Mariensee Monastery Museum

The Protestant Monastery Mariensee is located north of Hannover. For 800 years, it has been a center of spiritual life for women. Founded around 1207 as a women’s convent governed by the Cistercian Rule, the community adopted the Lutheran confession during the Reformation. The simple, light-filled convent church, preserved from the time of its founding, and the imposing square layout of the 18th-century convent building, the austere architecture of the cloister, and the lush splendor of the blooming gardens—contrasts that tell the story of the eventful history of Monastery Mariensee while exuding a profound sense of peace. Inside the monastery, a museum provides information on the history of women’s monasteries in Lower Saxony.

The monastery is one of the five Calenberg Monasteries and is part of the General Hanover Monastery Fund, a foundation administered by the Hanover Monastery Chamber.