Dargun Palace, previously Dargun Abbey (, ''Kloster Dargun''), was a

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

monastery in

Dargun Dargun is a town in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It is situated km west of Demmin. It is famous for Dargun Palace, a former Cistercian abbey. History From 1815 to 1918 Dargun was part o ...

Mecklenburgische Seenplatte The Mecklenburg Lake Plateau or Mecklenburg Lakeland
- Federal Ministry of Economics ...

, in

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV; ; ), also known by its Anglicisation, anglicized name Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, is a Federated state, state in the north-east of Germany. Of the country's States of Germany, sixteen states, Mecklenburg-Vorpom ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, in the former

Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin The Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin () was a territory in Northern Germany held by the House of Mecklenburg residing at Schwerin. It was a sovereign member state of the German Confederation and became a federated state of the North German C ...

, converted after its dissolution into a palace.

History

The monastery was founded here in 1172 on the site of a former heathen temple after the conquest of the region by Christian forces in 1164. The founding community came from

Esrum Abbey Esrum Abbey, also Esrom Abbey ( or ), was the second Cistercian monastery founded in Denmark, located near Hillerød in Region Hovedstaden, on the island of Zealand (Denmark), Zealand (Sjælland), on the north side of the Esrum Sø (Lake Esrum) ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. The monastery was destroyed in 1198, and the monks left, later to found another monastery at

Eldena Eldena is a municipality in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the ...

. Dargun was re-established in 1208 by monks from

Doberan Abbey Doberan Abbey (''Kloster Doberan'') is a former Cistercian monastery in Bad Doberan, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The Brick Gothic church continues in use as Doberan Minster (''Doberaner Münster''). After the conversion to Christianity o ...

, which is therefore counted as its mother house. It was secularised in 1552 and taken over as a residence by Duke Ulrich I of

Mecklenburg-Güstrow Mecklenburg-Güstrow was a state of the Holy Roman Empire in Northern Germany, that existed on three occasions ruled by the House of Mecklenburg at Güstrow. History A first short-lived predecessor existed after the death of Henry IV, Duke of M ...

in 1556, who converted it into a

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

palace, which, after the extinction of the line of

, passed to the

Dukes of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ...

Buildings

The monastery was brick-built. The principal building complex was reconstructed in the 14th century. The

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

abbey church was built between 1225 and 1270, with further work to the choir in 1464. The church is now ruined but parts of the choir, nave and transept remain. In 1637 the palace burnt down and was rebuilt until 1654. Until the mid-18th century it served as the home of the widows of the princely house of Mecklenburg-Güstrow. It was re-converted in the 19th century under Georg Adolf Demmler, and burnt down at the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Little was done to secure the ruins until 1991. From 1994 some reconstruction and repair has taken place. The buildings presently accommodate an information bureau and the town library.

References

* Hubertus Neuschäffer: ''Mecklenburgs Schlösser und Herrenhäuser''. Husum, 1990. * Christine Kratzke: ''Das Zisterzienserkloster Dargun in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Studien zur Bau- und Kunstgeschichte'',

Michael Imhof Verlag Michael Imhof Verlag is a German publishing company in Petersberg, Hesse. They are known especially for publishing books with a local interest, on art, on history, politics, religion, nature, and culture. Besides titles in German German(s) may r ...

, Petersberg 2004. .

External links

Dargun municipal website: Palace and
Monasteries in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Cistercian monasteries in Germany Christian monasteries established in the 1170s Religious organizations disestablished in 1552 Palaces in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Buildings and structures in Mecklenburgische Seenplatte (district) Royal residences in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Buildings and structures in Germany destroyed during World War II Demolished buildings and structures in Germany {{Germany-palace-stub