Frenswegen Abbey

The monastery was founded in 1394 with the acquisition of the Eynolding farmstead by several clerics and citizens. Just two years later, in 1396, Count Bernhard I of Bentheim donated further farmsteads to the monastery, expanding its possessions in the following decades. In 1400, the monastery joined the Windesheim Congregation, which ensured its direct subordination to the Pope. The foundation stone for the monastery church was laid in 1436, and it was consecrated nine years later. During the Reformation, the Catholic monastery came under pressure from the Lutheran comital house. In 1580, due to the uncertain situation, the monks moved to Nordhorn Castle. After the Thirty Years' War, reconstruction began in 1641, and the convent returned to the monastery in 1655. The monastery experienced a second flourishing period from 1692 under the patronage of Prince-Bishop Christoph Bernhard von Galen.