Ribnitz Clarisses Monastery

Site

All that is still preserved today of the medieval abbey buildings, is the church, as well as remains of the abbey wall. The church is a plain single-nave brick building from the end of the 14th century. The gable ends are each crowned by slender turrets. The impression of the interior is characterised by the restoration of 1835/40 and the neo-Gothic wooden furnishings. Furthermore, several one- and two-storey canonesses’ houses from the 18th and 19th centuries are preserved.

Location

Situated between the old Hanseatic cities of Rostock and Stralsund, on the Saaler Bodden and very close to the Baltic Sea, is the town of Ribnitz-Damgarten. It is the gateway to the Fischland-Darss-Zingst peninsula with its artists’ colony Ahrenshoop and the Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park. Another attraction inviting visitors to experience nature is the Recknitztal bird park, situated south-east of the town. The former Poor Clare convent itself is located on the southern edge of the historic centre of Ribnitz.

Highlights

The abbey site presents two permanent exhibitions. The abbey church presents the exhibition „Dame von Welt, aber auch Nonne“ (lady of the world, but even so nun) on the history of the Poor Clare convent, later a Protestant convent for noble ladies. It includes outstanding works of Gothic ecclesiastical sculpture, the “Ribnitz Madonnas”. In the German Amber Museum numerous amber exhibits and works of art chronicle the natural and cultural history of the “Gold of the North”. Changing special exhibitions and cultural events complete the broad programme.