Kloster Ilm

The Ilm Monastery was founded in 1275 by Count Günther VII of Schwarzburg. For this purpose, he relocated the Cistercian monastery from Saalfeld to its present site in Stadtilm. Twelve years later, in 1287, the complex was consecrated and placed under the patronage of Mary, Benedict of Nursia, and Nicholas of Myra. The first abbess was Irmengard, a daughter of the founder. The Counts of Schwarzburg exercised the Vogt rights over the monastery. A fire in 1492 destroyed parts of the dormitory and cloister and caused significant damage to the inventory. During the Peasants' War in 1525, Count Günther XXII of Schwarzburg had valuable possessions and the monastery archive secretly moved to Arnstadt to protect them from looting. After approximately 250 years of existence, the monastery was secularized in 1540 as a result of the Reformation, and its property passed to the Counts of Schwarzburg. The last abbess, Countess Margarete of Schwarzburg, subsequently left the town. Large parts of the monastery buildings fell into disrepair. After the settlement of property disputes in 1599, the complex was converted into a castle by the sons of Count Albrecht VII from 1628 onwards. However, this castle fell victim to a town fire in 1780, with only the crypt and the tower remaining.

The former Ilm Monastery was situated in the Ilm-Kreis in Thuringia, Germany, directly on the Ilm River in what is now the town of Stadtilm.

Today, the town hall of Stadtilm stands on the site of the former Ilm Monastery. Of the original monastery buildings, only the crypt and the tower of the later-built castle remain after a fire in 1780.

• Edelhof Castle (Castle, approx. 3714 m away)
• Ehrenstein Castle Ruin (Castle, approx. 7299 m away)
• Paulinzella Monastery (Sacred building, approx. 8183 m away)
• Reinsburg Ruin (Reinsfeld) (Ruin, approx. 9885 m away)