Cistercian nuns, Augustinian canons, Franciscans: Close-ups of monastic life and history encourage visitors to contemplate and reflect, and perhaps say a little prayer.
The Duchy of Westphalia was home to 17 monasteries and convents in 1802, comprising eight male and nine were female communities.
In addition, seven mendicant orders had establishments in the country. The most notable monastery was the Benedictine Abbey in Grafschaft near Schmallenberg.
The monasteries located in today’s District of Olpe included the Cistercian monastery in Drolshagen, the Augustinian canon monastery in Ewig near Attendorn and the Franciscan monastery in the town of Attendorn. In addition, there is documentary evidence of a Beguine house in Attendorn (between 1317 and 1370), as well as a collegiate monastery (1396).
In modern times, monasteries are considered to play a minor role in terms of public life and property ownership. In the Middle Ages, however, they had considerable influence on the Christianisation and cultivation of the country. Up until the nineteenth century, nuns’ convents were devoted to providing care for unmarried daughters of aristocratic and wealthy middle-class families. Since the mid-seventeenth century, the Franciscan Brothers provided schooling in Attendorn, where they ran a grammar school.
The monasteries, particularly in Grafschaft, played a considerable role in the iron processing industry until around 1650. The oldest documented hammer in the Sauerland was owned by the Augustinian canons, who additionally operated five other hammer mills. The Cistercian monastery also attained income from six different hammer mills in the sixteenth century and was involved in the establishment of further mills.