Lecture: Ursulines and Lioba Sisters – Schools in Meßkirch Castle between 1947 and 1984

"I have this image of a nun with a large Great Dane walking in the courtyard garden..." Lecture as part of the 2026 cultural focus on "Education" by the Kulturforum Landkreis Sigmaringen e.V. These and other memories connect many residents of Meßkirch with the school that the Lioba Sisters from Wald Monastery ran in Meßkirch Castle until the early 1980s. Few people know that earlier, after the Second World War, it was the Ursuline Order that attempted to establish a school for rural women. Over 1,100 students attended one of the two schools during this period. You are invited to find out who these nuns were, why they came here, what types of schools were established, and what their goals were. We will talk about the difficulties of running a school in a historic building and why there was a dispute with the Heidegger family over "piglets, geese, ducks, and chickens." You will learn what Liobatag was and why it may be necessary to guard the flower carpets on Corpus Christi. Of course, the secret of what the mastiff was called and what it was used for will be revealed.