centuries, pressed hard by Konstanz claiming the status of an Imperial city, as well as by the diocese. The attempts of Prince-Bishop Hugo von Hohenlandenberg to incorporate Petershausen were blocked by Emperor Maximilian I of Habsburg. The abbey was charged by the Konstanz citizens during the Protestant Reformation and the brothers were expelled. It was again ravaged by Imperial troops during the Schmalkaldic War, after which the City of Konstanz in 1548 was incorporated into the Habsburg possessions of Further Austria. The monks did not return until 1556.
Petershausen was finally secularised to Baden in 1802; the library was bought by the University Library Heidelberg. Margrave Charles Frederick of Baden had parts of the abbey rebuilt as a private residence for his sons. The St Gregory Church was demolished in 1832. The remaining premises were later used as a psychiatric hospital and as barracks. They now accommodate a number of administrative and educational functions and the Archaeological Museum of Baden-Württemberg.
References:Rosenborg Palace was built in the period 1606-34 as Christian IV’s summerhouse just outside the ramparts of Copenhagen. Christian IV was very fond of the palace and often stayed at the castle when he resided in Copenhagen, and it was here that he died in 1648. After his death, the palace passed to his son King Frederik III, who together with his queen, Sophie Amalie, carried out several types of modernisation.
The last king who used the place as a residence was Frederik IV, and around 1720, Rosenborg was abandoned in favor of Frederiksborg Palace.Through the 1700s, considerable art treasures were collected at Rosenborg Castle, among other things items from the estates of deceased royalty and from Christiansborg after the fire there in 1794.
Soon the idea of a museum arose, and that was realised in 1833, which is The Royal Danish Collection’s official year of establishment.