Saint Elisabeth – Kloster Eberbach

Landgravine of Thüringen († 1231)

One of the most famous German saints of the Middle Ages, Saint Elisabeth of Thüringen, is invoked on the outwardly sloping bench of the altar niche. Born as the daughter of a Hungarian king, Elisabeth came to the court of the Landgrave of Thüringen in 1211 and married his son and heir Ludwig, later Landgrave Ludwig IV of Thüringen, in 1221. Even at a young age, Elisabeth not only distinguished herself through her extraordinary piety, but was also very concerned about the welfare of the poor and sick. After her husband died of an epidemic in Otranto, Italy, during Emperor Friedrich II's crusade in 1227, Elisabeth was forced to leave the landgrave's Wartburg castle. She settled in Marburg, where she founded a hospital for the poor and sick and devoted herself to caring for them. Worn out by her life of privation in the service of the weakest members of society, she died in November 1231 at the age of just 24 and was buried in the chapel of her hospital. After a short time, her grave in Marburg became a place of pilgrimage where miraculous healings are said to have taken place, prompting the Pope to canonize her in 1235. The cult of the now saintly landgravine spread far beyond the borders of the city of Marburg and the Landgraviate of Thüringen and also reached the Rheingau.

Picture: Relief on the tumba of Saint Elisabeth (around 1370) in the Elisabeth Church in Marburg: The saint on her deathbed surrounded by Christ, Mary, saints and Landgrave Konrad of Thüringen

The Cistercian order and Eberbach Monastery in particular also had a connection to Elisabeth. For example, it was a Cistercian monk, Caesarius of Heisterbach, who wrote one of the first accounts of the life of Saint Elisabeth. Abbot Raimund of Eberbach was also involved in her canonization process, as he, together with Archbishop Siegfried III of Mainz, had interrogated witnesses who reported miracles at Elisabeth's grave. An altar was consecrated in Eberbach in Elisabeth's honor and the monastery also received relics of her.

In addition to the inscription, the coats of arms attached to the altar niche also refer to Saint Elisabeth. They depict not only the lion of the Landgraviate of Thüringen but also the Hungarian coat of arms, alluding to Elisabeth's origins. The same coat of arms constellation can be found on the mausoleum of the Saint in Marburg's Elisabeth Church.

Source: German Inscriptions Online (43, No. 202), Academy of Sciences Mainz

Image of the altar niche: Michael Leukel

The inscription in Gothic minuscule reads:

s(anc)ta elyzabeth la(n)tg(ravia)
Saint Elisabeth, Landgravine

Tombstones

These are fascinating life stories that can be found carved in stone in Eberbach - and which are now being told with the help of a QR code project.

Learn more