Franziskanerkloster Faldern

The Franciscan monastery in Faldern stands on the edge of what is now Emden in Lower Saxony. Founded after 1317 by the Franciscans, it was the only house of its order in East Frisia. The friars chose a site just outside the town, linking it to Emden by a bridge completed in 1369 so they could serve the urban poor. Important events took place here. In 1400 the Häuptlinge met under its roof to end their support for the Vitalienbrüder. On 23 December 1464 Ulrich I was raised to Reichsgraf in the monastery church. After the Reformation the buildings became an orphanage and poorhouse until the last friars left in 1561. The church was a plain Gothic brick hall with three bays and a narrow aisle. A long choir was added later and a small bell turret crowned the roof. After 1641 an organ by Jost Sieburg stood in the west gallery. In 1756–58 Cornelius Geerds Wallies rebuilt the instrument, which gained a pedal after 1800. A fire in 1938 destroyed everything inside, leaving only a single foundation stone recovered in 1937.