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Marienthal

St. Marienthal in Upper Lusatia, the farest eastern part of Germany right next to the Polish and Czech border in the diocese of Dresden-Meißen is the oldest nunnery of the Cistercian order that exists without interruption from the beginning 780 years ago. The first known and still existing certificate of foundation was signed on October 14th 1234 in Prague by the Bohemian Queen Kunigunde, wife of King Wenzel II. and daughter of the Swabian King Philipp IV. The affiliation to the diocese of Prague then and the protection of the Bohemian royalty turned out to be beneficial for the preservation of the abbey until today. 15 nuns are currently living here. Abbess Sr. M. Regina Wollman OCist is the 55th abbess of the nunnery. After the political change in 1989 the nuns founded the “Stiftung Internationales Begegnungszentrum (IBZ) St. Marienthal” – International Meeting Center – which renovated the empty farm buildings and uses them as guest houses and facilities for international meetings.