Guided tour with Hannes Rother | freelance landscape architect | Rostock, participation: 7 euros
On June 15, 1168, Denmark subjugated the Rhenish Ranen, as a result of which they lost their political, economic and religious independence. As a result, St. Mary's Church in Bergen was built from around 1170/80. Prince Jaromar I of Rügen founded a nunnery at this church in 1193 and summoned twelve nuns from the Convent of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Roskilde, Denmark, to Rügen. This made Bergen the oldest nunnery in the Principality of Rügen.
The tour sheds light on the more than 750-year history of the monastery up to the Reformation and its continued existence as a "breeding school for the maintenance of noble virgins" until 1945. The development of the monastery district after 1945 up to its conversion to a listed building in the years 2000-2005 is also presented. Key aspects of the building's history and the design and use of the open spaces, as well as monastic life, are covered. Documentary illustrations also provide an insight into valuable archaeological features that were uncovered during the redesign but are now covered over again.
In 2005, the complex was reopened as a cultural meeting place. The renovated abbey buildings now house the town museum, a show workshop for local craftsmen and apartments.
