Lichtenthal Abbey, Cistercian nunnery in Lichtenthal, Baden-Baden, Germany

Lichtenthal Abbey is a Cistercian nunnery in the Lichtenthal district of Baden-Baden. A gateway built in 1781, topped by a pointed gable with two stone finials and three statues brought from the ruined All Saints' Abbey, opens into a three-sided walled courtyard with a fountain dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Around it stand the abbey church, the Prince's Chapel of 1288, the hermit's chapel of 1678, the school and domestic buildings.

Irmengard of Baden founded the abbey in 1245 near Hohenbaden Castle, three years after her husband Hermann V died; her sons Rudolf and Hermann confirmed and expanded the foundation in March 1245. Nuns from Wald introduced the Cistercian rule, and in 1248 the Strasbourg bishop consecrated the house under the paternity of Neuburg Abbey. It survived the Reformation and the secularisation of 1802–1803 because Margrave Carl Friedrich placed it under state administration.

The name Lichtenthal means "bright valley", echoing Clairvaux, the French abbey Bernard of Clairvaux founded. The gateway's three statues came from the ruined All Saints' Abbey: Saint Helena above, Abbot Gerung left, and Duchess Uta of Schauenburg right, a relative of the foundress Irmengard. In the Prince's Chapel, the "Madonna of the Keys" holds the abbey keys in times of danger.

The site operates with an attached primary school and provides guided tours through the spaces where you can view the architecture and religious objects. The location is accessible on foot and you should allow several hours to explore the compound and its details fully.

The three statues above the 1781 gateway came from the ruined All Saints' Abbey nearby: Saint Helena at the top, Abbot Gerung on the left, and Duchess Uta of Schauenburg, the abbey's foundress and a relative of Irmengard, on the right. In the Prince's Chapel, the Madonna of the Keys is entrusted with the abbey keys in times of danger.