Eldena Abbey

About

The ethereal beauty of the Eldena Abbey is portrayed well in the paintings of German artist Caspar David Friedrich, but any visitor can gain a sense of that same haunting vision by standing below the towering West facade archway. Originally founded in 1199 outside the modern-day town of Greifswald, the Cistercian abbey was a thriving monastery until being dissolved in 1535 in the wake of the Reformation. Damage caused during the Thirty Years War, neglect during the Swedish occupation of the region, and quarrying of the remaining structure’s bricks sent it to the state of ruin it is now. However, since their excavation from the 1920’s onward, the ruins have been a popular destination for travelers and a host to local cultural events, incorporating them again into local modern life.