Walkenried Abbey, Cistercian monastery in Walkenried, Lower Saxony.

Walkenried Abbey is a former Cistercian foundation in the community of Walkenried in southern Lower Saxony. The complex shows tall pointed arches in the cloister and wall remains of the large church that once formed the heart of the site.

Established in 1129 under King Lothair III, the foundation received papal confirmation from Innocent II in 1137. The first monks arrived from Kamp Abbey on the Lower Rhine and brought the order's traditions with them.

The name comes from a medieval term for the marshy meadows where monks first settled. Today visitors walk through restored rooms where the community once followed strict rules of silence and manual work.

The site opens Tuesday through Sunday from 10 AM to 5 PM, with adjusted hours from November to March in winter. The cloister and exhibition rooms sit at ground level and remain easy to walk through even in wet weather.

Monks built an intricate network of channels and ponds in 1225 that directed water from surrounding hills to the grounds. This system represents the earliest recorded section of what later became the Upper Harz waterworks that supplied regional mines.

• Location: Walkenried
• Inception: January 27, 1129
• Architectural style: Gothic architecture
• Address: Steinweg
• Phone: [phone]
• Website: https://kloster-walkenried.de
• GPS coordinates: 51.58306,10.61917
• Latest update: December 5, 2025 22:29