Dobbertin Abbey (''Kloster Dobbertin'') is a former monastery, which from approximately 1220 to approximately 1235 accommodated a community of

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monks, from approximately 1235 a community of Benedictine nuns, and from 1572 a women's collegiate foundation, located in the municipality of Dobbertin near Goldberg in the district of

Ludwigslust-Parchim Ludwigslust-Parchim is a district in the west of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The district seat is Parchim, a branch office of the administration is located in Ludwigslust. After Mecklenburgische Seenplatte, it is the second-biggest distri ...

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. It stands on a spit of land in the Dobbertiner See and includes the only church with two towers in

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, Neubrandenburg, Wismar and Güstrow. ...

History

The abbey was founded during the Christianisation of Germany in about 1220 by Prince Heinrich Borwin II of Mecklenburg and was the first field monastery in Mecklenburg. The founder gave it to the

Benedictines The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly Christian mysticism, contemplative Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), order of the Catholic Church for men and f ...

for a community of monks. 15 years later it was turned into a Benedictine nunnery. In 1549 the

Landtag A ''Landtag'' (State Diet) is generally the legislative assembly or parliament of a federated state or other subnational self-governing entity in German-speaking nations. It is usually a unicameral assembly exercising legislative competence ...

at Sagsdorf Bridge near Sternberg resolved to introduce the

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

into Mecklenburg. Despite violent resistance the abbey was secularised and in 1572 converted into a Lutheran collegiate foundation for noblewomen (''

Damenstift The term (; ) is derived from the verb (to donate) and originally meant 'a donation'. Such donations usually comprised earning assets, originally landed estates with serfs defraying dues (originally often in kind) or with vassal tenants of noble ...

''). In the middle of the 19th century the church was restored by Georg Adolf Demmler to plans by

Karl Friedrich Schinkel Karl Friedrich Schinkel (13 March 1781 – 9 October 1841) was a Prussian architect, urban planning, city planner and painter who also designed furniture and stage sets. Schinkel was one of the most prominent architects of Germany and designed b ...

. The work was completed in 1857. Karte Kloster Dobbertin

In 1918 the abbey premises became the property of the state and were converted into a

youth hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory sleeping 4–20 people, with shared use of a lounge and usually a kitchen. Rooms can be private or shared - mixe ...

. After

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 ...

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

troops were stationed here, and destroyed much of historical interest.

Present use

From 1947 to 1991 the buildings were used as an old people's residential and care home. Then they were transferred to the responsibility of the charitable organisation of the German Evangelical Church (the ''Diakonisches Werk der Evangelischen Kirche in Deutschland e. V'', or ''Diakoniewerk'' for short), who set up a care home for the severely physically handicapped. Workshops for the handicapped are still located here. It is possible to visit them, to take part in tours and to buy items made by residents. There is also a café with a view over the Dobbertiner See, and regular concerts are held. The former abbey also offers help for the aged, and counselling on debt and addiction. Since 1991 the grounds, buildings and church have been refurbished, with help from the

Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz The ''Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz'' ("German Foundation for Monument Protection") is a German private initiative founded in 1985 that works for the preservation of cultural heritage in Germany and to promote the idea of cultural heritage ma ...

and the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt.the German agencies responsible for the protection of historical monuments and the environment respectively The abbey is a protected historical monument.

Images

File:Hauptportal Klosterkirche Dobbertin.jpg, Portal of the abbey church File:Klosterhauptmannhaus Kloster Dobbertin.jpg, Abbey Administration

Notes

Sources and external links

Diakoniewerk Kloster Dobbertin official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dobbertin Abbey Monasteries in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Christian monasteries established in the 1220s Lutheran women's convents Convents in Germany Religious organizations disestablished in 1918 Benedictine nunneries in Germany Brick Gothic