Jerichow Monastery

The Premonstratensian collegiate church of Jerichow was founded in 1144 by Provost Hartwig of Bremen. The first canons came from the Liebfrauenstift in Magdeburg. Initially situated near the Jerichow market, the collegiate church was relocated to its current site in 1148. Construction of the collegiate church, dedicated to Saints Mary and Nicholas, began in 1149. Under Provost Isfried, the church and the east wing were completed in 1172. Between 1180 and 1200, a crypt was built, and the church was expanded with side choirs. This was followed by the construction of the winter refectory and the official residence. From 1220 to 1230, the summer refectory and the cloister were erected, and by approximately 1250, construction work on the monastic buildings was finished. The distinctive, 59-meter-high towers were added in front of the church only between 1256 and 1262, already exhibiting Gothic forms. Following the Reformation, the monastery was dissolved in 1552. During the Thirty Years' War, the Premonstratensians briefly returned before the complex was devastated in 1631.