Foundation: 1151
Dissolution: 1802
The Cistercian Abbey of Bronnbach was relocated to the water-rich valley of the Tauber in 1157. The abbot and founding convent at first came from Waldsassen and not from the mother Maulbronn. The Bronnbach Cistercians especially promoted viticulture in the region. Despite the modest extension of the land, essential elements of the cultural landscape are represented. The abbey‘s town courts were located in Wertheim, Würzburg, Frankfurt, Aschaffenburg and Miltenberg.
The Cistercian abbey Bronnbach, founded in 1153, lies in the Tauber valley near Wertheim. The foundation legend refers to a lark rising during the search for a suitable location which pointed out the site. The mother monastery was initially Maulbronn, later Ebrach. Both are part of the Cisterscapes network. In 1803, the Princely House of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg took over the entire site, including large parts of the agricultural land, in the course of secularisation. Since 1986, the grounds have been the property of the Main-Tauber district. The district organises guided tours of the monastery. Bronnbach is one of the oldest and best-preserved monastic complexes of the Cistercian Order in southern Germany.
Its monastic landscape is also exceptionally well preserved. The structures of paths and forest boundaries, the visibility of the former farmyards, vineyards or moats still serve as witnesses for the shaping power of the Cistercians in the cultivation of the Bronnbach landscape.
Single granges have been preserved. The sheep farm is still an active farm. The outlay of the farmland including the paths, can be traced back to the use by the Cistercians. Other granges still survive, as well as sites of popular piety or e. g. the remains of an oil mill are relics of the monastic landscape. Two carp ponds are still preserved. The vineyards still characterise the immediate surroundings today.
(c) Fotos: Kulturamt Kloster Bronnbach