Augustinerinnenkloster Adelheiden

The origins of Adelheiden Abbey lie in a Benedictine monastery. It was later converted into an Augustinian convent. In 1892, the Sisters of Mercy of the Holy Cross acquired Hegne Castle, dating from the 16th century, and established a convent there. By 1895, it had become the seat of the Baden-Hohenzollern ecclesiastical province, now Baden-Württemberg. Due to the strong growth of the monastic community, extensive construction measures were quickly necessary. A barracks belonging to the castle was converted into a rectory in 1893. The “Hirschen” guesthouse was transformed into a boarding and almshouse in 1894. According to plans by Clemens Steiner, the provincial house of the order and the convent church dedicated to Saint Conrad of Konstanz were added to the castle in 1898 and consecrated in 1899. The boarding and almshouse was expanded in 1902 into a sisters' hospital called “St. Elisabeth,” while a new “Hirschen” guesthouse (today “Haus Franziskus”) was built nearby. In 1907, the north-south wing, the “Josefbau,” was inaugurated. A new sisters' hospital, “Maria Hilf,” was started in 1913 and opened in 1914 despite the outbreak of World War I. During World War I, the convent served as a military hospital and from 1915 to 1918 took in patients from a destroyed institution. After the war, “St. Elisabeth” served as a convalescent home. The convent and the ecclesiastical province continued to grow, and by 1920, the province had over 1000 sisters. In 1925, a domestic science school with a boarding school was opened in the castle, which moved into the specially built “Marianum” in 1927. In 1929, a new building for laundry and staff followed. During National Socialism, the sisters' work in schools and educational institutions was forbidden, and in World War II, the convent again served as a reception center for evacuees.

The convent is situated in Konstanz, a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, near Lake Constance.

Today, the building complex houses not only the convent of the Sisters of Mercy of the Holy Cross but also the Marianum schools, the Maria Hilf nursing home, the St. Elisabeth Hotel, and the Theodosius Academy. It also serves as the seat of the Baden-Württemberg provincial chapter of the Swiss congregation.

• Schopflen Castle Ruin (Castle, approx. 2453 m away)
• Reichenau Abbey (Sacred building, approx. 3179 m away)
• Königsegg Castle (Castle, approx. 3647 m away)
• Rohnhauserhof Manor (Manor and estate house, approx. 4257 m away)