Marienschloss Abbey

The origins of Marienschloss convent likely lie in a hermitage dedicated to caring for the sick. In 1338, Knight Johann von Bellersheim and his wife Gertrud founded the last Cistercian nunnery in Hesse. The consecration of the convent church, dedicated to Saints Mary and John the Baptist, took place in 1339. Pope Innocent VI placed Marienschloss under the Cistercian Order and Arnsburg Abbey in 1342. Over the centuries, the convent was expanded through endowments. In the 15th century, a decline in monastic discipline led to a refounding of the convent by Archbishop Adolf II of Mainz in 1466. Although the Reformation was introduced in Rockenberg in 1535, the nuns remained Catholic. After a period of imperial subordination, the convent came under the Electorate of Mainz in 1581. The Counter-Reformation led to the re-Catholicization of the surrounding areas in 1602/03. Following numerous construction projects before the Thirty Years' War, the convent suffered greatly from looting and partial destruction. A period of prosperity occurred in the 18th century when, under Abbesses Christiane Strebin, Franziska Koch, and Antonia Hartz, Baroque new constructions were built, including the abbey building (1733), the New Provostry (1744), and the Rococo convent church (1746–1749). High debts and further hardships in the 18th century initiated its decline. After occupation by French troops and use as a hospital, the convent came under Hesse-Darmstadt in 1803 and was dissolved in 1809. The buildings were converted into a reformatory and served as a youth prison from 1939. Since 1946, the state of Hesse has been the owner.

The former Marienschloss convent is situated in Rockenberg, a municipality in the Wetterau region of the federal state of Hesse, Germany. It is located at an elevation of approximately 147 meters above sea level.

Today, the former Marienschloss convent complex is used as the Rockenberg correctional facility. Of the original Gothic convent buildings, only foundations and remnants survive, although some buildings may be older than the 18th century at their core. The cloister adjoins the church to the north. The convent building was extensively rebuilt in the 19th century and an additional floor was added in 1835. The convent church, made of light quarry stone masonry, forms the southern end of several convent buildings, to which the two-story abbess's building and the original prioress's building are attached.

• Rockenberg Castle (Castle, approx. 487 m away)
• Münzenberg Ruin (Ruin, approx. 3806 m away)
• Hattsteiner Hof (Münzenberg) (Manor and Estate House, approx. 3816 m away)
• Landgrave's Castle (Butzbach) (Castle, approx. 4024 m away)