Kloster Hesel

The Johanniterkommende Hesel was a medieval commandery of the Knights of St John in East Frisia. It stood south-west of the village of Hesel on land that often flooded. First mentioned in 1319, it belonged to the order for more than a century and a half before being absorbed into the commandery at Hasselt. The commandery’s income came from sandy fields and low-lying plots that yielded little harvest. In 1495 its lands were transferred to Stikelkamp near Hasselt, yet it still appeared as an independent house in 1499. After the Reformation the counts of East Frisia seized all Johanniter property, leading to lawsuits that ended in 1574 when the countess returned two estates to the order. No trace of the buildings remains today. The church once stood where the Heseler Vorwerk farm now lies, its granite walls removed in 1852. The surrounding fields still show the old boundaries, and the name Holse may recall the nearby Holtland district or the village itself.