Franziskanerkloster Dorsten

The monastery was founded on February 14, 1488, by Franciscans of the Cologne Province. This followed a decision in 1485 by the city of Dorsten and Knight Goswin von Raesfeld to jointly establish an Observant monastery as a "work of peace." The Franciscans initially received a chapel and living quarters before moving into a newly constructed convent building in 1493, which was fully completed by 1495. Between 1500 and 1510, a church replaced the original chapel. Through continuous land acquisition, the monastery grounds expanded, allowing the approximately 20 friars to establish a garden and build stables and workshops. From 1627, the convent belonged to the Saxon Province of the order. During the Thirty Years' War, the Franciscans were expelled by Hessian troops in 1633 but returned in 1641. The Dorsten Franciscan Antonius Schirley initiated the Marian pilgrimage in Neviges in the 1680s. During the secularization from 1803, the Dorsten monastery initially remained, possibly due to its role in managing the Gymnasium Petrinum. The closures by the French government in 1811 also did not affect Dorsten, but the admission of new novices was prohibited until King Friedrich Wilhelm III permitted it again in 1825. During the Prussian Kulturkampf, the monastery was closed from 1875 until the late 1880s, with the friars relocating to monasteries in the Netherlands and Belgium. From 1901, the convents in Dorsten and Münster served as central study houses for the order's new recruits. Between 1902 and 1903, the 16th-century monastery and school buildings were extensively expanded and rebuilt.

The Franciscan Monastery is located in the city of Dorsten in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, at Lippestraße 5.

The monastery remains active and shapes Dorsten's urban landscape. The historic buildings were extensively renovated and expanded in the early 20th century.

• Hagenbeck Ruin (Ruin, approx. 3494 m away)
• Beck Castle (Castle, approx. 5421 m away)
• Lüttinghof House (Castle, approx. 7055 m away)
• Schermbeck Castle (Castle, approx. 7437 m away)