The Michaelstein Monastery was founded by Cistercian monks in the 12th century and is still today a place of rest and tranquility. Idyllically located at the gates of the city of Blankenburg (Harz), the monastery is part of the “Romanesque Road” in Saxony-Anhalt.
Many buildings have been preserved from the former farmhouse, such as the large barn, manor, residential and abbot's house, as well as the forge and former stables. The center of the monastery complex is the cloister building with cloister, refectory and chapter house. Visitors can feel the sublime and impressive simplicity of the Cistercian monastery. The medieval cloister buildings with the monastery gardens and the music exhibition are open to the public as a museum.
The monastery gardens, which are modeled on medieval plans and records, invite you to linger. Old medicinal and herbal plants as well as local fruit and vegetables are cultivated here. Visitors can embark on a journey of the senses either individually or at one of the numerous events.
Michaelstein Monastery is not only a place of silence but also a place of music. Founded in the 1960s, Michaelstein is known as an institution for music practice, further education and research. Today's Saxony-Anhalt Music Academy for Education and Performance offer courses, advanced training and conferences and is very popular as a location for rehearsals. In the concert series, both old and new music can be heard, often the results of their own music-historical research or master classes. Every now and then the monastery and Blankenburg Castle hosts special concerts such as the, youth Baroque orchestra Michaelstein BACHS ERBEN.
The change in music over the centuries can be experienced in the music exhibition "KlangZeitRaum - On the trail of the secret of music" in the Baroque west wing of the cloister building. Instruments from the last four centuries from all over Europe can be found in the exhibition. An impressive sound and light installation of baroque church music, a musical salon with talks and music from famous guests, models and experimental stations for the production of sound and a listening session with anecdotes and caricatures bring the music to life.