Gravenhorst Monastery, Hörstel, Germany

At the foot of the Teutoburg Forest, not far from the town of Hörstel, lies Gravenhorst Monastery, a former abbey of the Cistercian nuns. Surrounded by moors and orchards, the former convent with its church, convent buildings, mill and mill pond, bakery and brewery, imposing wall and historic bridges offers the image of an almost completely preserved convent complex: an absolute rarity in the northern part of Germany.

The history of the picturesque ensemble of buildings stretches far back into the past: in 1252, Konrad von Brochterbeck received permission from Osnabrück Bishop Bruno von Isenberg to found a convent for nuns of the Cistercian order in the Gravenhorst hamlet. Over the following centuries, the small convent was able to operate successfully and become an important spiritual centre for the surrounding area. The communal religious life of the Cistercian nuns was to continue for over 500 years. After numerous changes of ownership and conversions, the Steinfurt district took over the convent in the 1990s and developed a cultural utilisation concept: in 2004, the former convent was reopened as DA, Kunsthaus Kloster Gravenhorst.

References:

muensterland.com

Wieskirche

The Pilgrimage Church of Wies (Wieskirche) is an oval rococo church, designed in the late 1740s by Dominikus Zimmermann. It is located in the foothills of the Alps in the municipality of Steingaden.

The sanctuary of Wies is a pilgrimage church extraordinarily well-preserved in the beautiful setting of an Alpine valley, and is a perfect masterpiece of Rococo art and creative genius, as well as an exceptional testimony to a civilization that has disappeared.

The hamlet of Wies, in 1738, is said to have been the setting of a miracle in which tears were seen on a simple wooden figure of Christ mounted on a column that was no longer venerated by the Premonstratensian monks of the Abbey. A wooden chapel constructed in the fields housed the miraculous statue for some time. However, pilgrims from Germany, Austria, Bohemia, and even Italy became so numerous that the Abbot of the Premonstratensians of Steingaden decided to construct a splendid sanctuary.

ioan masay (17 months ago)
Nice place for walking.

SCRABBIE (2 years ago)
Hidden gem…interesting exhibitions. Worth the visit

Barbara Berretta (3 years ago)
Very good Art Museum

Bear Heart (:zo.) (7 years ago)
Dont enter that maze there if you came only on short visit ;-)

Peter König (7 years ago)
My favorite stop on bike tours. Cafe and art in an old monastery.

Gravenhorst Monastery

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Wieskirche