Kloster Marienthal, Franciscan monastery in Marienthal, Germany

Kloster Marienthal is a Franciscan monastery beside the pilgrimage church of Marienthal in the Rheingau-Taunus district of Hesse. The grounds lie on a clearing at about 200 metres above sea level, with the Elsterbach flowing through them, and are reached from the Geisenheim district of Marienthal via Kreisstraße 984. The church, consecrated in 1330, stands as a restored building after its demolition was halted in 1782.

The monastery was founded in the Middle Ages and developed into an important religious center of the region. In the 15th century, the Brethren of Common Life established a printing press here, one of the earliest in the German-speaking lands.

The pilgrimage began in 1309 with the healing of the blind hunter Hecker Henn, who prayed before a Marian image in the forest; the Pietà he venerated is still the centre of devotion. The image was carried to Geisenheim's parish church in 1773 and returned on 8 September 1858, the feast of the Nativity of Mary, accompanied by several thousand pilgrims. Franciscans have served the pilgrims since 1873, interrupted during the Kulturkampf.

Kloster Marienthal lies on a clearing at about 200 m elevation in the Rheingau-Taunus district, reached from the Geisenheim district of Marienthal via Kreisstraße 984. The Elsterbach flows through the grounds. The Franciscans, seven elderly members in 2025, will leave the monastery in August 2026, so check access before planning a visit.

The Brethren of the Common Life ran a printing press here from 1463, the seventh press anywhere, set up just 28 years after Gutenberg's invention. It was the community's economic engine until the brothers gave up Marienthal around 1550.