Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: German Peasants' War

Betberg is a little hamlet, belonging to Buggingen. The name "Betberg" sounds like a "program", "bet" means "pray" and "berg" means "mountain". Betberg had of the earliest churches in the area. The church was first mentioned in 789, but brick foundations, found during a renovation in the 1970s date from around 700. The current church was probably built between 1100 and 1145. The tower was erected around the year 1200. Of course the church underwent numerous alterations, enlargements and renovations over the centuries. Upon the gallery are some very interesting drawings, connected to the German Peasants' War. The peasants revolted against the feudal society, as they bore the brunt of maintaining it. Princes, nobility, civil servants, patricians and the clergy lived on their labour and as the number of beneficiaries continued to rise, the taxes the peasants had to pay also rose. The Peasant´s War reached the area in 1525. Left and right on the walls of the tower are a knight and a mercenary. They stand on (only partly visible) the coat of arms of the monastery of St. Peter (to which Betberg belonged) with crossed keys and mitra and on the coat of arms of the margraviate. The spiritual and worldly powers united against the peasants.

Betberg is a little hamlet, belonging to Buggingen. The name "Betberg" sounds like a "program", "bet" means "pray" and "berg" means "mountain". Betberg had of the earliest churches in the area. The church was first mentioned in 789, but brick foundations, found during a renovation in the 1970s date from around 700. The current church was probably built between 1100 and 1145. The tower was erected around the year 1200. Of course, the church underwent numerous alterations, enlargements and renovations over the centuries. Upon the gallery are some fascinating drawings, connected to the German Peasants' War. The peasants revolted against the feudal society, as they bore the brunt of maintaining it. Princes, nobility, civil servants, patricians and the clergy lived on their labour and as the number of beneficiaries continued to rise, the taxes the peasants had to pay also rose. The Peasant´s War reached the area in 1525. Left and right on the walls of the tower are a knight and a mercenary standing for the spiritual and worldly powers guard the doors (prev. upload). So for the two peasants, the only way to escape is through the small oculus.

The Cistercian monastery "Alba Dominorum" was founded here in 1149. It was settled by monks from Neubourg Abbey in Alsace (80kms west). The abbey was severely damaged during the German Peasants' War of 1525 and after the Reformation the remaining monks were forced to leave the abbey, that got secularized (and converted in a school for a short time). The once large abbey church now is "cut" in two different structures. Behind the the ruins of the narthex ("Paradies") in the foreground stands the Lutheran parish church, created out of the old Gothic choir in 1739.

Maulbronn Monastery was founded in 1147. The church, built in a style transitional from Romanesque to Gothic, was consecrated in 1178. Most other buildings followed within the 13th century. The complex is believed to be one of the the best-preserved medieval Cistercian monastery complex north of the Alpes (some claim "in Europe"). Since 1993 Maulbronn is part of the Unesco World Heritage. After the consecration, the construction of the abbey continued. Around 1200 a narthex was added and the cloister was started. Some buildings are done in a really remarkable architectural, early gothic style. The person, who built that must have had experiences from Northern France and Burgundy. With all the cistercian connections, it was probably easy to find a "top architect". His name is not known, so the name given to him by art historians is "Meister des Maulbronner Paradieses" (Master of Maulbronn Paradise). After the Reformation the monastery was damaged and looted a couple of times. It got secularised in 1534 and a Protestant seminary was opened here. The (today) most prominent student during the early years was Johannes Kepler. In 1807 the seminary merged with another to "Evangelical Seminaries of Maulbronn and Blaubeuren" - and still today a boarding school exists here. Authors Friedrich Hoelderlin and Hermann Hesse studied here. Hesse´s novel "Beneath the Wheel" features Maulbronn. I noticed, that even in the narthex ("Paradies"), what means in "open public", all walls are covered with graffittis and on first sight connected them with the lootings during the Thirty Years' War and the Peasants' War, - but the dates I found, did not fit, plus most troops at that time were unable to write their names. The knowledgeable lady, that toured me through the interior of the abbey later, told me, that already very early it was customary to the students, to carve in their names somewhere, before they left the seminar. So there are thousends of names to find here...