Frankenhausen Abbey

Frankenhausen Abbey (Zisterzienserinnenkloster Frankenhausen) was a Cistercian nunnery which existed between the 13th and the 16th centuries, located initially in Grünberg in Ponitz, Thuringia, and then from 1292 in Frankenhausen in Crimmitschau, Saxony, Germany.

History
The nunnery, dedicated to Saint George, was established by 1260 in Grünberg. In 1276 it was given the ruined castle in Frankenhausen for its site; after the necessary works the nuns made the move in 1292. In 1410 the abbey was rebuilt after being destroyed by fire. It was dissolved in 1529 in the course of the Protestant Reformation and finally emptied of nuns in 1543.

After some centuries as an estate in private ownership the site was severely damaged in the years immediately after 1945 during land reforms in East Germany. Since 1990 the remaining structures have been under the care of the Landesverein Sächsischer Heimatschutz, who have successfully undertaken their restoration as historical monuments. These are the school, the vault of the widows' house, the tower of the prior's house and the "Kellerberghaus".