Details
Founded: 1153Category: Religious sites in Germany
Historical period: Hohenstaufen Dynasty (Germany)
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Stolpe Abbey was the first monastery in Pomerania. Ratibor I, Duke of Pomerania, founded the abbey on 3 May 1153 in memory of his brother Wartislaw I. Wartislaw, who had subdued the area and converted its people to Christianity in the late 1120s, was killed near the site of the future monastery; according to legend he was murdered by a Liutician pagan.
The abbey was settled by Benedictine monks from Berge Abbey near Magdeburg. The Pomeranian dukes and the Counts of Gützkow granted the new foundation extensive lands in the vicinity. In 1164, a meeting between the Duke of Saxony, Henry the Lion, and King Valdemar I of Denmark was held here.
In 1304, the abbey became part of the Cistercian Order, and was made a daughter house of Pforta Abbey. In 1305, Kärkna Abbey (also known as Falkenau Abbey) and in 1319 Padise Abbey, both in Estonia, were put under the authority of Stolpe.
In 1534, Stolpe Abbey was dissolved in the course of the Protestant Reformation. The Thirty Years' War made a battleground of Stolpe and left the abbey buildings in ruins.
References:Sigmaringen Castle was first mentioned in the year 1077 in the chronicles of Petershausen monastery. The oldest parts of the castle are concealed beneath the alterations made during the 17th and the 19th centuries. The secret of the earliest settlement built on this defendable rock will never be fully revealed: large-scale excavation work would be necessary, which the extensive land development renders impossible. Judging from the many Roman remains unearthed in the area around Sigmaringen, the 12th century keep known as the 'Roman Tower' could be traced back to a Roman predecessor.
The castle remains that have been preserved (gate, great hall and keep) date back to the Staufer period around 1200. The castle remains were integrated into subsequent buildings. The foundations of the castle buildings are to a large extent identical to the surrounding castle wall.
These remains give us a good idea of how the castle might have looked during the 12th century.