Kartause Marienburg

The origins of the site date back to 1170, when the Knights of Weddern erected a castle here. This castle was initially a fief of the Commandery of the Knights Hospitaller in Steinfurt, later passing into the possession of the Diocese of Münster from 1294. In 1371, the castle was transferred to Bernhard von Merveldt, before coming into the hands of the Lords of Keppel through marriage after 1420. Following the death of his son in 1475, who fell during the siege of Neuss, Knight Gerhard von Keppel made his Weddern castle and its associated properties available for the establishment of a Carthusian monastery. He was encouraged in this endeavor by Hermann von Langen, the Dean of the Cathedral Chapter in Münster. In 1476, Gerhard von Keppel pledged to found a Carthusian monastery for a prior and twelve monks. The first monks from Wesel occupied the monastery in 1477, and construction of the monastery church began in the same year. Gerhard von Keppel himself lived like a monk in the new Carthusian monastery until his death in 1478. The foundation received further support through donations, particularly from clerics and nobles. The economic basis consisted of extensive land ownership and tithe rights. In the 16th century, the complex comprised over twenty cells, although the community usually consisted of twelve monks and the prior. A total of 215 monks are documented from the foundation until its dissolution in 1804. The monastery's history was marked by external pressures, including a substantial Turkish tax in the 16th century, as well as looting and destruction by Spanish and Dutch soldiers during the Eighty Years' War and the Thirty Years' War, which forced the monks to flee. Despite these challenges, monastic discipline remained high, and a decline, as seen in many other monasteries, is not evident here.

The Carthusian Monastery Marienburg is situated in the hamlet of Weddern, a district of Kirchspiel near Dülmen, close to the town of Coesfeld in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

The former monastery church of St. James the Elder now functions as a parish church. The remaining area of the monastic complex is part of the Anna-Katharinenstift Karthaus, an institution that provides a home for people with disabilities and creates employment opportunities in the Karthaus workshops.

• Haus Empte (manor house and estate, approx. 2035 m away)
• Haus Rorup (manor house and estate, approx. 4233 m away)
• Schloss Buldern (castle, approx. 4583 m away)
• Haus Osthoff (manor house and estate, approx. 4599 m away)