Saarn Cloister

In the southwest of Mülheim visitors have the chance to see the modern coexistence of the ecclesiastical and the secular worlds, as it were, under one roof. "Aula sanctae Mariae" (St Mary"s Hall) was its name when it was founded nearly 800 years ago - today it is the home of a "citizen"s hall". And: Right next to the church is a place where citizens can come together, with a cafeteria. The former Cistercian cloister of Saarn is now a place of religious contemplation and joyous celebration, a sacred jewel and an art treasure. And not only that: it is also a integral part of the cultural history of the Ruhr area. Just as in the 60"s at Broich Castle, it was once again the archaeologists in the 80"s who got to the bottom of the ancient history of one of Mülheim"s prominent buildings. An important result in Saarn: Before the cloister was founded there was already a farming settlement on the site. In the lobby of the presbytery at St Mary of the Assumption you can see evidence of this through the floor. And there is more: In the cloister hundreds of carefully restored finds from around 1000 years are on show, making this exhibition of cloister archaelogy unique in Germany. The past becomes the present in stone. The church building with its two nave trusses is as it was when it was founded. In 1214 "Saarn Convent" was first mentioned in historical records. It became part of the Cistercian order under the abbot of Kamp Cloister on the left of the Lower Rhine.

A privilege declared by Pope Honorius III assured the nuns religious and secular independence. The centuries that followed were marked by crises, the authorities were forced to make reforms, times of intense building activity, thanks to economic prosperity, were followed by periods of temporary decline, and vice versa. Around 1500 extensive service quarters and storerooms were built. The nuns were active farmers, producers of textiles and of "pharmaceuticals" from their own herbal garden.
The idyllic picture fell apart in the Reformation when five Protestant nuns left the cloister. In the middle of the 18th century extensions were made to the cloister, now developing into a secular home for ladies, and the church was given a baroque touch still visible today. In 1808, Napoleon"s secularisation ended everything. In 1813 the Prussians took possession of the cloister and it soon became the "Royal Rifle Factory" and later a wallpaper factory. Parts of the church, some of them dating from the Middle Ages, were sacrificed to a new understanding of architecture. Not until 1979 did the years of architectural decline come to an end. The diocese of Essen, the city council and the state of North-Rhine-Westphalia agreed to pool resources to restore the cloister. The restoration work was completed in 1990. Now the once ecclesiastical institution has become a meeting place for all citizens, no matter what their denomination. There is good reason for calling it "The Meeting Place at Saarn Cloister" - it is a place where religiously devout people meet art enthusiasts, those seeking knowledge meet simply funloving people. Not only in the cloister, but also in the extensive gardens. The church itself acts a very special concert hall: Each year the "Music at Saarn Cloister" attracts music lovers as well as prominent experts to the organ and choir concerts (programs:
phone Werner Schepp, 02 08 / 48 72 25) music at Saarn Cloister:
http://www.musik-im-kloster-saarn.de