The present ruins of the once powerful monastery points back to the origins of the 12th century, when the Romanesque abbey church of St. Mary and Martin was built.
With the re-construction in the 13th century, it was the first, largest Gothic church in northern Germany and was used as a role model for later buildings. In the 19th century, the ruins were discovered by architects such as Karl Friedrich Schinkel and the painters of the Romantic period. In between are thrilling centuries: the monastery was the third branch of a Cistercian monastery in Germany, which enabled the monks to build through knowledge, work, and a leading business sense, one of the richest abbeys of Lower Saxony; through agriculture, construction of water management and money lending to businesses - all for the welfare of the monastery. In the vast preserved buildings is the Walkenried Cistercian Monastery Museum, which appears as a vibrant place and connects the history of this iconic monastery in a modern presentation.
