Maulbronn Monastery

Maulbronn Monastery
Kloster Maulbronn
Maulbronn Abbey, c. 2017
Location in Germany, Baden-Württemberg Show map of Germany Maulbronn Monastery (Baden-Württemberg) Show map of Baden-Württemberg
General information
Location	Maulbronn, Germany
Coordinates	49°0′4″N 8°48′46″E / 49.00111°N 8.81278°E / 49.00111; 8.81278
Website
www.kloster-maulbronn.de
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name	Maulbronn Monastery Complex
Criteria	Cultural (ii), (iv)
Reference	546rev
Inscription	1993 (17th Session)

Maulbronn Monastery (German: Kloster Maulbronn) is a former Cistercian abbey and ecclesiastical state in the Holy Roman Empire located at Maulbronn, Baden-Württemberg. The monastery complex, one of the best-preserved in Europe, was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993.^[1]

The monastery was founded in 1147 and experienced rapid economic and political growth in the 12th century, but then hardship in the late 13th century and the 14th century. Prosperity returned in the 15th century and lasted until Maulbronn was annexed by the Duchy of Württemberg in 1504. Over the 16th century, the Cistercian monastery was dissolved and replaced with a Protestant seminary. It also became the seat of an important administrative district of the Duchy and later Kingdom of Württemberg.

The complex, surrounded by turreted walls and a tower gate, today houses the Maulbronn town hall and other administrative offices, and a police station. The monastery itself contains an Evangelical seminary and a boarding school.