Neumunster Abbey

The old Altmünster Benedictine abbey was devastated in 1542 during the war between the French King Francis I and the German Emperor Charles V so that the Benedictine monks built a new abbey church in the suburb of Grund. The Neumünster Abbey consisted of a church and 4 wings enclosing an inner courtyard. At the end of the 18th century, after the French Revolution authorities expropriated the Church of St. John, the abbey was altered so as to house a military hospital which functioned until 1867. After the State took over the premise, Neumünster was used as prison for male inmates up to 1980. After extensive restoration, the whole complex will be the venue for social and cultural events and will constitute the "Cultural Meeting Place of Neumünster".