Stift Asbeck

The monastery was founded between 1132 and 1151 by a nobleman named Wickerus von Wettringen, near an already existing parish church. Initially conceived as a double monastery for Premonstratensians following the Augustinian Rule, it was transformed into a pure nunnery as early as 1173. Under Bishop Hermann II, the monastic buildings were constructed, housing approximately 40 nuns. Through donations and land purchases, the monastery acquired considerable wealth, holding tithe rights in numerous locations. The Vogtship, initially held by the Lords of Wettringen and later the Noble Lords of Steinfurt, passed to the prioresses of the monastery in 1282, while the Bishops of Münster assumed its protection. From 1480, efforts were made to convert it into a canonesses' foundation, leading to permission in 1533 for the residents to wear secular clothing instead of habits. From then on, it operated as a secular, noble canonesses' foundation, which continued until its secularization in 1805. The monastic estates subsequently passed to the Counts of Salm-Horstmar.

The former abbey is located in Asbeck, a district of Legden, in the Borken district of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

The Romanesque St. Margareta Church is preserved to this day. The abbess's house, the dormitory, a gatehouse from 1630, and a mill are also part of the complex. A two-story arcaded gallery of the cloister, once incorporated into a building in Münster, was re-erected in Asbeck in 2004. After extensive renovations, the buildings are now used for events and house an exhibition on the history of the abbey.

• Haus Asbeck (manor house, approx. 796 m away)
• Haus von Hülst (castle, approx. 3637 m away)
• Haus Egelborg (castle, approx. 4623 m away)
• Kloster Kleinburlo (monastery, approx. 7401 m away)