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The Maulbronn Monastery Complex is a former Cistercian abbey, almost 850 years old. It is considered to be the best preserved and thus most impressive medieval abbey north of the Alps. Twelve monks from Alsace began building the abbey in 1147 and set up the monastic establishment in accordance with the building rules and features of the Cistercian establishments already in existence in Burgundy. For 390 years the monks at Maulbronn lived, built, prayed and worked, thus characterizing the entire cultural landscape in the manner typical of the Cistercian order.
After the Reformation - and the dissolution of the monastery - Maulbronn became the seat of the Dukes of Württemberg. Duke Christopher of Württemberg arranged for a Protestant monastery school to be established in 1556, which was converted into a Protestant theological seminary in 1807 and still exists today. Herman Hesse, wellknown author, was a seminarist for 7 month at Maulbronn. He worked some of his memories In the novel "Beneath the Wheel", first published in 1906.
The cloister combines various architectural styles: from the Romanesque style at the north side through to the light Gothic form of expression at the south side.
The unity and completeness of the overall establishment have made Maulbronn the perfect example of a mediaeval monastery.
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