An exemplary monastery building.
In Bebenhausen, construction followed the prescribed pattern for the complex of a Cistercian monastery exactly. The sleeping hall of the White Monks was to be placed on the east side of the conclave, while the sleeping hall for the lay monks would lie on the opposite side. With the arrangement of the dormitories on the upper story of the two wings of the conclave, the construction plan of Bebenhausen Monastery strictly followed the tradition in which the rules of the Cistercians were grounded.
Decorated floor tiles from the monastery brickyard.
The dormitory was initially a large, open hall, which spread over the entire story, including the chapter house, the parlatory, and the Fraternal Hall. The sleeping hall was completed by 1216 or 1217: Looking up, a wooden barrel vault defined the space. The floor was richly decorated with ornamental floor tiles from the monastery brickyard. In the 14th century, during the office of Abbot Konrad von Lustnau, the south wall received a large Gothic tracery window.
The individual cells reflect the desire for more privacy.
His successor, Abbot Johann von Fridingen listened to the monks' desire for more privacy and had the dormitory converted. In the process, the flat wooden ceiling was added and individual monk's cells were created in a half-timbered style. Today, they present themselves in the condition of the 17th and 18th century, when the monastery students were housed here. The whitewashed wall panels are decorated with inscriptions and painted flowers from 1523; they were repaired and touched up somewhat at the beginning of the 20th century.
Not only monks were housed in the cells.
Later, part of the monastery was converted to a hunting lodge for the dukes and kings of Württemberg, and some of the monk's cells in the former dormitory were used to house guests during hunts. The space was enlarged for these "cavaliers' rooms" by taking down interior walls. After World War II, the members of the state parliament of Württemberg-Hohenzollern slept in the cells, as the meetings often lasted until late in the night. The sinks and bathrooms date from this period!
Some monks' cells were expanded to accommodate hunting parties.
