Diakoniewerk Kloster Dobbertin - Das Baudenkmal Kloster Dobbertin

Kloster Dobbertin, an architectural monument

History

One of the most remarkable convent sites of Mecklenburg does not only look back on almost 800 years of historical ups and downs but also expects a fundamental renewal of its building stock, all listed, by the way, in the years to come.
Kloster Dobbertin, originally a monastery, was founded by Benedictine monks around 1220. Soon after, in 1234, it was converted into a convent of the same order. Interested readers are invited to refer to the section about the history of Kloster Dobbertin.

Site plan of the convent area

A sightseeing tour

The only entirely preserved convent site in all of Mecklenburg is to be found on a peninsula on the Dobbertiner See, situated some
4 km north of Goldberg. Its characteristic double spire may be seen from quite a distance.
Visitors arriving from Guestrow and Sternberg will also have to pass the long brick wall surrounding the venerable convent cemetery and its many old tombstones.
Numerous late Baroque and classicist buildings, erected around the church and the enclosure bear witness to almost 800 years of history of the convent.
One uncommon and even rather rare feature in convent structures is that in Dobbertin the cloister is positioned at an acute angle to the church. The four cross-ribbed sections of the cloister with different vault heights and widths were erected over several periods between the late 13th and the late 14th centuries. The southern enclosure building houses a two-naved refectory with three central pillars from the 13th century.
The northern enclosure building also boasts a decorative pediment, added when the residence of the Domina was modified in 1884. A particular feature, over and above the many red-brick structures of the convent, is the first use of sandstone elements.
Other representative buildings are the Kuechenmeisterhaus (the Kuechenmeister being the equivalent of the Chief Financial Officer of the convent), the former brewery and distillery, the Pforthaus (gate house) and several residences for titled ladies. There is also the Klosterhauptmannhaus (official residence of the convent’s senior administrative official), a roughcast building with two stories.
Other framework and brick structures can be found behind the convent park. These also feature largely in the present layout of the village of Dobbertin.
The village pub, the vicarage building, the old school, the blacksmith’s shop and the (water)mill, the seeds warehouse and the post office are some of them.
During a sightseeing tour (conducted tours are also available) visitors may take a closer look at the following:

Ground plan showing conventual church and enclosure buildings

Buildings on the convent site

Two-storied titled ladies’ residences

Between 1864 and 1877 four residential buildings for titled ladies were built in a neo-Gothic style. Please note the remarkably slender gable structures with their supported columns, the narrow lancet arch windows and the imposingly decorated chimneys. At that time the convent was still rich and buildings had slated roofs. Every residence had between six and eight rooms, and came with kitchen and a larder. There were separate entrances for each titled lady residing here.

Residential home of a titled lady

Refurbished residential home

Kuechenmeisterhaus

Contrary to what one might expect, this was not the home of a celebrated chef; rather the Kuechenmeister was the Chief Financial Officer of the convent. This lengthy brick building with a square stone imitation base on all four sides and its arch-shaped flight of stairs was built for this official in 1846. The central façade projection shows a horizontal strip symbolising a “running dog and flower buds”. Please note the semi-circular window in the upper gable triangle with its cast-iron stay bars.
The “Kuechenmeister”, a well-trained financial official, was responsible to the convent administration. He handled all income and expenditure flowing from and spent on convent domains and other properties, as well as forests and was also in charge of enrolment of the daughters of nobility.

Kuechenmeisterhaus

Enclosure buildings with cloisters and refectory

Enclosure building

The building of almost all convent facilities strictly respected the rules of the order of St. Benedict. Originally erected in the grandiose style typical of the monks, the enclosure buildings may be recognised by their outward modesty, a magnificent faithfulness to materials as well as a superior mastery of art and statical calculation. In Dobbertin, the enclosure consists of four two-storied brick and framework structures with mansard roofs, surrounding the internal courtyard and bordering on the rectangular cloister. The architectural link-up with the conventual church at an acute angle is a rare feature. A chequered history of different uses also resulted in major structural changes in this section.

An enclosure building

Dead man’ eyes (dormer windows) on an enclosure building

The cloisters

Over and above their importance as a link between and an access route to enclosure buildings, the cloisters played a major role for religious convent practices. In most monasteries or convents, the width of the cloister remains constant, Dobbertin, however, is an exception. The southern and western cloister sections are not as wide as the other two. The ribbed vaults with decorated corbels reach higher.

Looking at the inner courtyard

The inner courtyard

The cloister (western section)

The refectory

The refectory, formerly the dining hall of the monks or the nuns, respectively, as well as the kitchen are found in the southern enclosure building. In Dobbertin, unfortunately, only the two-naved refectory from the first half of the 13th century has been preserved. Its three fixed central pillars with their bud-shaped chapiters, Attic bases and vault severies are the oldest structures of the convent. The pillars can be counted among the most important artistic achievements of late Romanesque stonemasonry work.

The refectory

The Dominahaus (Residence of the Domina)

“The extension and modification of the Domina’s residence with its new magnificent and decorative gable was completed in 1886 and the Venerable Hedwig von Schack, the present Domina, moved in, expressing full satisfaction”. Quantity surveying, drawings and design were provided by Daniel, a senior construction counsellor from Schwerin, who was engaged in building the castle and who also erected the state theatre at Schwerin. A special feature is the first use of sandstone elements in addition to the many brick buildings in the convent. A balcony supported by sandstone pillars, a terracotta frieze on the three-axis central projection plus decorative stonemasonry work in sandstone provide for respectable exterior of this neo-Renaissance gable.

The conventual church

Between 1825 and 1838, Georg Demmler, the architect who built the castle at Schwerin, added a purely neo-Gothic brick hull to the medieval walls of the nave. Taking the Friedrich-Werdersche church in Berlin for a model, two spires were erected at the western end, thus providing the most characteristic new section to the existing structure. The façade of the lengthy solidium was structured by slender buttresses, high lancet-arch windows as well as by parapets. Terracotta finials crown both pediments and turrets. Other interesting elements are the organ, built into the northern façade and the very imposing double gate at the western entrance to the twin-spired structure. The church interior was rebuilt between 1854 and 1857. Inside, the church was subdivided into an upper and a lower section. On the balcony originally reserved for nuns, one may still see what remains of an old door. Originally it led to the enclosure, but was walled up during the Reformation era.
Unfortunately, only very few works of art were preserved. These include sections reserved for titled ladies, a Baroque altar pulpit, a baptismal sandstone font with plastic decorations from 1586 and an embroidered part of a chasuble from 1580.

Leaf chapiter at the entrance
to the church

The twin-spired conventual church

Terracotta finials atop
turrets

The Klosterhauptmannhaus (Residence of the senior administrative official)

After the end of the Reformation period and beginning in 1572, the administration of the convent was no longer headed by the provost, an ecclesiastic, but by the Klosterhauptmann, a senior administrative official, supported by lower ranking assistants (provisors). His two-storied representative official residence is found to the north-west of the conventual church. In its core, it is still a Baroque structure. It is characterised by a flat central projection and a triangular gable. Its formerly elegant staircase also points to a park-like free area. A stone table at the portal refers 1751 to 1756, probably alluding to the lengthy construction period. For over 360 years and ending only in 1919, 32 experienced and capable senior administrative officials controlled the convent’s destiny from this building.

The Klosterhauptmannhaus

Brewery and distillery (now the convent cafeteria)

As early as in 1524 one may read in the ledger of the brewery and distillery that the convent provost had to purchase hops and malt…In 1843 the former distillery was converted into accommodation for three convent servants. As of 1846 this single-storied brick building with a partial hip roof housed the convent bakery. Next to a smokehouse section, attic facilities also included four prison cells. Since 1993 this historical building has housed the cafeteria. From its terrace, visitors may enjoy the wonderful view across the lake (Dobbertiner See).

The cafeteria

The cafeteria terrace offering a view of the lake

The Remise (Coach-house)

Behind the Klosterhauptmannhaus and in the direction of the convent park one still finds two single-storied brick buildings with partial hip roofs and crown tiles. The two oval-arch shaped wooden gates point to their former use as coach houses. Actually, coaches of the conventual titled ladies were parked in these sheds as from 1858.

The Pforthaus (Gate-House)

The old gate-house at the edge of the convent park is quite an intriguing structure. Originally and when the monastery was founded, it was the first and only point of access from the “Grosse Werder” area. Inside this single-storied brick building with arched windows one can still find three Romanesque-style transverse ribs and vaults.

The convent cemetery

Through its wrought-iron gate visitors may first marvel at a granite tombstone over 200 years old, where Agnesa von Gloeden, a conventual, lies buried. Between ivy-covered linden trees stands a “pigtail-style” obelisk (from the period of transition from Rococo to Classicism) in remembrance of Christian von Krakewitz, a senior administrative official of the convent, who died in 1790. The cemetery includes another 70 historical tombstones of former conventuals, Dominas and provisors (assistants to senior administrative officials). Make sure not to miss the tombstone of Mathilde von Rohr, resident in the convent as of 1869, and who died in 1889. Over many years, she was a friend of Theodor Fontane, who frequently came to visit her after 1870.

The convent cemetery