European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 12, 1959, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Choir stalls in the Church apse Are elaborately carved. Arched cloister connects Church with the monastery. Begun in the 12th Century the Maul Bronn monastery dominates the tiny Community that clusters about it the Hills near Stuttgart. By Jack Walters staff writer i fat if less than an hour s drive from Hei Delberg Stuttgart or Karlsruhe is the famed Maul Bronn monastery. Described by Baedeker As the most Beautiful among the older monasteries in Germany it is situated in the Little town of Maul Brinn approximately 25 Miles Northwest of Stutt Gart 35 Southeast of Heidelberg and 30 Miles due East of Karlsruhe. The monastery is Large and affords examples of All major styles of architecture from romanesque to late gothic and contains enough Art treasures to fill a museum. The Complex of courtyards alleys and buildings Laid out 800 years ago provides dozens of angles and views for picture taking. Begun As a cistercian cloister in 1147, Maul Bronn was transformed into a lutheran Center in 1594, during the reformation and is today an evangelical Seminary for Young men who occupy what was once a monks dormitory. Thirty private families live in half timbered houses completing the settlement whose self sustaining Economy seems to have changed Little Over the centuries. Part of Maul Bronn s Fame rests on the Elfinger wine which once graced the tables of Europe s Royal houses and the Church Hierarchy. Today the Vintage is produced by a local co operative. The great Church was begun in 1147, and the original wooden door of the main in trance still stands inside dividing the sections for the Lay Brothers and the clergy is a huge Crucifix made of a single Block of Stone but resembling Wood which was in stalled in 1423. Numerous other Handiwork in the Church proper include a 700-year-old statue of the Madonna carved out of Oak the richly ornamented Abbot s chair three frescoes Bas reliefs and rows of wooden stalls for the clergy. In an inner court is a View of the foun Tain Chapel a Beautiful and delicate Al Cove of arching Stone with a three tiered Fountain in the Center. The cistercians were a roman Catholic monastic order founded in 1098 by Abbot Thierry. Later refunded by St. Bernardo Clairvaux the order adapted certain rules of the Benedictines but emphasize manual labor rather than learning and practice austerity in dress and living  order became relatively inactive after 1400. Today Many of the cistercian views Are held by the Trappist. The lutheran order which followed the Maul Bronn White monks As the cistercians were called also believed in extreme asceticism. Their medieval world is reflected today in the simplicity and plainness of the general architecture although later additions and More ornate styles of Decora Tion Are also evident As in the Case of the Fountain Chapel and the inner court. Maul Bronn s town Hist cry likewise matches the tradition of its monastery be ing largely tranquil amid the surge of Europe s religious and political dissensions. Legend has it that the alchemist or. Faustus lived at Maul Bronn for two years trying to make Gold for the monastery when it was threatened with financial Dis Aster due to failure of its wine  the Little town with its religious settlement enjoys a quiet Prosperity As tourist attraction with a youth Hostel Good hotels and restaurants and the continuing magic of its Elfinger wine. Original  wooden door i still the stars and strikes in use Crucifix is carved from 0 single Blo Kjof Marble a 11 ing water Breaks the hush of Fountain Chapel Jay aug atm 1959 m i to the stars and stripes Page 13