Stift Ilfeld

The monastery of Ilfeld was founded by the Premonstratensian order in 1190. After the dissolution of the monastery in 1546, an evangelical monastic school was established in the former monastery buildings. Under the leadership of Michael Neander from 1550, the pedagogical foundations of the school were laid according to the principles of the reformer Philipp Melanchthon. In 1593, after the extinction of the territorial lords of the County of Hohnstein, an inheritance dispute arose between Duke Heinrich Julius of Wolfenbüttel and the Counts of Stolberg, which was only settled by court in 1632. During the Thirty Years' War, there was a brief re-Catholicization of the foundation in 1622, and the Premonstratensians returned in 1629, but had to flee from approaching Swedish troops in 1631. In 1632, Stift Ilfeld was granted to the Welfs as a “Milde Stiftung” (charitable foundation) and had been administered from Hanover since 1559. This special status prevented its secularization in 1803. In 1633, the Academic Gymnasium was reopened under the Protestant abbot Cajus. Since 1823, Stift Ilfeld has been managed as special assets by the Klosterkammer Hannover. During World War II, from 1943, school operations were partially relocated due to the use of the buildings by Mittelwerk GmbH and completely ceased in 1944. Today, the proceeds of the foundation are used to support educational and ecclesiastical projects, and there are plans for a new gymnasium in Ilfeld.

Stift Ilfeld is located near the town of Nordhausen in Thuringia, Germany.

Stift Ilfeld is currently an evangelical foundation under the administration of the Klosterkammer Hannover. It includes forest property of over 1,500 hectares. The proceeds of the foundation are used to promote educational and ecclesiastical projects. Efforts are underway to establish a new gymnasium in Ilfeld.

• Ilburg Castle Ruin (Castle, approx. 591 m away)
• Hohnstein Castle Ruin (Castle, approx. 3882 m away)
• Heinrichsburg Castle Ruin (Castle, approx. 5101 m away)
• Werna Manor House (Manor and Estate House, approx. 5595 m away)