Sittichenbach Abbey (Kloster Sittichenbach), sometimes also known as Sichem Abbey, is 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 Sittichenbach, now part of Osterhausen near

Eisleben Eisleben is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is famous as both the hometown of the influential theologian Martin Luther and the place where he died; hence, its official name is Lutherstadt Eisleben. First mentioned in the late 10th century ...

in the

Mansfeld-Südharz Mansfeld-Südharz is a district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Its area is . History The district was established by merging the former districts of Sangerhausen and Mansfelder Land as part of the reform of 2007. In the German parliament, the Bu ...

district,

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a States of Germany, state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the List of German states ...

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 ...

First foundation

The abbey was founded as a daughter house of

Walkenried Abbey Walkenried Abbey () was a Cistercians, Cistercian abbey located in the village of Walkenried in Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1127 on the southern rim of the Harz mountain range, the remnants of the monastic complex since 2010 are part of the ...

in 1141 by Esiko II of Bornstedt, under the first abbot Volkuin. The new foundation rapidly acquired extensive lands on which to establish farms. In 1180 monks from Sittichenbach, at the request of margrave Otto I of Brandenburg, established

Lehnin Abbey Lehnin Abbey () is a former Cistercian monastery in Lehnin in Brandenburg, Germany. Founded in 1180 and secularization, secularized during the Protestant Reformation in 1542, it has accommodated the ''Luise-Henrietten-Stift'', a Protestant deacone ...

. Later foundations were Buch Abbey near

Leisnig Leisnig (, ) is a small town in the district of Mittelsachsen, in the free state of Saxony in Germany, 50 kilometers southeast of Leipzig. History A settlement in this location was first mentioned in 1046. The town features Mildenstein Castle ...

(1192) and Grünhain Abbey in the

Erzgebirge The Ore Mountains (, or ; ) lie along the Czech–German border, separating the historical regions of Bohemia in the Czech Republic and Saxony in Germany. The highest peaks are the Klínovec in the Czech Republic (German: ''Keilberg'') at a ...

(1235). In 1208, Bishop

Conrad of Halberstadt Conrad of Krosigk ( – 21 June 1225) was a German prelate, crusader and monk. He served as the bishop of Halberstadt from 1201 until 1208 and took part in the Fourth Crusade in 1202–1204. He resigned his see to become a Cistercian monk at Sitt ...

retired to Sittichenbach. In 1346 the abbey suffered greatly from a feud between Ludwig von Meißen,

Bishop of Halberstadt The Diocese of Halberstadt was a Roman Catholic diocese () from 804 until 1648."Dio ...

, and the

Count of Mansfeld Peter Ernst, Graf von Mansfeld (; 158029 November 1626), or simply Ernst von Mansfeld, was a German military commander; despite being a Catholic, he fought for the Protestants during the early years of the Thirty Years' War. He was one of the l ...

. The abbot and monks were taken hostage and treated so harshly that several of them died. The Count of Mansfeld was excommunicated as a result of this incident. In 1540 in the course 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 abbey was dissolved. It was at first in the possession of the Counts of Mansfeld and transferred by them in 1612 to

John George I, Elector of Saxony John George I (5 March 1585 – 8 October 1656) was Elector of Saxony from 1611 to 1656. He led Saxony through the Thirty Years' War, which dominated his 45-year reign. Biography Born in Dresden, John George was the second son of the Elector C ...

. From this time onwards the abbey premises were used for local government purposes. ''Amt Sittichenbach'' passed in 1656 to

Saxe-Weissenfels Saxe-Weissenfels () was a Duchy of the Holy Roman Empire from 1656 until 1746 with its residence at Weißenfels. Ruled by a cadet branch of the Albertine House of Wettin, the duchy passed to the Electorate of Saxony upon the extinction of the line ...

and from 1686 to 1745 to the Principality of Saxe-Querfurt, after which it was included in the Electorate or

Kingdom of Saxony The Kingdom of Saxony () was a German monarchy in Central Europe between 1806 and 1918, the successor of the Electorate of Saxony. It joined the Confederation of the Rhine after the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, later joining the German ...

. It was incorporated into the new

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

n state in 1815.

Second foundation

After the

reunification of Germany German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the German Democratic Republic and the integration of i ...

in 1990, the lands and remaining buildings were returned after nearly 500 years to the Cistercian order. They have done much restoration, including a very creative re-building of the chapel which is used for daily prayer. Other buildings have been added and restored so that the site has become a hotel and retreat centre. An open field has been developed into a beautiful area for meditative walks which includes gardens, worship spaces, shrines and a labyrinth. There are a few remains of the original abbey buildings still to be seen: among them are the abbots' chapel, the fishpond and the dovecote.

External links

Excavations of the abbey precinct
{{Authority control Cistercian monasteries in Germany Monasteries in Saxony-Anhalt 1140s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1141 establishments in Europe Christian monasteries established in the 1140s Eisleben