Long before the monastery was founded there was a snall settlement on this site, which is still today delineated by the grounds of the Anrode Monastery. The original village was sometimes referred to as Annenrode, and sometimes Anninrod. In the 13th century the old village with its church ceased to exist and was then brought to life again by the newly founded Cistercian monastery. A very eventful history followed.
1253 The now empty monastery was given to the Brothers of St. Lazarus. The last peasants from the former village worked for the monastery on the estate. Nuns had probably been living in Anrode since 1267. They were presumably housed at first in the former farmhouses.
1268 On 18th May a generous endowment was made by the Imperial Ministerialis Heinrich Kämmerer.
He ceded to the new monastery lands, farmhouses and the church. Hence Kämmerer is named as the actual founder of the monastery.
1274 The establishment of the Nunnery of Anrode by pemission of the territorial lord, Landgrave Albert of Thuringia, was completed. It belonged to the Order of the Cistercians and reached its prime in the first eighty years of its existence. The changing political, economic and religious history of the nunnery meant that such prosperity was not to return.
1357 The first crisis arose from excessive expenditure leading to debts. Added to this came constantly recurring unrest and the effects of the plague of 1349/50. Besides the deteriorating economic situation there were signs around 1500 of a religious crisis.
1521-1525 The Peasants' War was raging. From 1523/24 on Heinrich Pfeiffer and Thomas Müntzer were preaching in Mühlhausen. Since there had always been close connections between the Eichsfeld and the Free Imperial City their influence was strong throughout the surrounding territory. On the 28th of April 1525 the provost and nuns fled and the monastery was attacked, plundered and destroyed. The entire buildings were set on fire and burnt to the ground.
1525 Rebuilding was begun, but so poorly that all the buildings contructed at the time were in disrepair again within 50 years. By 1577 Anrode was said to be in state of perpetual decay. In addition the plague broke out again after 1555 thus causing even more poverty in Anrode.
1577 David Böddener took over the office of secular provost. At the time the dormitory, refectory, the farm buildings and the wall were in ruins. Only the church had a temporary roof. Next to it was a modest common room for the nuns. Anrode was a sad sight.
1579-1611 An active period of building began. Provost Böddener, who died in 1612, can be said to have been the new founder since he succeeded right up to the day of his death in completely reconstructing the nunnery both internally and externally.
1618-1648 The Thirty Years' War raged, again bringing the monastery to the brink of extinction. Yet the monastery survived being occupied and fought over. By the end of the century a new and lively period of building activity had started.
1649 There was a successful start to reconstructing the most needed farm buildings. In fact it was almost a completely new set of buildings. This period of construction finished with the renovation of the monastery church. However, in the 108 years of peace after the Thirty Years' War Anrode never fully recovered.
1756-1763 With the Seven Years' War came another turning point. The following years of peace brought the burden of dealing with the resulting costs. Many things had to be rebuilt and the entire stock needed restoring. The monastery remained economically weak. Spiritual life was insecure.
1778 With Provost P. Stephanus Mande the monastery emerged again from its time of need. This period saw not only the economic revival but also a marked improvement in the monastery's religious standing. Altogether Anrode was once more gaining recognition.
1802 Governance by the Electorate of Mainz came to an end. The Eichsfeld became part of Prussia under the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss (the major territorial restructuring of the German Empire). The secularisation of ecclesiatical property began.
1810 By decree the nunneries were also closed. In Anrode the nuns were allowed to remain for a short time during the transition period. Thereafter the five-hundred-year history of the Cistercian monastery came to an end.
1811 The entire monastery property was sold to the Oberamtmann (head bailiff) of Hanover, Wedemeyer. He took over the inventory except for the religious objects which were handed over to the churches in the surrounding area. Wedemeyer now managed Anrode as a farm estate and retained it within the property of his family until 1886. From 1886 onward the estate belonged to the very wealthy family of Wiersdorff. In addition to adding extensions and changes to the buildings they improved the roads and bridges. However they were forced for reasons of economy to sell to the District of Mühlhausen.
1927 The property was divided anew. Part of the estate and the monastery buildings went to the Parish of Bickenriede. During the Thirties the main building began to be given a commercial use with the installation of a flax-roasting plant.
1950 The rope-making factory set up production hier. This existed until 1989. With the demise of the GDR came the closure of the state-owned enterprise. The existing, still functioning industrial line was privatised.
1993 The Parish of Bickenriede bought the buildings that had previously been managed by the state-owned company. The former industrial business was dissolved and the parish looked for ways to give the old buildings a new use. Following initial efforts to record and secure the historic fabric there is now a preservation trust for the Monastery of Anrode. With the co-operation of several partners work is now in progress carefully to restore the monastery and to fill old buildings with new life.
A promising start has been made with the restoration of the old stables and their conversion to a museum for traditional crafts, as also with the historically exact barn in which for some years now interesting cultural events have taken place, beginning with ¨Blues in a Monastery¨ and following with future events such as live bands and other ACTs , with a ¨Tag des offenen Denkmals¨ (Heritage Day), the annual Klosterfest (Monastery Festival), the Christmas Market or the regular Farming and Livestock Market. Since September 2013 there has been a small restaurant for day-trippers in the rooms of the former monastery steward, the ¨Schinkenkrug¨. This is open at weekends and on public holidays from 14:00. In addition there are numerous other cultural events, the details of which and the exact dates can be found in our Calendar of Events.
