Bursfelde Abbey

Bursfelde Abbey is a former Benedictine monastery in Lower Saxony, Germany, now owned by the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Hanover and managed by the Klosterkammer Hannover.

Founded in 1093 by Count Heinrich the Fat of Northeim and his wife Gertrude, the abbey became a burial site for local nobility and was closely linked to Corvey Abbey. Early abbots established a school and gained privileges from Emperor Henry IV. The site expanded under the Northeim family, later passing to the Guelfs under Henry the Lion. By 1200 the abbey held extensive land but remained regionally focused.

Decline set in by the 14th century, until Abbot John Dederoth restored discipline in the 1430s. His reforms led to the Bursfelde Congregation (1446), uniting monasteries under stricter Benedictine observance. At its height, over 130 houses belonged, but the Reformation ended its influence.

In 1579, the last Catholic abbot was expelled, and Bursfelde became Protestant. A convent and later tenants occupied the site, with some monks returning briefly during the Thirty Years’ War. Since 1828, the honorary title of abbot has belonged to the Senior Fellow of Göttingen’s Theological Faculty.

Today the abbey buildings serve as a Protestant retreat and theological training center.

Address
Klosterhof 5, Bursfelde, Germany

Established
1093