Volkenroda Abbey, Romanesque monastery in Körner, Germany

Volkenroda Abbey is a former Cistercian monastery founded in 1131 in the village of Volkenroda, part of Körner in Thuringia. Its church has pale flat walls, a steep red roof with three low dormer vents on the left slope, and a square gray tower with a dark pointed spire near the right end. A large round-arched window sits in the center of the front wall, flanked by two narrow round-arched windows, and a low rounded stone archway adjoins the wall at the lower right.

Cistercian monks from Altenkamp founded Volkenroda in 1131 on the foundations of an earlier castle; the church was consecrated in 1150. The abbey founded four daughter houses: Waldsassen (1133), Reifenstein (1162), Loccum (1163) and Dobrilugk (1165). On 27 April 1525 rebellious peasants from Mühlhausen stormed and partly burned it, and it was dissolved around 1540.

Since 1994 the Jesus Brotherhood has lived here as an ecumenical community, holding conferences and offering guests retreats. In 1996 the site was named a Protected Site of Cultural Heritage of European Importance, and a European Youth Education Centre was set up in the monastery buildings.

The grounds can typically be explored through guided tours that explain the architecture and history of the site. Wearing comfortable shoes is helpful, as visitors spend time walking across the expansive grounds.

The abbey church served as the Protestant village church until 1968, when it was closed because of its derelict condition; the village was then designated for "re-settlement" and no further ordinations took place. In 1996 the site was named a Protected Site of Cultural Heritage of European Importance, and a European Youth Education Centre was set up in the monastery buildings.