With maria not many words were needed: pointed at the handprint, then two fingers in the air: that meant, I want two dark ursberg monastery beers. Had it to be a light beer, I had pointed to the palm of the hand. Bright. Maria knew the score. That's how it was, in the beer garden in maria bildhausen. And now it should be no more, the monastery inn closes.
News was a shock
On saturday this headline was a shock not only for me, but for many, many people in the region. The announced closing does not fit at all into our image of the inn and our experience. There was always something going on here. Hikers have stopped here, many have come on day trips and also stayed over night. Maria bildhausen in the forest of the same name is a central point of contact.
The french marienweg passes by here, between munnerstadt and bad neustadt and further towards hohe rhon and kreuzberg the monastery is an important starting point. Short hikes from the surrounding area have always brought me and my wife here, whether from bad neustadt, from munnerstadt, from rodelmaier or (the very short variant) from rheinfeldshof. Running to bildhausen, resting, running home. We can still walk the paths, but without resting in bildhausen ?
Already something special
But not only for the stopover was an open inn an important factor of the monastery. Since I can remember, there was this. Earlier, in my younger days, there was a narrow guest room here. Nothing gross. Maybe six meters long by three meters, about 30 seats. It was just the two of them. Bildhausen was for the connoisseurs. There was a pass-through to the small kitchen. Tuesdays were boiled meat days. Slaughtering took place in the monastery butchery and kettle meat was served in the small guest room. That was something special.
Beer tasting with consequences
Maria Bildhausen has always been a destination for excursions. Every one of my relatives, every visitor to our house, friends and acquaintances was introduced to maria bildhausen. With greg from canada, we sat in the evening under the chestnut trees (which were still standing at the time) in front of the inn, enjoyed dinner, and continued to rave about the idyllic monastery grounds, the beautifully decorated buildings, and the good meal into the sunset. My nephew from michigan/USA really wanted to try the dark monastery beer and after the second one i brought him home.
Eckhard, my colleague from the lubecker nachrichten, sat with us here and karl weber, a well-known hornusser and industrial designer from switzerland, couldn't get enough of the place. Maria bildhausen has always been an oasis for those who want to get off the beaten track for a few moments of peace and quiet. I used to sometimes stop on my way home from work, sit on the bench by the orchard behind the inn, and just take a deep breath. This is maria bildhausen.
Meeting place for families
Countless families came together here and celebrated a special event. I remember one saturday afternoon when the voice of radka ludova-remmler sounded like a pigeon from the festival hall. We sat under the chestnuts and listened to the ceremony. What an idyll. When radka finished, a friend from bad kissingen came out of the hall, who had invited his 90-year-old mother to maria bildhausen for her birthday. Often we stood in front of closed doors, because inside there were weddings and other celebrations. Maria bildhausen mogen all who know maria bildhausen.
Rest under the chestnut trees
And in summer: the old barn was expanded several years ago. In front of it, chestnut trees were planted, which have now slowly reached the right coarseness to provide shade. From 1. May was always open here on sundays and those who had struggled up the hill on their bicycles appreciated the rest in the monastery under the chestnut trees.
But it is not only the tourist aspects that make me so sad about the closure of the monastery inn. It has always been the encounter with the people cared for in maria bildhausen that I miss. And perhaps also those. They had been a self-evident part of visiting maria bildhausen. They sat at the table next to you and now and then we exchanged a few words. The people in their care have always been there. They also belonged to the inn, where they took an afternoon coffee with cake and in summer an ice cream.
As a visitor to bildhausen, one is simultaneously made aware of the work that is being done here. You learned about dominikus ringeisen, about the history of the plant, the disastrous condition of the building in the 1960s, the immense efforts that the sisters st. The st. Joseph congregation (ursberg) have undertaken to bring everything up to scratch here. These encounters will be missed. Here you met friends, here you learned history, here you could dive into your homeland.
Thoughts revolve around maria
"This is what the end of a beloved piece of home looks like", colleague thomas malz wrote on saturday. Correct. This is it. Maria bildhausen is more than an inn, but it was the central meeting point, this is where life in bildhausen came together. And maria? Hopefully she will again find such a gentle place where she will be allowed to work.