Marienfeld Abbey

The origins of the monastery date back to 1134, when a small chapel called Wadenhart was mentioned at this location. In 1185, twelve monks from Hardehausen Abbey founded the Cistercian monastery of Marienfeld, originally named “Campus Sanctae Mariae.” The consecration of the abbey church took place in 1222. The monastery experienced a period of spiritual flourishing from the 12th to the 15th century. Following the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss in 1803, Marienfeld Abbey was dissolved and became state property. After an almost 200-year interruption, monastic life returned to the community in 2004, when Benedictine monks began to re-establish the monastic way of life.