Dargun Castle, previously Dargun Abbey was a Cistercian monastery in Dargun

Dargun

Dargun is a town in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district , in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It is situated km west of Demmin. It is famous for Dargun Castle, a former Cistercian abbey.-External links:*...

, Mecklenburgische Seenplatte

Mecklenburgische Seenplatte (district)

Mecklenburgische Seenplatte is a district in the southeast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is bounded by the districts Ludwigslust-Parchim, Rostock , Vorpommern-Rügen, Vorpommern-Greifswald, and the state Brandenburg to the south...

, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, in the former Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

Mecklenburg-Schwerin

Mecklenburg-Schwerin was a duchy in northern Germany created in 1348, when Albert II of Mecklenburg and his younger brother John were raised to Dukes of Mecklenburg by King Charles IV...

, converted after its dissolution into a palace.

History

The monastery was founded here in 1172 on the site of a former heathen temple after the conquest of the region by Christian forces in 1164. The founding community came from Esrum Abbey

Esrum Abbey

Esrum Abbey, also Esrom Abbey was the second Cistercian monastery founded in Denmark, located near Hillerød in Region Hovedstaden, on the island of Zealand , on the north side of the Esrum Sø near Esbønderup and Græsted.- Monastery :Esrum Abbey began as a Benedictine foundation, perhaps in about...

 in Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

. The monastery was destroyed in 1198, and the monks left, later to found another monastery at Eldena

Eldena Abbey

Eldena Abbey , originally Hilda Abbey is a former Cistercian monastery near the present town of Greifswald in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany...

. Dargun was re-established in 1208 by monks from Doberan Abbey

Doberan Abbey

Doberan Abbey is a former Cistercian monastery in Bad Doberan, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The church continues in use as Doberan Minster ....

, which is therefore counted as its mother house.

It was secularised in 1552 and taken over as a residence by Duke Ulrich I of Mecklenburg-Güstrow

Mecklenburg-Güstrow

Mecklenburg-Güstrow was a state of the Holy Roman Empire in Northern Germany, that existed on three separate occasions ruled by the House of Mecklenburg at Güstrow.-History:...

 in 1556, who converted it into a Renaissance

Renaissance

The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...

 castle, which, after the extinction of the line of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, passed to the Dukes of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.

Buildings

The monastery was brick-built. The principal building complex was reconstructed in the 14th century. The Gothic

Gothic architecture

Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....

 abbey church was built between 1225 and 1270, with further work to the choir in 1464. The church is now ruined but parts of the choir, nave and transept remain.
In 1637 the castle burnt down and was rebuilt by 1654. Until the mid-18th century it served as the home of the widows of the princely house of Mecklenburg-Güstrow. It was re-converted in the 19th century under Georg Adolf Demmler, and burnt down at the end of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. Little was done to secure the ruins until 1991. From 1994 some reconstruction and repair has taken place. The buildings presently accommodate an information bureau and the town library.

External links

• Dargun municipal website: Castle and abbey