Neuzelle Monastery

In 1268, Margrave Henry of Meissen founded the Neuzelle monastery. In the 15th century, the abbey was repeatedly destroyed by the Hussites and was rebuilt around 1500. The fact that it belonged to Lower Lusatia and thus to the Kingdom of Bohemia and, since 1635, to Saxony, brought monks from Bohemia to Neuzelle, who in the 17th and 18th centuries arranged for the baroque redesign and expansion of the complex. The monastery was abolished in 1817 when Lower Lusatia was taken over by Prussia. The property was transferred to a Prussian monastery in Neuzelle. The monastery buildings have been used for educational and administrative purposes since 1820, and the monastery churches serve as parish churches.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the monastery complex was converted into a representative Baroque ensemble. The cloister, the church and the administrative building with the "prince's wing" border the monastery square to the north, to the west of which runs the arcade with the entrance portal and the monastery chancellery. To the south are the "coach stable buildings" and to the east is the monastery garden. The monastery church and the "people's church", both in the style of the South German-Bohemian Baroque, represented the new size of the monastery in the 18th century. Late Gothic elements of the original building can still be found in the cloister rooms and the cloister.

The monastery is located on the eastern edge of the Lieberoser plateau in the historical border region between Lower Lusatia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. To the west of the town lies the Schlaubetal valley, which was shaped by the Ice Age, and to the north lies Eisenhüttenstadt.

With its magnificent churches, monastery gardens, cloisters and art treasures, Neuzelle is one of the greatest Baroque monuments in eastern and northern Germany. Music lovers will get their money's worth here, as the "Oder Oder-Spree" festival brings the area to life every year with weeks of music theater.

Two museums, including the "Heavenly Theater" with its unique baroque Passion depictions, delight culture fans.