St. Pauli Abbey

The origins of the monastery date back to the 13th century. After the Ascania margraves left the old Slavic fortress of Brandenburg, they chose an area on the southwestern edge of Neustadt Brandenburg for their residence. Margrave Otto III died in this margravial court in 1267, surrounded by Dominican monks. His son Otto V donated the residence to the Dominican Order in 1286, and construction of the monastery complex began in the same year. The choir forms the oldest part. It was not until about a hundred years later that the hall church, intended for laypeople, and the adjacent cloister buildings were completed. Bishop Gebhard of Brandenburg consecrated the church to Saints Andrew and Mary Magdalene in 1286. After the complex was completed, Bishop Dietrich III von der Schulenburg rededicated it in 1384 to the Three Holy Kings and Saint Paul. With the Reformation in the Margraviate of Brandenburg, the Catholic era of the monastery ended. The monks were allowed to remain for life, but new appointments were forbidden.