Rehna is home to one of the most beautiful and largest preserved monastery complexes in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The monastery offers space for art, theater and music and is a focal point for pilgrimage and long-distance hiking. Particularly worth seeing are the large monastery garden, the late Romanesque monastery church, the Kneipp basin on the monastery grounds, and the pretty town of Rehna with its half-timbered buildings.
History and sights
Rehna Monastery was founded between 1230 and 1236 from Ratzeburg Monastery. The founder of the monastery is said to have been a brother Ernestus from Ratzeburg. But his origin is mysterious. In the records of the Ratzeburg monastery no brother of this name appears at all. The fact is that the monastery grew quickly. Right at the beginning it was granted numerous estates by noblemen. The land holdings were further expanded over the years. Finally, in the 14th and 15th centuries, the monastery was one of the most important in Mecklenburg.
In the course of secularization, the monastery was dissolved in 1552. It became the widow's seat of several duchesses of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Later, the monastery houses became official buildings.
The monastery church, 3 wings of the cloister and the Long House have been preserved until today. In 2004, a wonderful 300 square meter monastery garden was inaugurated. The heart of the complex is the four-themed garden. Here you can find the medicinal plants garden, fragrant plants garden, flower garden as well as the Bible garden with symbolic plants. Exhibitions, performances and concerts are held regularly in the monastery complex. The complex can be visited during guided tours.
Opening hours and guided tours
Limited opening hours from November to March:
Tuesday - Friday: 10.00 a.m. - 4.00 p.m.
Opening hours from April - October:
Tuesday - Friday: 10.00 a.m. - 5.00 p.m.
Saturday, Sunday and public holidays: 11.00 a.m. - 5.00 p.m.
Guided tours possible by appointment.
Hiking and pilgrimage
The monastery is the intersection and starting point of several monastery hiking trails from Schleswig-Holstein to Poland, as well as several pilgrimage trails (Cistercian Pilgrimage Trail, Pilgrimage Trail of Saint Birgitta of Sweden (near Ratzeburg). Worth mentioning is the Klosterdreieck circular hiking tour from Rehna via Zarrentin to Ratzeburg, a challenging multi-day hike through the wonderful landscape at the Schaalsee.
