Münzenbergmuseum
Museum Monastery Church of St. Mary on the Münzenberg
On the still-preserved walls of the Church of St. Mary on the Münzenberg in Quedlinburg you can see all the elements of an Ottonian basilica with apse, transept, three-aisled nave and west building.
Founded in 986, the Benedictine monastery existed until 1536 and was used for secular purposes in the following centuries and rebuilt with twelve residential buildings.
The monastery had been donated by Abbess Mathilde of the Quedlinburg Abbey, a daughter of Emperor Otto I the Great and his wife Adelheid, for her brother Emperor Otto II, who died in Italy. A support of the foundation by her sister-in-law, Empress Theophanu, can be accepted.
Despite its smaller dimensions, the monastery church with the Collegiate Church of St. Servatii on the castle hill and St. Wiperti is one of the most important Ottonian buildings in the city.
The preserved parts of the building, numerous finds of half-columns, capitals and reliefs from St. Mary's convey a vivid picture of medieval architecture.
In 1994, Professor Siegfried Behrens and his wife purchased one of the houses in which substantial parts of the monastery church have been preserved. By means of further purchases, exchange and patient negotiations, they gradually brought together the remaining areas of the church, so that now you can visit the Western Crypt, the Eastern Crypt, parts of the central and side aisles, the nuns' empore and the archaeologically secured medieval burial sites in front of the southern side aisle.
In 2006, the Behrens couple contributed three of their houses with the essential remains of the monastery church to the foundation “Klosterkirche St. Marien auf dem Münzenberg” (“Monastery Church of St. Mary on the Münzenberg”). The foundation is administered by the Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz and supports the maintenance and expansion of the museum from the proceeds of the foundation’s assets and donations.
In 2009 the commitment of the Behrens couple was awarded the “Romanik Preis” of the state of Saxony-Anhalt.
In 2015, after twenty years of development of the complex, the museum was officially opened and in 2017 it was added to the tourist route “Romanesque Road” .
Prices
- free entry
- guided group tours with more than 10 persons: donation of 1.00€ per person
- special guided tours: 5.00 € per person
Opening Times
January and February
- Friday - Monday: 10:00 am - 05:00 pm
March – December
- daily: 10:00 am - 05:00 pm
Contact
Museum Monastery Church of St. Mary on the Münzenberg
Münzenberg 16 | 06484 Quedlinburg
Phone: 0178 8042592
Mail: st.marien-quedlinburg@gmx.de
www.klosterkirche-muenzenberg.de
Facebook: Museum Klosterkirche St. Marien auf dem Münzenberg/ Quedlinburg