Schaaken Abbey (Ruin)

The Schaaken monastery was established around 1189/1190, initially in the village of Goddelsheim. As early as 1223, the convent was relocated to its current site in Schaaken. During this early period, Pope Honorius III placed the monastery under his protection. The foundation served the Imperial Abbey of Corvey to consolidate its regional presence. After a long period as a Benedictine nunnery, the institution was converted into a Protestant secular women's collegiate foundation in 1591, which existed until its final dissolution in 1848. The monastery church, a late Romanesque-early Gothic structure from the second half of the 13th century, suffered a fire in 1518 but was rebuilt. After 1848, the church and convent buildings were used as agricultural barns. Another fire in 1913, caused by a lightning strike, completely destroyed the church again. It was not until 1958 that the remaining structural elements were secured.

The Schaaken ruin is located in the North Hessian district of Waldeck-Frankenberg, between the Lichtenfels districts of Goddelsheim and Immighausen. Its geographical elevation is approximately 394 meters above sea level.

Today, the former monastery complex primarily consists of the walls of the former monastery church and a convent building, which were later converted into barns. A gargoyle (Neidkopf) is still visible above a modern barn door. The ruin stands as a tangible testament to the past and is preserved as a historical monument.

• Ruine Oberense (Ruin, approx. 3958 m away)
• Burg Nordenbeck (Castle, approx. 4545 m away)
• Ruine Itterburgen (Thalitter) (Ruin, approx. 4869 m away)
• Schloss Reckenberg (Lichtenfels) (Castle, approx. 4923 m away)