Cistercians Following
Heinrich Fluitter's vision of the
Blessed Virgin Mary, a shrine and chapel were built on the site of it, which became a place of pilgrimage, the
Marienwallfahrt. For the proper care of the site and the pilgrim's land was given in 1480 to the
Cistercians of
Bottenbroich Priory, who established a priory here, which they were able to move into on 4 April 1486. The new monastery took its name from the shrine to Mary and from the woods in which it was situated: "Marienwald", or "Mary's wood" (official latin name: Monasterium Nemoris beatae Mariae Virginis). In 1795 the monastery was closed as a result of the
War of the First Coalition and the annexation to the
French First Republic, and the monks were expelled. The image of the Virgin was removed to safety in Heimbach. The priory buildings were abandoned and fell into decay. From 1875 to 1887, the monks were exiled because of the
Kulturkampf ("Cultural Struggle") policies of the
Imperial German government. In 1909, Mariawald was raised from the status of priory to that of an abbey, The monastery had to be largely rebuilt because it had been seriously damaged in the war. The monks followed the
Rule of St. Benedict and the constitution of the Cistercians of the Strict Observance. Visitors can also stay a few days in the abbey's guesthouse, but the parts of the monastery used by the monastic community cannot be visited. The abbey runs a tavern and bookshop. It also produces and sells its
liqueur. In 1997, it was one of eight Trappist abbeys that founded the International Trappist Association (ITA) to protect the Trappist name from commercial misuse.
Old Rite During the tumultuous 1960s, the abbey embraced the current liturgical fashions. However, in 2008 on the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lady in the Temple (21 November), Mariawald Abbey gained from
Pope Benedict XVI permission to return to the Old Rite and their original religious discipline : This makes Mariawald unique among Trappist monasteries around the world, in that they adhere to their traditional, strict rule, including the office of the liturgical books in force in the Catholic Church in 1962 (particularly the traditional Latin Mass according to the old Trappist use). 2010, Mariawald attempted to establish an academic program for the training of religious priests, but no course of study was completed.
Closure and transformation Josef Vollberg resigned as abbot in October 2016. By the end of January 2018, it became known that somewhere in the year the abbey would be closed and the monks distributed over other abbeys. The monastery was officially closed. However, the tavern and bookshop remained open, and liqueur production was still ongoing. The abbey's motto is ("Let your light shine"), from Matthew 5:16. In late 2018, the association "Trappistenkonvent Mariawald e.V." was renamed to "Kloster Mariawald e.V.". New members joined this association, and they elected a new executive board. As of January 1, 2021, Kloster Mariawald GmbH & Co. KG took over the ownership of the association and continued to operate the restaurant, bookstore, liqueur production, and online shipping. The
Diocese of Aachen announced, that an attempt is to be made to settle a religious community in Mariawald again, which could then use the premises as tenants. Since the closure of the monastery in 2018, it has been used as a museum with guided tours. ==Abbots==