Staying at an abbey – sharing community life with nuns or monks

Spiritual places to stay: abbeys, monasteries and convents have recently experienced a renaissance as short stays with communities of nuns or monks have become a popular new trend. Increasingly people are discovering abbeys as inspirational places of culture and spirituality.

More than 300 abbeys in Germany are open to visitors of any denomination. The visitor programmes they offer vary greatly, depending on the abbey and the order. They include temporary stays, quiet days, fasting, meditation and a wide range of courses and seminars. The industrious monks of the Middle Ages built abbeys everywhere. Not all survived the ravages of time, but even if you visit an abbey in ruins, it still exudes an air of heavenly tranquillity. The popularity of abbey gardens and Biblical gardens also grows from year to year. As focal points of medieval learning, they were also very influential in how plants were grown and their use in nutrition, medicine and daily life. Slowing down the pace of life, consciously appreciating the beauty of nature, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere and the moment at hand – that all happens of its own accord in an abbey garden. Stay overnight within the walls of an abbey! Abbeys were once all about praying and working, studying and learning, but today you can indulge yourself and savour life's pleasures in historical surroundings. Germany's abbey hotels – many of them historical buildings in a magical setting – offer the most wonderful earthly delights. If angels travelled, this is where they'd spend the night ...