Welcome to the Bernstein

The former Bernstein Monastery is hidden in a lonely side valley of the Stunzach, between Heiligenzimmern and Gruol. Wooded slopes surround the indentation at Gossenbach. Truly a cozy spot that the Forest Brothers chose around 1237. A century later, Baron Hermann von Ow to Hirrlingen acquired the house, chapel, and forest, leaving the property to the hermits. The lords of Bernstein included the Reichenau Monastery, the Counts of Hohenberg, and the House of Austria.

1370 was the year the first church was consecrated by Bishop Heinrich of Constance. Around 1442, the drip fountain was built, which supplied water for the people in the monastery and the monks' livestock until 1893. The Franciscan monks cultivated the fields in an exemplary manner. They knew how to use and breed livestock. Several thousand fruit trees surrounded the monastery, as well as hop gardens for their own brewery and distillery.

On the vineyard above the church, the terraces where vines were cultivated are still visible today. The monks and many day laborers also toiled in the quarry and the clay pit, burning lime and bricks, of which individual "Feierabendziegel" (evening bricks) still bear witness to the artistic skill of the time. The monks' cells were on the upper floor. The workshops were located on the ground floor. This is also where the choir stalls of the neighboring Dominican convent Kirchberg were created.

At the beginning of the 16th century, the community of Forest Brothers was integrated into the regulated Third Order of Saint Francis. Around 1730, the church and monastery were rebuilt by master mason Joseph Feuerstein from Rottweil. By Napoleon's machinations, the monastery came to Württemberg, where King Frederick had it secularized in 1805. As a result of secularization, the monastery complex fell into disrepair.

In the Third Reich (1935 – 1944), a so-called "Landjahrlager" (rural year camp) moved into the house and church. In the summer of 1945, Bernstein was a French children's home. 1446 the painter Paul Kälberer founded the Bernstein School for the training of artists and art teachers. The last head of the school until 1955 was HAP Grieshaber.

On February 1, 1951, Emil Kewitz and his family leased the farm. In 1976, the Kewitz family acquired the property. Since 1992, regular exhibitions and concerts have been held in the former church space during the summer months.