Hude Abbey Ruins
Description
Hude Abbey is a former Cistercian monastery in Hude, Lower Saxony, parts of which still survive. It was founded in 1232 as a daughter house of Mariental Abbey, following the Cistercian tradition of remote valley sites. Rich land grants after the Stedinger peasants’ defeat in 1234 gave it a strong economic base. The monks produced high-quality pottery, textiles, and bricks, and by 1306 brewed their own beer. In its prime, Hude was a spiritual and economic hub, serving as the burial place of the Counts of Oldenburg for over two centuries.
The abbey fell under Münster’s rule in 1482 and was dissolved in 1536 during the Reformation. Its buildings were gradually dismantled for materials, though the abbot’s house survived and was later converted into a manor by the von Witzleben family, who still own it.
Today, ruins of the brick Gothic church, the late-13th-century gate chapel (now St. Elisabeth’s Church), and the abbot’s house remain.
Address
Von-Witzleben-Allee 1A, Hude, Germany
Established
1232