GERTRUDE of HACKEBORN. – Cistercian nun, born in 1232, she entered at a very young age the abbey of Rotardesdorf (Rordersdorf, Rossdorf; diocese of Halberstadt) and was elected abbess at the age of 19. She collaborated with her brothers Albert and Louis of Hackeborn when in 1253 they founded the abbey of Hadersleben (diocese of Halberstadt), rebuilt in 1810. For lack of water, in 1258, G. transferred her abbey to Helfta (Helpede) near Eisleben. The church she built at that time, after the Protestant Reformation, was maintained as a granary. G. died in 1292.
She is especially to be remembered for her fidelity to the Rule, her lively intellect, her attentive and understanding care for her sisters, and her prudence in administration. How much care was given at that time in Helfta to the liturgy, and how it was a source of piety, is reflected in the writings of St. Gertrude the Great. The abbess G. promoted the study of the Bible, the Fathers of the Church, recognized authors, and biblical and biblical-lecture arts through the acquisition of works and new transcriptions. “Without study, Holy Scripture would no longer be understood and the life of the Order would die out.” Under G.’s guidance flourished her sisters in religion, the blessed Mechtilde of Hackeborn, Gertrude the Great, and the mystic Mechtilde of Magdeburg. Care was also diligently given to art (v. the miniatures of Elisabeth of Mansfeld).