Cloister Lüne

There is a cloister just outside of Luneburg that was built in the mid-1300s. A cloister was not a convent but was for young women who might be prospects for becoming a nun. The great thing about the place is that it is not only largely intact from medieval times but is also currently being used today. It is no longer Catholic, of course (because of the Reformation), but Lutheran. The woman who gave us our tour was perhaps in her late 60s and had decided recently to commit her life to the cloister and spend the rest of her life in service to the community of women who now live at the cloister.

At the top of my photos above is a building that was built for the potential visit of a Hannoverian king (he died before it was finished). In the middle is organ in the cloister's beautiful chapel. At the bottom is the graveyard of women who have lived and died at the cloister.