Ohrdruf Priory or Karmel St. Elija, Ohrdruf, is a

Carmelite The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...

monastery at Ohrdruf in

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

, Germany. It is the latest in a series of religious foundations in the town:

First foundation

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 ...

cell dedicated to

Saint Michael Michael, also called Saint Michael the Archangel, Archangel Michael and Saint Michael the Taxiarch is an archangel and the warrior of God in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The earliest surviving mentions of his name are in third- and second- ...

was established here by Saint

Boniface Boniface, OSB (born Wynfreth; 675 –5 June 754) was an English Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of Francia during the eighth century. He organised significant foundations of the church i ...

in 724–726 (also the date of foundation of the settlement) which seems to have had a school attached. It was given with its lands by Saint Lull (d. 786) to

Hersfeld Abbey Hersfeld Abbey was an important Benedictine imperial abbey in the town of Bad Hersfeld in Hesse (formerly in Hesse-Nassau), Germany, at the confluence of the rivers Geisa, Haune and Fulda. The ruins are now a medieval festival venue. History ...

, and apparently did not survive as a Benedictine community beyond the end of the century. It is nevertheless of importance as the first monastery founded in Thuringia.

Second foundation

In 777 Saint

Lullus Saint Lullus (also known as Lull or Lul, born AD 710 – died 16 October 786) was the first permanent archbishop of Mainz, succeeding Saint Boniface, and first abbot of the Benedictine Hersfeld Abbey. He is historiographically considered the firs ...

established the parish church of

Saint Peter Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the Jewish Christian#Jerusalem ekklēsia, e ...

. When this was re-founded in 980, a community of canons seems also to have been established, which later followed the Augustinian rule; they were still subordinate to

. The monastery at Ohrdruf was the centre of spiritual authority for the region of south-west Thuringia until the middle of the 14th century, but in 1344 was transferred to

Gotha Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine Wettins from 1640 until the ...

Third foundation

In 1463 the former premises of the canons were occupied by

Carmelite friars The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...

, who were dispossessed at 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 ...

, when the monastery was suppressed and the buildings largely demolished. The remainder was converted into a residence for the Counts of

Gleichen Gleichen () is the name of two groups of castles in Germany, thus named from their resemblance to each other (). Castles in Thuringia between Gotha and Erfurt The first is a group of three (hence called "die drei hreeGleichen"), each situated o ...

, at that time the owners of Ohrdruf, called "Schloss Ehrenstein", after their ancestral castle. This building is now the town museum, archive and cultural centre.

Fourth foundation

In 1991 a second Carmelite monastery, the Karmel St. Elija, was set up here in a new building dedicated on 15 October, the feast of the Carmelite Saint

Teresa of Avila Teresa (also Theresa, Therese; ) is a feminine given name. It originates in the Iberian Peninsula in late antiquity. Its derivation is uncertain, it may be derived from Greek θερίζω (''therízō'') "to harvest or reap", or from θέ ...

External links

Thuringian Monasticon (University of Erfurt)

Karmel St. Elija website
(temporarily unavailable)
Ohrdruf Catholic Community
720s establishments Christian monasteries established in the 8th century 980 establishments 1344 disestablishments in Europe 1463 establishments in Europe Augustinian monasteries in Germany Monasteries in Thuringia Christian monasteries established in the 1460s Carmelite monasteries in Germany Buildings and structures in Gotha (district) Religious buildings and structures completed in the 980s {{Thuringia-struct-stub