KLOSTERGUT HEININGEN

The association KLOSTERGUT e.V. has set itself the task of preserving the historic buildings and the park areas of the former convent and to establish an educational learning center about organic farming.The History: The convent Heiningen was founded around the year 1000 as a home for nuns, called Kanonissenstift . It was equipped with rich land by the local sovereigns and was confirmed by a document from Emperor Henry II at 1013. Today a monastery church of Romanesque style from the year 1200 can still be found. Around 1350 the plague killed many people and made many rural residents to move to the cities. Entire villages were abandoned and many agricultural lands laid fallow. There was a short period of prosperity, when the nuns could sing and pray and their embroidered carpets were famous even in foreign countries. Then the monastery in 1542 was plundered by Saxon soldiers and reformed against the will of the residents. Since more than 100 years the estate is secularized, while the church was separated from the manor. Nevertheless, the buildings still exist as an architectural ensemble.The present inhabitants run an Organic Farm with particularly emphasis on dairy cattle with an attached creamery and a farm shop for organic food. About 40 Cows and 40 calves, 12 lively pigs, several cats and one dog can be met on the site.Environment: The monastery Heiningen is located in the northern mountains of Harz at Lower Saxony. The region is primarily characterized by rural character and its agricultural use. It s surrounded by glacial ridges and in the south one can see the shape of the Harz , a famous low mountain range. As part of the national cultural heritage of Germany one can found artefacts from the area of prehistoric human history, medieval monasteries, castles and medieval towns. In Goslar, situated around 30 km in the south you can find three sites which are declared as UNESCO World Heritage: Goslar s Old Town, the medieval silver mine Rammelsberg and Upper Harz Water Management. Within a radius of 25 km there are the cities of Braunschweig, Wolfenbuttel and Salzgitter.