Zisterzienserinnenkloster Zarrentin

The monastery was founded in 1246 by Countess Audacia and her son Gunzelin III of Schwerin. Initially endowed with lands in the Neustadt-Glewe area, the monastery was relocated to Zarrentin in 1251. In 1252, Bishop Friedrich of Ratzeburg confirmed the foundation and placed it under the protection of the Apostles Peter and Paul. Although Pope Alexander IV named the monastery “Himmelpforte” in 1255, this name did not prevail. Compared to other monasteries of the 13th and 14th centuries, Zarrentin was not excessively wealthy, but it owned 21 villages and nine mills and collected tributes from other localities. It served as an educational institution and was reserved for the daughters of the Mecklenburg nobility and Lübeck patrician families. In the course of the Reformation, the monastery was dissolved in 1553 by order of Duke Johann Albrecht I of Mecklenburg. The nuns received severance payments and were allowed to live in the complex for the rest of their lives.

Zarrentin Monastery is located in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, directly on Lake Schaalsee. It lies at an elevation of approximately 43 meters above sea level.

After the Reformation, the complex served various purposes. The former monastery church is still used today as the parish church of Zarrentin. The originally four-sided cloister with the nuns' cemetery is now a green area. The Gothic east wing has been preserved, with its impressive ribbed vaults featuring artfully designed keystones and corbels. This wing has been extensively renovated and now houses an event center, a local history museum, and a library. A permanent exhibition in the cloister area is dedicated to the history of the monastery.

• Stintenburg Manor (manor house and estate, approx. 4692 m away)
• Neuhof Manor (manor house and estate, approx. 5724 m away)
• Groß Zecher Manor (manor house and estate, approx. 5721 m away)
• Tessin Manor (manor house and estate, approx. 7191 m away)