Franziskanerkloster Wipperfürth

The founding of the Franciscan monastery in Wipperfürth occurred in 1639. From 1657, the friars began constructing their monastic complex on the Krakenberg, which had been granted to them by the city and which they renamed Kalvarienberg. Previously, the Franciscans of the Saxon Province used a house in the market square and held their services in the parish church of St. Nikolaus. The east wing of the monastery was completed five years after construction began. Between 1670 and 1674, the monastery church of St. Antonius was built. The Franciscans operated a gymnasium within their premises and served as chaplains in the surrounding area. In 1747, they received permission to extend the west wing to the city wall, giving the complex its current appearance around 1747. Around 1780, it typically housed twelve friars and eight lay brothers. A devastating city fire in 1795 destroyed the monastery church except for its vault and the other monastery buildings down to their walls, but the church and monastery were quickly rebuilt. The dissolution of the monastery took place in 1804 as part of the secularization by Elector Maximilian Joseph of Bavaria. Until 1812, it still functioned as a central monastery, and the gymnasium was converted into a girls' school. Three Franciscans remained as teachers in the monastery until 1818 before leaving.

The monastery is located in Wipperfürth, a town in the Oberbergischer Kreis in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

After secularization, the buildings fell to the Prussian state and were gifted to the city of Wipperfürth in 1826. The city used them for a justice of the peace prison, a middle school, and later again a gymnasium. The former monastery church was handed over to the Catholic parish. Today, the monastery building houses the Catholic family education center, Haus der Familie.

• Hückeswagen Castle (Castle, approx. 5535 m away)
• Neuenberg Castle Ruin (Castle, approx. 7382 m away)
• Eibach Castle Ruin (Castle, approx. 7882 m away)
• Gimborn Castle (Castle, approx. 8243 m away)