Monastery ruins Eldena

The impressive ruins of the Eldena monastery are about 5 km away to the east of the university and Hanseatic town of Greifswald. As central motif in the paintings of the painter Caspar David Friedrich, the city's most famous son, the monastery ruins were recognized worldwide as Symbol of romance known and famous. She belongs next to that Caspar David Friedrich Center to one of the 15 stations of the Caspar David Friedrich image path and can be reached from the city center of Greifswald within a few minutes by car or bicycle.

The origins of the monastery date back to 1199, when monks of the Cistercian order settled in present-day Eldena and the formerly mentioned "Hilda Monastery" expanded into one of the most important monasteries in the region. The later settlement of the city of Greifswald in the 13th century was also based on this Cistercian monastery out of. The artistic furnishings and architecture of the monastery, which was very influential at the time, can only be guessed at today. After the monastery was dissolved in the course of the Reformation in 1533, war-related destruction and the removal of the red bricks for construction projects in the old town caused the monastery to fall into ruins. Only a ban by Prussian King Wilhelm IV in 1827 was able to stop the increasing destruction.

Through the pictures of the romantic painter Caspar David Friedrich, who repeatedly depicted the ruins in his works at the beginning of the 19th century (e.g "Eldena Ruins", 1825), increased attention was again paid to the monastery ruins. From 1828 to 1832, according to plans by the Prussian landscape architect Peter Joseph Lenné, a spacious park was laid out around the monastery grounds, which then and now invites you to take long walks.

Events in the monastery ruins of Eldena

Today, the impressive monastery ruins with the extensive park landscape are primarily used for cultural events. On the first weekend in July, the sounds of the Eldena Jazz Evenings through the venerable monastery walls and offer visitors a unique cultural experience. Also the annual one monastery market with historical market activity, demonstration handicrafts and regional products, thousands of visitors are attracted to the monastery ruins every year.