1000th Anniversary Celebration

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The monastery

In the year 2003. the monastery of Ilsenburg could look back onto a thound years of history. The celebrations of this historical 1000 birthday, with guests from and far, is being presented here with photos and in text.

In this chapter,

- the important remaining ruins of the monastery are being explained

- the unusual historical background and development of this benediction monastery is being layed out before the eyes of the reader

- the multitude of excavations and their results, the historical explorations, as well as an overview of literature and historical studies are being presented

- thoughts and ideas of possible utilisations of the remains of the monastery are being presented and discussed

1000th Anniversary Celebration of the Abbey

At the celebration of the 1000th anniversary on 20th June 2003, Professor Dr. Wolfgang Böhmer, prime minister of Sachsen-Anhalt, thanked the Foundation for their valuable work in saving Ilsenburg Abbey. He emphasised that, particularly in these times of limited public finances, this kind of commitment was essential. He said that the Foundation, created in 2000 by Maria Princess of Stolberg-Wernigerode, was a model of innovation in that it was the first foundation under private law in Sachsen-Anhalt to have a cultural objective.

Thanks to unrelenting advertising of the “mediaeval gem”, it had been possible to involve private sponsors and the Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz [German Foundation for the Protection of Monuments] in the reconstruction of the abbey. The State contributed financially, mainly through the special “Dach und Fach” [Roof and Framework] programme, which supported important local or regional architectural monuments, primarily in the provinces of the new Federal States.

Father Athanasius, Abbot of Huysburg Benedictine Abbey, talking to the Prior of Bursfelde Monastery, Professor Dr. theol. Joachim Ringleben, during the 1000th anniversary celebration

Maria Princess of Stolberg-Wernigerode, receiving a Tourismusverband Sachsen-Anhalt e.V. [Sachsen-Anhalt Tourist Association] medal, on 26th April in Memleben, in recognition of her work with the Ilsenburg Abbey Foundation