Wendhusen Abbey

The Wendhusen Monastery was founded around 825 by Gisela, daughter of the Eastphalian Count Hessi. Her daughter Bilihilt became the first abbess of the convent. The monastery was dedicated to Saints Mary, Pusinna, and Nicholas. It benefited early from the support of the Imperial Abbey of Herford, whose patron saint, Saint Pusinna, was also venerated in Wendhusen. In 936, an attempt was made to relocate the convent to Quedlinburg, which was not fully realized; the monastery subsequently continued to exist in dependence on the Quedlinburg Imperial Abbey. In 1180, the complex was devastated during military conflicts but was immediately rebuilt. During the Peasants' War in 1525, the monastery suffered looting, destruction, and a fire. Finally, Wendhusen Monastery was secularized in 1540 as part of the Reformation, after which the convent buildings likely fell into disrepair.