January 5, 2011

Panschwitz-Kuckau, Germany: St. Marienstern Cistercian Convent; things to do

St. Marienstern Cistercian Convent (means The Star of Mary)  

Cisinskistrasse 35, Panschwitz-Kuckau, +49 35796 99-30; . E2.

Founded in the Middle Ages in 1248 (762 years ago), this catholic refuge is home to an order of sisters that lives according to the rules of the Holy Benedict (only nuns, no monks). The gates to the St. Marienstern Cistercian Convent are locked at night, and no one is allowed in or out. A self-contained village, it has a lake, gardens, farm land, and a bakery that is its specialty (it had a brewery until the 1960s, when it was delegated to a nearby business). The surrounding area is 98% catholic (though nearby Dresden has more protestants). Since the 1970s, the order’s social work has included helping and housing mentally disabled people. Visitors come here to see the nuns and the art in the Treasure Chamber, which beautifully displays its 13th- to 19th-century relics and art, including the famous “Expectant Madonna.”

“Expectant Madonna” at St. Marienstern Cistercian Convent in Panschwitz-Kuckau, Germany
“Expectant Madonna” at St. Marienstern Cistercian Convent
in Panschwitz-Kuckau, Germany



More things to do in Upper Lusatia.

More things to do in Germany.


image c2011 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

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