15 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Magnificent Romanesque and Peasant war fury in the lost Kaltenborn monastery near Allstedt

From the 12th to the 16th century, the Kaltenborn monastery near Allstedt was a religious, cultural, and economic center of the southeastern Harz foreland. Today the abbey has wholly disappeared from the cultural landscape. Current excavations by the State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt (LDA) bring to light impressive relics of the monastery church, but also many evidence of the destruction of the complex in the Peasants’ War of 1525.

The Augustinian monastery of Kaltenborn near Emseloh (Mansfeld-Südharz) was founded in 1118. The founders were the Saxon-Thuringian Count Wichmann and his wife Kunigunde, the daughter of the famous Ludowinger Ludwig the Springer. Favored by the high nobility and richly endowed with donations, Kaltenborn developed into one of the most prosperous and influential monasteries in the region.

The prosperity and power of the monastery, as well as its vigorous collection of taxes, aroused resentment in the affected population – refusal of services by Kaltenborn subjects has been reported as early as the mid-15th century. When the Peasants’ War broke out in central Germany, the Augustinian monastery was plundered and devastated by insurgents from the nearby villages of Riestedt and Emseloh in April 1525. Many monks fled and did not return. The monastery did not recover from this and was finally abolished in 1538. Later, the church, cloister and all other buildings were removed so thoroughly that today only small rests of ruins have remained of the once magnificent abbey.

The eastern end of the monastery church with rectangular main apse and a semi-circular northern side apse, bird’s eye view from the east. Photo © State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt (LDA), Robert Prust

Current geophysical investigations, metal detector surveys and excavations under the direction of Prof. Dr. Felix Biermann (LDA) have now produced surprisingly rich relics of the monastery. The walls of the abbey church have been partially preserved under enormous masses of rubble up to a height of two meters. The stately three-aisled basilica with transept, rectangular main apse and semi-circular side apses was built in Romanesque forms in the first half of the 12th century and later expanded in Gothic style. In the south, the cloister buildings connected to a large, walled, roughly rectangular courtyard with a diameter of up to 230 meters, in which various buildings were located. Particularly impressive are the Romanesque architectural and decorative elements of the church, which include magnificent column bases, lintels with floral motifs and round arches with friezes – the latter with close parallels to the Ulrichskirche in nearby Sangerhausen, which has survived to this day and is one of the main works of Romanesque art in Saxony-Anhalt.


Writing stylus of the so-called »Harz Group« made of non-ferrous metal, 12th/13th c. Century. Wax tablets are written with such pens. Photo © State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt (LDA), Juraj Lipták
Writing stylus of the so-called »Harz Group« made of non-ferrous metal, 12th/13th c. Century. Wax tablets are written with such pens. Photo © State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt (LDA), Juraj Lipták

These architectural relics and a rich ensemble of small finds – coins, book fittings, belt buckles, pieces of jewelry, scales, signet rings, pens, and the like – shed light on the monastery’s proud early days. Other finds tell of its eventual downfall.

Numerous fragments of stove tiles from the 15th and early 16th centuries, including colorful glazed ones with figurative and floral decorations, attest to the comfort and even luxury that a monastic community did not look good on. Such finds manifest a dissolution of traditional monastic discipline and asceticism, which explains why the monasteries were only able to offer little resistance to the Reformation. The furor of the rebellious peasants resulted in layers of fire and debris with smashed ceramic vessels, broken glass from windows, tiles, and metal objects melted in embers as a result of massive destruction.

State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt (LDA)

Cover Photo: Romanesque column base in the main apse of the monastery church. © State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt (LDA), Felix Biermann

Related Articles

8,000-year-old Musical Instrument found in northwest Turkey

4 July 2021

4 July 2021

Archaeologists in northwestern Turkey’s Bilecik on Tuesday discovered a musical instrument that dates back to an estimated 8,000 years. During...

Early Roman Aqueduct Discovered in Turkey’s Aydın Province

27 May 2021

27 May 2021

In the Kuşadasi region of western Turkey’s Aydin, archaeologists and scholars unearthed an approximately 2,000-year-old ancient Roman aqueduct. Experts believe...

The Colchester Vase: New Analyses Uncover Evidence of Gladiatorial Combat in Roman Britannia

23 February 2025

23 February 2025

The Colchester Vase, dating back to A.D. 160–200, is not just a ceramic artifact; it is considered a unique graphic...

The Tomb of Prince with a Monumental Pink Granite False Door Unearthed in Saqqara

23 April 2025

23 April 2025

In a remarkable archaeological discovery, an Egyptian team has unveiled the tomb of Prince Waser-If-Re, son of Pharaoh Userkaf, the...

Archaeologists Discovered a Fragmentary Inscription in Cypriot Syllabary Found Dating to the Cypro-Archaic Period

1 December 2024

1 December 2024

During excavations at Palaepaphos, located within the municipal boundaries of the modern village of Kouklia-Martsello on the southwest coast of...

Archaeological excavations unearthed the first great Iberian city in Contestania and the oldest one

11 May 2024

11 May 2024

Archaeologists from the University of Alicante and the University of Murcia “Damas y Héroes. In the project “Tras la Ilici...

7,000 years ago the earliest evidence for the cultivation of a fruit tree came from the Jordan valley

17 June 2022

17 June 2022

Tel Aviv University and Jerusalem’s Hebrew University researchers have unraveled the earliest evidence for the domestication of a fruit tree....

New Archaeological Discoveries may Confirm What is Written in the Bible

22 March 2021

22 March 2021

The importance of what is written in the scriptures in the development of archeology is really great. It is possible...

Anchorage’s Indigenous History: A 1000-Year-Old Dene Cache Found Near Cook Inlet

24 January 2025

24 January 2025

In June 2024, archaeologists from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER) and Northern Land Use Research Alaska discovered a birch bark-lined cache...

Tomb of an Urartian buried with his dog, cattle, sheep, and 4 horses unearthed

6 September 2021

6 September 2021

In ancient times, the dead were buried with their living and non-living things. The offerings placed as dead gifts varied...

Stunning Roman-looking sandal found deep in the snow in the Norwegian mountains

16 April 2022

16 April 2022

Global warming is leading to the retreat of mountain glaciers. Incredibly well preserved and rare artifacts have emerged from melting...

Infinite Embrace: New research sheds light on Bronze Age family relationships that link Britain to Luxembourg

30 January 2024

30 January 2024

A new study of early Bronze Age examples from Luxembourg and Britain, led by researchers from the universities of Mainz...

Rare biblical ‘balsam tree’ found depicted on ancient Jerusalem amethyst seal

21 October 2021

21 October 2021

Archaeologists working in the Old City of Jerusalem have discovered an engraved amethyst seal in the Second Temple, thought to...

The very unknown ancient city of the Mediterranean; Syedra

3 July 2022

3 July 2022

Known as Turkey’s holiday paradise, the Antalya region is a treasure when it comes to ancient cities. Close to the...

1800 Years Old Roman Milestone Used as Seat at Turkish Mosque

7 November 2024

7 November 2024

A milestone from the Roman Emperor Gordianus III period, which dates to 239 AD, was discovered in the Fatsa district...