Kloster Weiher
Augustinerinnenkloster nahe Köln, benannt nach einem Weiher im Vorland, gegründet um 1198 und 1474 im Neusser Krieg geschleift.
The convent took its name from its position on a stream or pond in the fields west of Cologne, a spot once recorded as "piscinam" (by the pond).
Source: Wikipedia
At a Glance
- Type
- Convent of Augustinian canonesses, dedicated to the Virgin Mary
- Location
- former open land west of the city, in what is now the Lindenthal district
- Site area
- two plots totalling 28 morgen
- Affiliation
- subject to the Abbey of St. Pantaleon
- Recorded
- mentioned in 1466 as "clouster zo wijer"
The convent was founded by Richmodis, adoptive daughter and heir of Gerhard Unmaze, reputedly Cologne's wealthiest citizen – yet only seven years after its 1198 founding, retreating siege troops during the conflict between rival kings Philip and Otto completely destroyed it.
Founding
The story begins with a charter issued in 1198 by Archbishop Adolf I of Cologne. In it, "Blithildis," magistra of the Benedictine nuns of St. Mauritius, sold part of their estate with the consent of the Abbot of St. Pantaleon. The buyer was the widow Rigmudis, a Cologne citizen, who acquired part of the pond at the place called "Zum Weiher" and had a convent built there in honour of the Virgin Mary. She was the adopted daughter and heir of Gerhard Unmaze, who had died in 1197. The land, previously belonging to the manor of Sülz, she donated as building ground, and she also left the convent her remaining fortune, including a house opposite the archbishop's palace at the Hof, later the site of the Brabanter Hof.
Location in the Open Fields
The convent stood west of the fortified city, beyond the Roman wall in the open countryside. Historians place it in a hollow around the area of today's northern Weyertal, where a stream flowing from the direction of Gleuel silted up. The site lay in front of the later Hahnentor and Schaafentor gates, at the start of two roads: between the great highway to Antwerp ("Antorf") and the narrow path to Lind and Bachem. It lay beyond the Bischofsweg, the boundary marking the archbishop's temporal authority around the city, in the area known as the "Schweid." Because the land fell within the sphere of the Abbey of St. Pantaleon, which held extensive property in the southwestern outskirts, the new convent was placed under its authority.
The Site in the Later Cityscape
The early 19th-century Tranchot survey shows few changes to the area. Visible are the grounds that became Melaten Cemetery on Aachener Straße, laid out on the site of a medieval leper house, and the Geusenfriedhof (marked as "Cimetière"), established in 1574. To the south ran the Hürther or Duffesbach toward the old Bachpforte, while to the northwest the Gleueler Bach flowed past the Antoniusweiher further northeast before petering out in the so-called "Weiherkülchen."
Destruction and Rebuilding
The exposed location in open country proved dangerous. During the conflict between the rival kings Philip and Otto in 1205, the nuns fled to their house within the city walls, while withdrawing troops ravaged the surrounding land and destroyed the convent, then only a few years old. It was rebuilt by 1208 and that same year received a letter of protection from King Philip, threatening God's wrath and royal disfavour on anyone who harmed the nuns or their property.
Good to Know
That the times remained unsettled is shown by a charter of 1235, in which the nuns ceded their house within the city, called Weiher, to a Duke Henry.
Timeline
- 1198Founding of Weiher Monastery by Richmodis on land of the Sülz manor
- 1205Monastery destroyed during the conflict between Philip and Otto
- 1208Reconstruction completed and protective charter issued by King Philip
- 1235Charter transferring the Weiher house in the city to Duke Heinrich
- 1466Monastery referred to as 'clouster zo wijer'
- 1474Monastery cleared and demolished during the Neuss War
- 1574Nearby Geusen cemetery established
Map
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Sources & links
Auto-generated, last verified: 2026-09-07
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