Wendhusen Abbey

The Wendhusen Monastery was founded around 825 by Gisela, daughter of the Eastphalian Count Hessi. Her daughter Bilihilt became the first abbess of the convent. The monastery was dedicated to Saints Mary, Pusinna, and Nicholas. It benefited early from the support of the Imperial Abbey of Herford, whose patron saint, Saint Pusinna, was also venerated in Wendhusen. In 936, an attempt was made to relocate the convent to Quedlinburg, which was not fully realized; the monastery subsequently continued to exist in dependence on the Quedlinburg Imperial Abbey. In 1180, the complex was devastated during military conflicts but was immediately rebuilt. During the Peasants' War in 1525, the monastery suffered looting, destruction, and a fire. Finally, Wendhusen Monastery was secularized in 1540 as part of the Reformation, after which the convent buildings likely fell into disrepair.

The former Wendhusen Monastery is situated in Thale in the Harz region, in the federal state of Saxony-Anhalt. It lies at an elevation of approximately 135 meters above sea level.

Of the former monastery, a large tower remains today, which was part of a western structure added to an older church no later than 1192/96. This western block, with a hall floor and chambers above, had the character of a fortified and habitable castle tower. After secularization, the monastic estate was transformed into a manor.

• Rittergut Thale (Manor House, approx. 189 m away)
• Gutshaus Lindenhof (Manor House, approx. 2814 m away)
• Schloss Stecklenberg (Castle, approx. 3656 m away)
• Burgruine Lauenburg (Castle Ruin, approx. 3914 m away)