Eppinghoven Abbey (Holzheim)

The origins of the monastery date back to approximately 1214, when it was founded as Mariensaal Monastery together with Saarn Monastery in Karlesforst (Kaarst). In the same year, it was incorporated into the Cistercian Order under the supervision of the Abbot of Kamp Monastery. For the first two decades, both monasteries were under the joint leadership of Abbess Wolberna. After 1231, the convent moved to Eppinghoven due to a donation from a couple from Neuss, where a farm belonging to Gerresheim Abbey was exchanged for the new foundation. Emperor Frederick II granted the monastery his protection in 1236, and in 1237, Pope Gregory IX confirmed its possessions.