Dominikanerinnenkloster Pforzheim

The Dominikanerinnenkloster Pforzheim was a women’s convent in the Neustadt quarter of Pforzheim. It stood outside the old town wall between the streams Eichmühlgraben, Nonnenmühlgraben and the river Enz. A gate called the Frauentor linked the cloister to the city. The nuns belonged to the Order of St Mary Magdalene until 1287, when the Dominikanerinnen took charge and added the Virgin Mary as a second patron saint. The convent grew wealthy in the 14th century, owning churches, tithes and villages across the region. Among its members were noblewomen and even members of the Pfalzgrafen von Tübingen and the margraves of Baden. In 1442 reform nuns arrived from Nuremberg to restore discipline. After the Reformation the convent resisted until 1564, when the nuns moved to Kirchberg under Habsburg protection. After 1565 the buildings passed to the Heilig-Geist-Spital and later became a workhouse, prison and asylum. In 1945 wartime bombing destroyed the last remains. Today the Stadttheater Pforzheim and CongressCentrum stand on the site. A reliquary once said to hold the head of the legendary Euphemia was taken to Kirchberg in 1565.