18 Convent Lichtental

How beautiful that the melodies of Gregorian chants have never fallen silent in this convent! 900 years old is this musical tradition.... Almost as old is the convent itself. The Cistercian abbey was founded in 1245 by Irmgard of Baden as the burial place of the margraves of Baden. That is why the heart of Margrave Ludwig Wilhelm can be found in the high altar of the convent church. This margrave was a victorious general in the Turkish wars and therefore became famous as "Türkenlouis". He died in 1707 and his widow, Margravine Sybilla Augusta, became a great patron of the convent.

At that time, the covent had already survived dark times. It was repeatedly harassed by looters and soldiers - Louis XIV also sent his troops to Lichtental in 1689 to destroy it. The town was completely burned down, but the convent was spared because the Cistercian nuns had hung the key of the convent on the finger of the Madonna sculpture in the convent church. At this sight, the French soldiers are said to have fled.
After the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, the convent church was remodeled. The overpaintings were removed and the simple Gothic style of the early Cistercians was restored.

The conventwas one of the few to survive Napoleonic secularization. As its only tribute, it had to establish a school for girls.

But times are changing: today the elementary school also teaches boys!

See also the Marienbrunnen. It was built in 1781 and used to be the center of the convent farm. From this spring the watering places for the cattle were fed and the gardens were irrigated.

Dear guests, I hope you got an insight into the cultural richness of Baden-Baden...and could feel the lifeline of the spa town, our Lichtentaler Allee! The walk with you was a pleasure. Come again soon! Baden-Baden and its Lichtentaler Allee welcome you at any time!