Schönau Abbey

The origins of Schönau Monastery trace back to 1117, when Count Dudo-Heinrich von Laurenburg, an ancestor of the House of Nassau, transferred his estate in Lipporn to the Swiss All Saints' Monastery in Schaffhausen for the establishment of a provostry. This provostry evolved into the Benedictine Abbey of Schönau in 1126, founded by Count Ruprecht I von Nassau, the bailiff of Lipporn and son of Dudo-Heinrich. Between 1126 and 1145, the Romanesque foundational complex, likely a three-aisled basilica, was constructed. Concurrently, a convent for nuns was established alongside the monks' monastery. Saint Elisabeth of Schönau worked here from 1141 until her death in 1164, and her brother Eckbert joined the male convent around 1155/56. By 1340, the monastery was economically powerful enough to pledge armed support and wagons to the city of Frankfurt am Main. The Gothic choir, still preserved today, and an Elisabeth Chapel were built on the north side of the nave between 1420 and 1430. During the Reformation (1541-1544), the surrounding communities became Protestant, but the monastery remained Catholic. The convent was dissolved in 1606.