Franziskanerkloster Meiningen

The Franciscan Monastery was founded in 1239 by the Order of Friars Minor. By 1242, the monastery church had already been consecrated. As a mendicant order, the Franciscans preferred to settle in cities like Meiningen, where they secured their livelihood through alms and dedicated themselves to the pastoral care of the urban population. The monastery initially belonged to the Saxon Franciscan Province and later to the Provincia Thuringia. With the introduction of the Reformation in the Henneberg region in 1544, the monastery was dissolved and became the property of the city of Meiningen.

The former Franciscan Monastery is located in Meiningen, a town in the district of Schmalkalden-Meiningen in Thuringia, Germany. It was strategically positioned between Meiningen Castle and the Lower Gate Tower, directly along the city wall.

Of the original Franciscan Monastery, the Gothic main building has been preserved to this day, with its attic floor altered in the 19th century. After secularization, this building served as a hospital and later as an armory. The remaining monastery buildings and the church were demolished in 1817 to make way for the Bernhardinum Gymnasium. Today, the street name Klostergasse and information panels on the former main building commemorate the monastery.

• Kleines Palais Meiningen (Residence, approx. 81 m away)
• Großes Palais Meiningen (Residence, approx. 145 m away)
• Burg Meiningen (Castle, approx. 154 m away)
• Schloss Elisabethenburg (Castle, approx. 207 m away)