Hildegard_von_Bingen_englisch

The Old Convent of Eibingen
part of the churchyard. Although the number of visitors of the convent
had been increasing, an independent pilgrimage to Eibingen did not
develop. Pilgrims moving to Marienthal or Nothgottes in the morning
only made a stop on their way home for a silent prayer, especially on the
feast of the birth of the Blessed Virgin (September 8th).
On February 21st of 1737, the pulling down of the east wing began.
The architect Johann Valentin Thoman of Mainz had drawn up the
building plans. The solemn laying of the foundation-stone took place
on March 21st, the feast of St. Benedict. Walls with weight-bearing
capacity were included in the building. Until November 8th, the carpenters
had put up the rafters. The roof could be covered with slate in
October 1738. Between 1746 and 1752, the south wing as well as
stables and barn were built. What the old Eibingen monastery looked
like, can be seen on a drawing by Provost Joseph Otto (1763–1788).
During the time, when the convent was led by Maria Hildegard of
Rodenhausen (1780–1788), signs of a new current of thought, the
Enlightenment, were increasing. Under the Elector Friedrich Karl
Joseph of Erthal, it was planned to convert the convent of Eibingen
into a secular home for gentlewomen. This plan provoked the sisters’
vehement protest. In 1789, the year of the outbreak of the French
Revolution, as a precaution the archives of the convent were transferred
to Alzey, where they remained until 1798. The loss of the possessions
on the left side of the Rhine affected the economic situation,
however. Moreover, the “zeitgeist” had undermined the monastic life.
In 1802, the convent was closed and, in accordance with the decision
of the government of Nassau, evacuated. The authorities transformed
the east wing into an armoury, the church into an arsenal. With the
pulling down of the west and the south wing in 1817, the complex of
buildings lost its square form. In 1831, the local community of Eibingen
bought the property and used the former convent church as parish
church instead of the dilapidated village church. The latter’s Patron
Saint, St. John the Baptist, remained Patron also for the parish church.
In 1857, the parish priest Ludwig Schneider succeeded in proving the
authenticity of the Hildegard relics.
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