Kloster Heilig-Kreuz

The monastery of Heilig-Kreuz stands in Püttlingen, a town in the Saarland near the French border. It belongs to the Redemptoristine nuns, the only house of this order in Germany. The site includes a modern chapel and an older chapel nearby. The buildings were designed between 1956 and 1960 by the Hungarian artist and architect György Lehoczky. His church has a gently curving roof inspired by Le Corbusier’s chapel at Ronchamp. Inside, the double church divides worship space between the sisters and the local congregation. Large stained-glass windows depict biblical scenes, including the parable of the wise and foolish virgins. Visitors find a calm hillside setting with the monastery church at its centre. The four bells, cast in Saarlouis in 1958–60, ring in the tones F, G, A and B. The nuns live a life of prayer and work, offering quiet days and spiritual conversations to guests. Their red habit and black veil mark them as members of the Redemptoristine order.