CISTERSCAPES
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Cistercian landscapes connecting Europe

17 monastery landscapes in 5 european countries form a common network.

Even in the Middle Ages, Europe-wide networking and regular exchange were a recipe for success. The Cistercian monks have left a lasting mark on our cultural landscapes. Together we are reviving this heritage for the present.
The basic European principle of unity in diversity, supported by common values, is inherent in our network. The district of Bamberg with the Cistercian landscape of Ebrach is coordinating the largest transnational application in the history of the European Heritage Label to date.

Explore selected locations from our partner network here! Interactive 3D models or 360° panoramas allow you to discover buildings or landscapes from previously unknown perspectives.

Altenberg (De)

Altenberg monastery, founded directly from Morimond, is located in the Dhünn valley northeast of Cologne. Its historic cultural landscape is still well preserved today with many elements and structures. Water was of great importance as a driving force for mills and the basis for the fishing industry. The Altenberg farms were of an extraordinary size for that time and were connected to the most important trade route via the Cologne city court.

Ebrach (De)

Ebrach monastery, founded as Morimond‘s daughter in the Middle Ebrach Valley, is the oldest Cistercian monastery on the right bank of the Rhine and plays a key role in the order‘s eastern movement. The monastery was one of the wealthiest in Franconia, with the princebishopric of Würzburg as sovereign. Viticulture and silviculture as well as fish farming shaped the monastic cultural landscape in the wooded area of the Steigerwald.

The following video shows an insight into the Augmented Reality representation of the Ebrach monastery landscape in the associated Cisterscapes app:

Waldsassen (De)

Around 1133, Margrave Diepold III founded the Waldsassen monastery and endowed it with extensive foundations. Clearing led to a closed high medieval settlement landscape. The carp ponds are still particularly characteristic of the landscape today: The monks used the swampy landscape for fish farming and created one of the largest pond areas in Europe.