Derneburg Castle

Derneburg's origins date back to the 12th century, when a manor house belonging to the von Assel family existed. Following a murder in 1130, the property was handed over to the Diocese of Hildesheim in 1143 as atonement, with the condition that a nunnery be founded. This happened in 1213 with the relocation of Augustinian nuns from Holle. The Augustinian Canonesses' Abbey of Derneburg expanded its property in the following decades. In the 14th century, the monastery became impoverished, and in 1443, Cistercian nuns took over. After the Reformation in the 16th century, it was converted into a Lutheran convent for noblewomen before being recatholicized in 1643 and repopulated by Cistercian monks. They shaped the complex through construction activities and landscape design. In 1803, the monastery was secularized and became a Prussian state domain.