Margrethausen Abbey

The origins of Margrethausen Monastery date back to 1338, when it was founded by the local lord Konrad von Tierberg as a Franciscan convent and established the following year. A collection of sisters is said to have existed in Margrethausen as early as 1298. Konrad von Tierberg endowed the hermitage with property and goods and exempted it from services. In 1339, the hermits received permission to build a passage from their hermitage to the church choir. The monastery significantly expanded its possessions by acquiring farmsteads in Meßstetten and became the largest landlord and liege lord in the region until the Reformation. The patronage remained with the Lords of Tierberg until the 15th century. After the extinction of this family, the lordship passed through various families to the Stauffenberg family. During the Thirty Years' War, both the village and the monastery church suffered severe destruction. The parish was dissolved and merged with Lautlingen. Nevertheless, the monastery church was rebuilt in 1707, and a new monastery building was consecrated in 1723, allowing monastic life to continue. In the course of secularization, the lordship passed to Württemberg in 1802, and the monastery was dissolved in 1811. The monastery buildings were subsequently used as a school, teacher's residence, and for local administration.