Michaelstein Monastery

Michaelstein Monastery is a former Benedictine monastery, close to the town of Blankenburg. After its restoration after the Second World War, the monastery was used as a music academy, a venue for concerts and events, a conference centre and a museum. The monastery is a stop of the Harz Monastery Hiking Trail and part of the Romanesque Road that crosses the German state of Saxony-Anhalt.

About this building

The current monastic complex was founded by the Cistercians in the 12th century. Before that, a monastery of the Cistercians and other religious structures had existed thanks to the concessions of King Otto I. After a turbulent 16th and 17th century, marked by numerous changes of ownership, a seminary was established there in 1717 and ceased in 1808. At the end of the 19th century, the monastery became a hatchery because of its proximity to ponds.

Many buildings from the former farmyard have been preserved, such as the granary, the manor house, the residential house and the abbot's house, as well as the blacksmith's shop and the former stables. The heart of the monastery complex is the cloister with cloister buildings, the refectory and a chapter house. 

Michaelstein has been known as an institution for music practice, education and research since the Saxony-Anhalt Music Academy for Education and Performance Practice opened in the 1960s. The academy offers courses, further education and conferences and is very popular as a rehearsal and work location.

For more information visit on this building visit www.klosterland.de/Monasteries

Key Features

  • Architecture
  • Monuments
  • Atmosphere / quiet space
  • Wildlife
  • Links to national heritage

Visitors information

  • Car park at the building
  • Accessible toilets in the building
  • Café in the building

Other nearby buildings

Center for Jewish Art

Communal Synagogue in Halberstadt

The Communal (Gemeinde) synagogue in Halberstadt was erected in the years 1709 - 1712, and destroyed in 1938. Only one wall from the 1879 addition has been preserved. The building was a massive square structure built with the light-yellowish-grey stone that was generally used in this region for public buildings. The exterior was almost completely undecorated. Each of the four exterior walls had two pairs of windows that were visually unified by an arch. Centered on the west wall was the main entrance. The location of the Torah ark was indicated on the exterior of the eastern wall by a protrusion with a sloped-roof. The building was capped by an imposing mansard roof, a reference to the regional baroque tradition. Significant additions were made to the structure in 1879 by architects Ebe and Bende from Berlin. An infill structure containing separate entrance halls for men and women were added as well as a new exterior staircase to the women's gallery. This filled the space between the original 18th century synagogue structure and the row of houses that had screened it from the street. According to the plans drawn for the reconstruction of 1879, the northern side of the vault was decorated with a depiction of the showbread table in the Temple of Jerusalem. The southern side had a depiction of the Temple menorah. The interior cupola in the center of the vault was painted with palm trees.