The Birgittenkloster (Convent of Saint Birgitta) is a Bridgettine convent in Bremen, Germany, founded in October 2002. The first convent to be founded in Bremen since the Reformation, it has adopted an ecumenical role in line with the teachings of Saint Bridget. [1]
The idea of creating a new convent in Bremen was born in 1998 during the Deanery Pastoral Conference (Dekanatspastoralkonferenz) thanks to the inspiration of Maria Elisabeth Hesselblad who had established the new order in 1911 and the synergy between the Abbess General Mother Tekla in Rome and Franz-Josef Bode, Bishop of Osnabrück. [2] Bremen was specifically chosen as the location for Germany's first Bridgettine convent. [3]
Designed by Ulrich Tilgner, the convent is located in the Schnoor district of the city on the site of a former bakery. In addition to the chapel and living quarters, there is a guest house with 12 rooms. The nuns take care of the guests and prepare their meals. [4] Seven nuns from Mexico, India, Italy, Poland and Germany currently live in the convent, headed by Sister Giovanna Gonzalez from Mexico. The day begins with morning prayers at 6.15 am and finishes at 8.50 pm with evening prayers. [5]
Set in one of the picturesque streets of the Schnoor, the complex consists of three interconnected structures: the tower-like building overlooking the street with guest rooms, the two-storey nuns' wing set back from the street with a forecourt, and the chapel which is accessed through a small garden. The location of the living quarters between the chapel and the guest accommodation provides for optimal functionality while supporting a life of ora et labora (prayer and work) defined by the order. While the chapel can be reached directly from inside the convent, visitors can enter via the garden (except during daily prayers). In contrast to the vivid terracotta-coloured exterior, the chapel interior is finished in a bright white facing, exuding Scandinavian simplicity. The rear glazed wall takes the form of a cross, reflecting the order's motto: Amor meus crucifixus est (My love is the crucified one). [3]
On the occasion of the convent's 10th anniversary, Ulrich Tilgner, the architect, explained that it had been no easy matter to design the building within the 1,000 m2 (11,000 sq ft) of free space, given the heritage restrictions regulating the surroundings and the rather limited funding. [2]
With 12 rooms accommodating up to 18 guests, the convent welcomes both individuals and groups wishing to escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. [6]
Bremer Vulkan AG was a prominent German shipbuilding company located at the Weser river in Bremen-Vegesack. It was founded in 1893 and closed in 1997 because of financial problems and mismanagement.
Land Wursten is a former Samtgemeinde in the district of Cuxhaven, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It was situated approximately 20 km (12 mi) southwest of Cuxhaven, and 15 km (9.3 mi) north of Bremerhaven. Its seat was in the village Dorum. It was disbanded in January 2015, when its member municipalities merged into the new municipality Wurster Nordseeküste.
The Abbey of Our Lady and of St. Bridget, more commonly referred to as Vadstena Abbey, situated on Lake Vättern in the Diocese of Linköping, Sweden, was the motherhouse of the Bridgettine Order. The abbey started on one of the farms donated to it by the king, but the town of Vadstena grew up around it. It was active from 1346 until 1595.
The City Municipality of Bremen is the capital of the German federal state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, a two-city-state consisting of the cities of Bremen and Bremerhaven. With around 570,000 inhabitants, the Hanseatic city is the 11th largest city of Germany as well as the second largest city in Northern Germany after Hamburg.
Midlum is a village and a former municipality in the district of Cuxhaven, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Since 1 January 2015 it is part of the municipality Wurster Nordseeküste.
Heggbach Abbey was a Cistercian nunnery in Heggbach, now part of the municipality of Maselheim in the district of Biberach, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
Schnoor is a neighbourhood in the medieval centre of the German city of Bremen, and the only part of it that has preserved a medieval character. The neighbourhood owes its name to old handicrafts associated with shipping. The alleys between the houses were often associated with occupations or objects: There was an area in which ropes and cables were produced and a neighboring area, where wire cables and anchor chains were manufactured.
The Shipper's House in Bremen, Germany is a building in the oldest district of the Free Hanseatic city of Bremen. The house was registered as an historical monument in 1973 and is in Schnoor. During the last 25 years of the 20th century the house was a private museum. It was an attraction for many visitors including the former German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher.
Lüne Abbey is a former Benedictine nunnery in the Lower Saxon town of Lüneburg. Today it is a Protestant Lutheran convent and is managed by the Klosterkammer Hannover. The current abbess is Reinhild Freifrau von der Goltz.
Medingen Abbey or Medingen Convent is a former Cistercian nunnery. Today it is a residence for women of the Protestant Lutheran faith near the Lower Saxon town of Bad Bevensen and is supervised by the Monastic Chamber of Hanover. The current director of the abbey (Äbtissin) is the art historian Dr Kristin Püttmann.
Fahr Convent, is a Benedictine convent located in the Swiss municipality of Würenlos in the canton of Aargau. Located in different cantons, Einsiedeln Abbey and Fahr Convent form a double monastery, overseen by the male Abbot of Einsiedeln, no converse arrangement appears to be available for the Abbess of Fahr. Fahr and Einsiedeln may be one of the last of such arrangements to survive.
Theater Bremen is a state theatre in Bremen, Germany, with four divisions for opera, plays, dance, and student programs. Its venues are located in a city block, connected in architecture and seating up to 1,426 spectators. The theatre has drawn international attention since 1962 with innovative play productions in the Bremer Stil. Its opera company was selected as opera house of the year by Opernwelt in 2007.
St. George's Abbey is a monastic complex in the village of Sankt Georgen am Längsee, Carinthia, Austria. It celebrated its 1,000th anniversary in 2003.
The Schütting, situated on the Marktplatz in Bremen, Germany, initially served the city's merchants and tradesmen as a guild house. In 1849, it became Bremen's chamber of commerce. Since 1973, it has been under monument protection. It lies on the south site of the Bremen marketplaces directly across from the town hall.
The Theater am Goetheplatz, also incorrectly known as the Goethetheater, is the main theatre of the city of Bremen in the north of Germany, the main venue of Theater Bremen. Completed in 1913 in the Neoclassical style, it is located in the cultural district to the east of the old town. After reconstruction with major extensions after the Second World War, it was fully modernized in 2004. Since 2005, it has been a listed building.
The Essighaus was an impressive gabled town house in the old town of Bremen in northern Germany. One of the city's finest examples of Renaissance architecture, it was almost completely destroyed by bombing in 1943. The entrance flanked by projecting bay windows is the only part of the building which has been restored.
Himmelpforten Convent was founded as a monastery of nuns following the Cistercian Rule during the 13th century in Himmelpforten, in today's Lower Saxony, Germany. During the 16th century, it was converted into use as a Lutheran Damsels' Convent. The Himmelpforten Convent was founded before 1255 and finally dissolved in 1647. The convent complex was built between 1300 and 1330. After 1645 the buildings, including the abbey, increasingly decayed, until they were little by little demolished. The dilapidated abbey was demolished in 1737 and replaced by today's St. Mary's Church which partially covers the foundations of the former abbey.
The Neuenwalde Convent is a Lutheran damsels' convent in Neuenwalde, a locality of Geestland, Lower Saxony, Germany.
The Holy Cross Church is the church of the Neuenwalde Convent. Convent and Holy Cross Church are owned by the Bremian Knighthood, based in Stade. However, church and parsonage, are used per usufruct by the Lutheran Neuenwalde Congregation in Neuenwalde, a locality of Geestland, Lower Saxony, Germany. Besides the Holy Cross Church, only used, the congregation uses and owns the chapel in Hymendorf.
Weesen Abbey is a monastery of Dominican nuns located in Weesen in the Canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland. The Dominican convent is located at the foot of a terraced hillside in the middle of the town of Weesen on the effluence of the Maag respectively Linth from Walensee. Established in 1256, Weesen is the oldest Dominican friary of nuns in Switzerland. The buildings and the library respectively archives are listed in the Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance.