Marienburg Abbey

The origins of Marienburg date back to the 12th century, when a convent for women following the Augustinian Rule was built on the site of an earlier Trier castle. Pope Innocent II confirmed the parish church on St. Peter's Hill to Springiersbach Abbey in 1143. Three years later, Abbot Richard I began construction of the monastery, whose church was consecrated in 1157 by Archbishop Hillin of Falmagne. Around 1280, Archbishop Heinrich II of Finstingen reinforced the fortifications to protect the archdiocese and the nuns. Following armed conflicts and dwindling income, the monastery was closed in 1515 by order of Pope Leo X. Subsequently, it was converted into a fortress, which was, however, destroyed by French troops during the Thirty Years' War. In the 18th century, the complex underwent a Baroque restoration before being occupied and plundered by French revolutionary troops in 1794.