Apart from the monastery complex, the surrounding landscape, sculpted by the Cistercians, also makes Maulbronn special. An ingenious water system, vineyards and former farmyards bear authentic witness to monasterial industry.
Viticulture – an important part of monastery life
Cistercian monasteries were established primarily for religious reasons. However, to maintain their way of life, Cistercian monks were permitted to jointly own stretches of water, forests, vineyards, grassland and property. Cultivating and managing the surrounding landscape thus became a standard aspect of life in a Cistercian Order, as did the principle of self-sufficiency. Subsequently, geographical location was a key factor when founding a monastery.
Elfinger Hof grange
The Cistercians supported themselves primarily through handicrafts, agriculture and livestock. In order to manage their estates and accommodate their livestock, they established farms, known as granges, close to the monastery. At the beginning of the 12th century, Maulbronn monastery owned 17 granges. The lay brothers undertook most of the time-consuming manual labor and farming, and in exchange their prayer times were reduced.
Today , the monastery mill accommodates seminary students.
Cistercians were famed for their water management skills. This is evidenced by the extensive system of artificially created waterways around the monastery. Construction of the water system commenced in the 12th century, which was extended in subsequent centuries. Cistercians regulated the water in the nearby Tiefer See lake using a special drain system, which also drove the mill inside the monastery walls. Diverting the course of the Salzach river created a drainage channel.
Today, you can walk the Eppingen Lines
The Eppingen Lines, an 86-kilometer trench, are also part of the Maulbronn cultural landscape. Margrave Ludwig Wilhelm von Baden-Baden used socage labor to have the trench built between 1695 and 1697 in order to stop French raids during the Nine Years’ War. The Eppingen Lines can be explored on foot, along a route of the same name, which stretches more than 40 kilometer from Eppingen to Mühlacker, with signs explaining its history along the way.
