Disibodenberg: Hildegard's Mountain

Disibodenberg is a hilltop monastery ruin in the Nahe valley of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The monastery was founded in the seventh century by the Irish monk Disibod and grew into a Benedictine community. Its most famous resident arrived as a child and stayed for nearly four decades.

Hildegard’s Enclosure

In 1112, at the age of eight, Hildegard was enclosed in a cell attached to the monastery church with her teacher Jutta von Sponheim. The practice of enclosure, common in medieval religious life, meant the cell was sealed. Hildegard lived behind those walls, receiving food through a window, praying according to the monastic hours, and studying scripture. She would remain at Disibodenberg until 1150.

The Visions

Hildegard reported experiencing visions from the age of three, but she kept them secret until 1141, when she received what she described as a command to write them down. The visions appeared as a “living light” that she saw with her inner eyes while fully conscious. She dictated them to her secretary Volmar. The resulting work, Scivias, attracted the attention of Pope Eugenius III, who authorized her to continue writing.

Departure and Ruin

In 1150, Hildegard left Disibodenberg to found her own convent at Rupertsberg, taking her nuns and their dowries with her. The monks protested the financial loss. The monastery continued for several more centuries before falling into ruin. Today the foundations of Hildegard’s cell can still be traced among the overgrown walls, and the hilltop offers a view of the Nahe and Glan rivers converging below.