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Schulpforta / Pforte

In 1137 Cistercian monks founded the monastery Sanctae Mariae Ad Portam in the Saale valley near Naumburg. Its Romanesque basilica was transformed into a Gothic church about 1250, and after 1300 a unique, richly decorated western façade was attached. An oaken triumphal cross in the nave, which represents one of the last monumental Cistercian crosses with a painted surface in Europe and also dates back to the 13th century, still impresses visitors. As early as 1154 the “Koeppelberg”, a first vineyard which is still cultivated, was mentioned in the monastery's records, and only 40 years after its foundation the chapter proved strong enough to found two new monasteries, Leubus and Altzella. After about 400 years the Reformation brought monastic life in the Saale valley to an end, and in 1543 Duke Moritz of Saxony opened one of three state schools in the former monastery. All three schools were open to scholarship holders from all social backgrounds – back in the 16th century a true sensation. At present about 300 strongly selected pupils from all over Germany attend Landesschule Pforta, which is still free of charge. The old monastic church, the cloister (12th c.), a Romanesque chapel (1240), a historic cemetery with a medieval stone lantern from 1268 and a medieval mill building with wooden “Panster”-mechanics from 1708 are open to visitors.