Grünhain Abbey

The monastery's foundation dates back to 1226, when Meinher II, Count of Hartenstein and Burgrave of Meißen, commissioned Cistercian monks from Sittichenbach Abbey to cultivate the forest area around Grünhain. The monks found a location near the settlement and completed the construction of the complex in 1230. Five years later, on September 20, 1235, the convent from Sittichenbach moved in, and on Easter Monday of the following year, the monastery was consecrated by Bishop Engelhard of Naumburg. The monastery church, dedicated to St. Mary and St. Nicholas, was a basilica about 80 meters long and over 20 meters wide. After the dissolution of the monastery, the church's stones were used for other constructions, so today only parts of the foundation walls are visible. The Fuchsturm (Fox Tower), once a gate between the monastic areas and later a prison, was rebuilt after the Thirty Years' War and likely served electoral hunts. The monastery acquired possessions, including three cities and 56 villages.