Jostbergkloster, Gothic monastery ruins in Teutoburg Forest, Germany
Jostbergkloster is a Franciscan monastery site in the Teutoburg Forest southwest of Bielefeld, with the church foundations rising about 3 feet (1 meter) above ground. The visible ruins show a single-nave structure with three bays and a choir roughly 30 feet (9 meters) wide.
Construction began in 1483 as a chapel and transformed into a Franciscan monastery by 1498. The religious community relocated to Bielefeld's old town in 1507.
The monastery served as a pilgrimage destination where visitors came to pray to Saint Jodocus in this remote forest setting. People traveled to this isolated location seeking spiritual connection and solitude.
The site sits in the wooded surroundings of the Teutoburg Forest and functions as an archaeological location with visible ruins. You can view the foundations and remains while walking through the natural landscape.
Excavations uncovered fired tiles that reveal details of the original floor design. The remains also show the beginning of a spiral staircase that once stood beside the church entrance.
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