Adelhauser Neukloster (Adelhauser church)

The city owes one of its most charming buildings to the military conflicts of the 17th century. The Adelhauser Neukloster is the magnificent result of the amalgamation of four medieval Dominican convents, which were largely destroyed during the Thirty Years' War and during the siege of Freiburg by the French.

The women's convents of the Annunciation and St. Katharina from 1237 and 1297 in the village of Adelhausen as well as St. Agnes and St. Magdalena, south of the Dreisam, were among the most important monasteries in Freiburg. In the Christian mysticism of the Middle Ages, they were regarded as centers for the search for the direct experience of God through meditation. After their destruction, the baroque new Adelhaus monastery was built in the Schneckenvorstadt district in 1687 under the direction of the French fortress engineer Jean La Douze. The four-winged monastery complex is arranged around a square inner courtyard and is still very well preserved in its structure and large parts of the furnishings. When Emperor Joseph II abolished the cloister in 1786, the new monastery continued to exist as the 'Female Teaching and Educational Institute Adelhausen'. Even after it was taken over by the town around 80 years later, the building was used to teach girls until the last century. It is worth taking a look inside the historic walls. Discover new art against old walls in the Museum of Contemporary Art or marvel at the magnificent baroque altar in the monastery church.

Author: Nicole Bee