Kloster Ichtershausen

The Klosterkirche Ichtershausen stands in the village of Ichtershausen in Thüringen. It began as a Romanesque three-aisled basilica around 1100 and was consecrated in 1133 by Frideruna von Grumbach. The church became part of a Cistercian nunnery in 1147, one of the earliest in Germany, and grew to be one of the largest in medieval Thüringen. After the Reformation it became an evangelical parish church. Its two west towers and three apses remain visible signs of its medieval past.

The church witnessed important events in German history. In 1198 Philipp von Schwaben was designated German king here before his election in Mühlhausen. In 1546 Protestant princes of the Schmalkaldic League held a congress inside its walls. The poet Wilhelm Hey served as pastor from 1832 to 1854 and is commemorated by a monument beside the nave. A fire in 1602 destroyed the north aisle, which was rebuilt only in 1721 after long delays.

Visitors enter a Romanesque nave with medieval wall paintings and two south-side galleries. The Thielemann organ is being restored. Outside, a simple reconstruction of the north aisle was carried out in 2000 by young prisoners from the nearby youth detention centre. The former prison wall once incorporated part of the churchyard, and the old graveyard held the graves of Wilhelm Hey and his wife.