Medingen is a village in the borough of

Bad Bevensen Bad Bevensen (West Low German: ''Bemsen'') is a town in the north of the district Uelzen in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated to the east of the Lüneburg Heath (''Lüneburger Heide''). The Ilmenau river, a tributary of the Elbe, flows thro ...

in the German state of

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

. In the 14th century it was called ''Zellensen''. In the 17th century a monastic farm estate known as ''Klosterhof Medingen'' (Medingen Monastery Estate) where, 50 years ago, a

Trakehner Trakehner () is a light warmblood breed of horse, originally developed at the East Prussian state stud farm in the town of Trakehnen from which the breed takes its name. The was established in 1731 and operated until 1944, when the figh ...

stud was established.

Medingen Abbey

In 1228 the

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

was founded as a branch of the

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 ...

nunnery at

Wolmirstedt Wolmirstedt () is a town in the Börde district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is located 14 km north of Magdeburg, on the river Ohre. The town Wolmirstedt consists of Wolmirstedt proper and the ''Ortschaften'' (municipal divisions) Elbeu ...

(north of Magdeburg). In 1336 it was permanently established in Medingen. The monastery was originally built in the

Brick Gothic Brick Gothic (, , ) is a specific style of Gothic architecture common in Baltic region, Northeast and Central Europe especially in the regions in and around the Baltic Sea, which do not have resources of standing rock (though Glacial erratic, ...

style. The majority of nuns were unmarried daughters of

Lüneburg Lüneburg, officially the Hanseatic City of Lüneburg and also known in English as Lunenburg, is a town in the German Bundesland (Germany), state of Lower Saxony. It is located about southeast of another Hanseatic League, Hanseatic city, Hambur ...

patrician families who joined the convent with large household staff and so increased the numbers living at the convent. Over the course of time the monastery was given rights to the Lüneburg Saltworks, to taxes, mills and shipping on the River Ilmenau. In the early 16th century, in its heyday, the monastery was home to over 100 nuns. In 1524, in the wake of the

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 ...

, the lord over the area, Duke Ernest ''the Confessor'' of Brunswick-Lüneburg issued the decree to transform it into a

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 ...

establishment. The convent opposed this for more than 30 years in the "Nun's War" (''Nonnenkrieg''); the abbess had publicly burned the Lutheran Bible. In 1539 seized the monastery's property and had part of it torn down. In 1555, after the Lutheran creed was accepted the monastery was given some of its property back. In 1559 it was converted into a Lutheran women's convent. In 1781 the buildings of the old monastery burnt down, apart from the brewery (''Brauhaus''). By 1787 it had been rebuilt, mainly in late baroque, but partly neoclassical style. There are two long convent wings with the church in the centre. The convent has been run by abbesses right up to the present day. Medingen Abbey is one of the '' Lüneklöster'' that is managed by the monastic chamber in

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

under the legal supervision of the lady president.

External links

Bad Bevensen home page with information about the monasteryKlosterhof Medingen Trakehner Stud
Lüneburg Heath Uelzen (district) {{Lüneburg-geo-stub