Kloster Schiffenberg, Romanesque monastery in Giessen, Germany

Kloster Schiffenberg is a former monastery on the Schiffenberg hill southeast of Giessen. Its Romanesque pillar basilica, built from 1130 to 1150, was originally three-naved with a transept and an octagonal crossing tower; a vaulted west choir flanked by two round towers was added at the end of the 12th century. The walls are rough grey stone with a row of small round-arched windows, and the steep grey slate roof ends in a rounded tower with a conical roof.

Countess Clementia of Gleiberg, widow of Conrad I of Luxembourg, donated the site to the Archbishopric of Trier in 1129 on condition that a monastery be built; Archbishop Meginher of Falmagne consecrated the unfinished complex that same year. Augustinian canons from Springiersbach took it over, and the church was built between 1130 and 1150. In 1323 Archbishop Baldwin of Trier dissolved the canons' house and entrusted it to the Teutonic Order, which held it until 1809.

The name Schiffenberg is not securely explained: the earliest records read "Skephenburc" (1129) and "Sefphenberch" (1139), and at least six interpretations exist, including "castle of the Schöffen" and a derivation from "schief". In summer the basilica and courtyard host the Gießener Kultursommer and services.

The complex sits on the Schiffenberg hill at 281 metres, at the southeastern edge of the Gießener Stadtwald near the Petersweiher district and the Pohlheimer hamlet of Hausen. The approach climbs the hill, and the steep south, north and west sides were once protected by a perimeter wall. The basilica and courtyard host the Gießener Kultursommer and services in summer, so check event dates before planning a visit.

Archaeological remains beneath the monastery show signs of human habitation from thousands of years before the monastery was built. These ancient layers reveal how this location attracted people across different periods of history.