After 883 Years, Cistercian Monastery to Close in Germany

The Catholic Herald (UK) ^ | 10/16/17 | AP

[marshmallow]

Himmerod Abbey was founded by St Bernard of Clairvaux, but closed due to lack of vocations

A Cistercian monastery that’s existed for almost 900 years in what is now western Germany is closing down for good, due to a shortage of monks.

The Himmerod Abbey, founded in 1134 by the French abbot Bernard of Clairvaux, had just six resident monks before the closure that was decided this week, down from about 30 monks in the 1970s.

German news agency dpa on Saturday quoted the monastery’s head, Abbot Johannes, as saying the financial situation and especially the small number of monks had played a key role in the decision.

[marshmallow]

Maybe the Muslims will take it over. What a wretched state the German Church is in.

[BenLurkin]

“Maybe the Muslims will take it over”

Count on that.

[Klemper]

Has anyone asked what Colon Kapernick thinks of this?

[PAR35]

Bitburg is the closest city, but the nearest landmark is the US Airbase at Spangdahlam.

[vladimir998]

I like the complex. They should sell it, cut it into pieces, load it into containers and ship it to the U.S.

If I had the money. . .

[Cicero]

Very sad. What a beautiful building. It’s doubtful that the diocese can use another church, given the state of Catholicism (and Protestantism) in Germany.

[shanover]

Ditto that the Muzzies will find "good" use for it.

Germany's demise is sad to see.

[pax_et_bonum]

This is tragic.

So sad.

[RightGeek]

30 monks for a building that size isn’t very many either. I wonder how many it had in its heyday

[RightGeek]

It fell into ruin once before in the 1800s https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himmerod_Abbey

[ViLaLuz]

Soon to be a mosque.

[Hieronymus]

I’d guess 120-150 in the 1950’s. As the thing has been in ruins and rebuilt many times before, present size is no indication of how big it was in 1200. I’d guess that it peaked between 1200 and 1347.

[4Liberty]

+1

[4Liberty]

[alternatives?]

“I’d guess that it peaked between 1200 and 1347.”

I had to look up why you selected 1347. Seemed Spock like. That is when the Bubonic Plague reached Europe. Very impressive.

[alexander_busek]

"Constantinople; summer, 1334. It marched through the streets, the sewers. It left the city by oxcart, by sea, to kill half of Europe. The rats, rustling and squealing in the night as they, too, died. The rats..."

Regards from a "student of history"

[Hieronymus]

Fascinating. The 1334 date caught my eye, and I wonder where you got it, and if it might possibly be accurate.

You are accurately quoting the first regular Star Trek episode called Requiem for Methuslah

https://m.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1533344353361419&id=297107380318462

I never knew that Star Trek dealt with the plague, let alone Constantinople. That said, for some reason Star Trek has the dates off.

The Plague rolled spread from Constantinople throughout the Mediterranean in 1347—it didn’t arrive there any earlier than 1346, and everything that I find (outside of Star Trek) points to 1347 being the arrival time.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22037442

[alternatives?]

I typed “Germany 1347” in Bing and obtained the same information.

[alexander_busek]

You are accurately quoting the first regular Star Trek episode called Requiem for Methuslah

No: Season 3, Episode 19.

Regards,