Preetz Priory

Preetz Priory stands in the small town of Preetz in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany. It began in 1211 as a Benedictine nunnery founded by Graf Albrecht of Orlamünde after a vision of a cross between a deer’s antlers. The first buildings lay two miles away, but a monastery rose on the vision site in 1260. After the Reformation in the 16th century the community became a Lutheran women’s convent under the local knighthood. The priory survives today as a collegiate residence for ladies, preserving its centuries-old traditions. Its history links the medieval Benedictine order with the Protestant nobility of Schleswig-Holstein. The site still reflects the founder’s vision and the later changes of faith. Visitors find a quiet collegiate complex with simple cloisters and a small church. The buildings occupy the same peaceful valley where the vision occurred. The atmosphere remains one of calm reflection, unchanged by the centuries.