The monastery vault

The Collegiate Church, the Church "Zum Holy Cross" of the Protestant parish, the Collegiate Mill and above all the Collegiate Vault are reminiscent of the former Collegiate monastery, which emerged from the former Benedictine monastery in Hünfeld.

It probably existed since 782 due to the donation of the "Campus, qui dicitur Unofelt" by the Frankish king Charlemagne in December 781 to the Benedictine monastery in Fulda and was first mentioned in 815. It was converted into a collegiate foundation between 825 and 1049.

The origin of the monastery vault itself is, however, still in the dark of history. The preparation of the medieval structure in the town of Hünfeld, especially from the time when the monastery and village merged to form the town of Hünfeld in the 13th century, has not been properly researched. For this purpose, the partly still well-preserved one- and two-storey underground cellars could serve as a valuable aid. In their essential parts they probably date from the 12th/13th century. 20th century.

For example, there was a medieval brewery. Even at the beginning of the 20th century, the old Hünfelder brewery existed in this area – albeit above ground. The nearby ice cellar, once filled by the ice ponds in the meadows, was used until the 20th century. The well shaft has not yet been fully explored, which has only been exposed to a depth of about four metres and certainly has a total depth up to the hazel bed, i. e. about another three to four metres.

During World War II, the underground premises served as bunkers for the surrounding inhabitants during air raids. In the 1930s, a wine warehouse was set up in the monastery vault, which served in particular to supply parish priests with mass wine in the diocese of Fulda. However, wine was probably stored in the monastery vaults in earlier centuries. So you could say that wine and beer have met again and again in these rooms.

For the first time, the vaults were opened to the general public on the occasion of the anniversary of the award of the city rights in 1985, and subsequently used for gastronomic events and music events.

From 1996 to 1998, the upper brewery rooms were thoroughly renovated as dry vaults. Thanks to the Hessentag 2000 in Hünfeld, the extension of the vault with adjoining rooms was succeeded. Since then, the monastery vault has been open to the public on a regular basis, for example at the Frühlings- und Martinsmarkt or at the Gaalbernfest.

It also serves today as a good living room of the city.