Fischbeck Abbey (german: Stift Fischbeck) is a convent for

canoness Canoness is a member of a religious community of women living a simple life. Many communities observe the monastic Rule of St. Augustine. The name corresponds to the male equivalent, a canon. The origin and Rule are common to both. As with the ca ...

es in Fischbeck near

Hessisch Oldendorf Hessisch Oldendorf ( is a town in the Hamelin-Pyrmont district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Weser, approximately northwest of Hamelin. The adjective "Hessisch" has been used since 1905 to distinguish it from other towns ...

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. It was founded in 955 by the noblewoman Helmburgis, a relation of the powerful family of the Ecbertiner, on land that had been given to her for the purpose by King

Otto I Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Francia, East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the olde ...

, and is still a house of canonesses today, although now Lutheran women's convent rather than a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

monastery. Despite later repairs and refurbishments, the cloisters and the church, built mostly in the 12th and 13th centuries, are still basically Romanesque. In the abbey church is a tapestry made in 1583, which portrays the foundation of the abbey in six panels. In the 1950s the author Manfred Hausmann was inspired by the tapestry to write the dramatic piece "Der Fischbecker Wandteppich" (''The Tapestry of Fischbeck''), which has been performed in the abbey church at Fischbeck several times.

Sources

Stift Fischbeck official website
* David Zersen. "Lutheran Convents in Germany." Lutheran Forum. Vol. 48. No. 1, Spring 2014. Monasteries in Lower Saxony Monasteries of Canonesses Regular Augustinian monasteries in Germany Christian monasteries established in the 10th century Lutheran women's convents 10th-century establishments in Germany Religious buildings and structures completed in 955 {{LowerSaxony-struct-stub