Reinfeld Abbey (german: Kloster Reinfeld) was a

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, 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 Sain ...

monastery in Reinfeld near

Bad Oldesloe Bad Oldesloe () is a town located in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein. It is the capital of the district of Stormarn. The area has been inhabited since Mesolithic times. The flint tools found here from that era (6000–4500 BC) ...

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sc ...

in northern

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

History

The monastery was founded in 1186 by monks from the Cistercian abbey of

Loccum Loccum is a village situated about 50 km north west of Hanover in the district of Nienburg in Lower-Saxony, Germany. It has been a part of the city of Rehburg-Loccum since 1974. Loccum covers an area of 32 km² with a population of ab ...

on a site given to them by Adolf III, Count of Schauenburg and Holstein. The Cistercians particularly sought wild and desolate sites for their monastic houses, and the site at Reinfeld, then consisting of marshy depressions along the valley of the Heilsau, met this requirement exactly: the foundation charter refers to it as a ''locus horroris'' ("place of horror").Stormarn Lexikon: ''Schloss Reinfeld'', Julia Groesch
/ref> The first community consisted of an abbot, Hartmann, and 12 monks. During their clearance and draining of the swampy ground, the monks dug out a large number of ponds, later used for fish (especially carp), some of which remain to this day. The monastery, once established, became prosperous, and acquired many estates. The community built up a close relationship with the city of

Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the stat ...

, and the abbot was permitted his own gate in the city walls. With the approach of the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and i ...

, however, the relationship collapsed: the citizens of Lübeck stormed and burnt the abbey in 1534, and although it was re-built, in 1582 it was dissolved, and its assets taken over by the

King of Denmark The monarchy of Denmark is a constitutional political system, institution and a historic office of the Kingdom of Denmark. The Kingdom includes Denmark proper and the autonomous administrative division, autonomous territories of the Faroe ...

. The buildings were demolished.Hirschfeld, Peter: ''Herrenhäuser und Schlösser in Schleswig-Holstein''. München .a. Dt. Kunst-Verl. 1980] The site was later used for the construction of a castle, which was itself demolished in 1775, and the stone quarried for other buildings. Little now remains on the site, apart from the fishponds and the precinct wall.Reinfeld.sh: Geschichte - Bauten
/ref>

References

{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Stormarn (district) Monasteries in Schleswig-Holstein Cistercian monasteries in Germany 1180s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1186 establishments in Europe Religious organizations established in the 1180s Christian monasteries established in the 12th century Castles in Schleswig-Holstein