Walpurgiskloster

The Walpurgis Convent was founded by the Abbey of Hersfeld, with its first documented mention dating back to 1196. Between 1307 and 1309, the convent was relocated to Arnstadt, leading to the demolition of the original buildings. Even when the Abbey of Hersfeld sold its remaining rights to the town and bailiwick of Arnstadt to the Counts of Schwarzburg in 1332, it explicitly retained its rights to the Walpurgis Convent. Until 1533, a chapel on the hill was still used for religious services. Repeated discoveries of wall remnants during forestry work led to targeted excavations by members of the Thuringian History Association in 1976. These efforts uncovered the outlines of a Benedictine nunnery and the foundations of a church apse, indicating an earlier structure. Subsequent excavations in 1988 and 1993 revealed a cistern and the foundation walls of the convent church.

The deserted site of the former Walpurgis Convent is situated approximately two kilometers southeast of the town of Arnstadt in the Ilm-Kreis, Thuringia, Germany. It is located on the Walpernberg, which reaches an elevation of 400 meters above sea level. Geographically, this marks the southwesternmost point of the Wasserleite, a ridge that separates the area surrounding Käfernburg from the Geratal.

The excavated wall remains of the convent now serve as an archaeological monument. Since 1991, the Walpurgis Festival has been held annually on May 1st at this historic site, attracting numerous visitors.

• Neues Palais Arnstadt (residence, approx. 2739 m away)
• Ruine Neideck (Arnstadt) (ruin, approx. 2800 m away)
• Ruine Reinsburg (Reinsfeld) (ruin, approx. 4586 m away)
• Ruine Ehrenburg (Plaue) (ruin, approx. 4985 m away)