Kloster Anhausen an der Brenz

The monastery was founded in 1095 by four sons of Count Palatine Manegold the Elder in Langenau. In 1125, the convent was relocated to Anhausen, as the monks found the surroundings near the Nau too noisy. From 1287, the Counts of Helfenstein exercised the vogtei rights over the monastery, which possessed extensive landholdings. In the 14th century, the monastery acquired further lands and began brewing beer in addition to agriculture and viticulture. Originally built in the Romanesque style, the complex was renovated in the late Gothic style after being damaged in 1448 and 1462. Duke Ulrich of Württemberg first dissolved the monastery in 1536, converting it into a monastic school. During the Thirty Years' War, it was temporarily re-Catholicized in 1630 before Duke Eberhard III of Württemberg finally secularized it in 1648. Until its dissolution by Napoleon in 1806, Protestant prelates resided in the institution. Subsequently, parts of the complex fell into disrepair; the church was demolished between 1831 and 1835. At various times, the former monastery housed a cotton mill and a brewery.

Anhausen Abbey is situated in Bolheim, a district of Herbrechtingen, in the Heidenheim district of Baden-Württemberg. The complex is located at the beginning of the Eselsburger Tal, a nature reserve featuring a loop of the Brenz river, which is part of the Swabian Jura.

Of the former monastic complex, the prelacy building from the 16th to 17th centuries, the former winter church, and the brewery buildings from the 18th and 19th centuries are still preserved. The former monastery tavern also remains. The surviving buildings are now used as residential spaces, storage, and by an agricultural business, and are not publicly accessible.

• Bindstein Castle Ruins (Castle, approx. 1274 m away)
• Hürgerstein Castle Ruins (Castle, approx. 1823 m away)
• Falkenstein Castle Ruins (Castle, approx. 2053 m away)
• Herbrechtingen Abbey (Sacred building, approx. 2076 m away)