Founded in 1258 as a dominican nunnery convent by the Imperial master cook Lupold of Nordenberg. Given to the order as a monastery for noble ladies and the buildings forming a seperate area within the city walls, there were quarrels with the city administration troughout the whole Middle Ages. In 1399, the great Rothenburg major Heinrich Toppler gained control over the reluctant nuns. In 1554, the monastery died out and the vast possessions of the ladies fell to the city.
Innenhof

In the following centuries the monastery buildings decayed more and more until, eventually, the church was even torn down in 1813. Unfortunately, an altarpiece carved by the famous sculptor Tilman Riemenschneider disappeared during this period. Since 1936 it`s the Imperial City Museum and it houses the municipal collections as well as the possessions of the Verein Alt-Rothenburg.

 
Fenster
The history of construction is difficult. The oldest parts are situated in the northern cloister, whereas the other cloister branches date from the 14th and 15th centuries. The construction era of the prioress Magdalena vom Rein (c. 1480 - 1500) left a lot of traces in the whole building: the dormitory, the western cloister and a lot of renovations. The last ,monasterial construction campaign formed the so-called "Prioratsbau" (house of the prioress). Furthermore, some inscriptions and the beautiful decorated celebration room indicate activities in the first half of the 18th century, but the reason therefore is still unknown. From 1803-1936 bavarian officials used the buildings as a tax office; these rooms were now used as a picture gallery. In 1980, the southern branch of the cloister was reconstructed to close the tour through our museum.
   
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