Description of the attraction
Three kilometers west of the center of Ulm, in 1258, Count Dillingen founded a nunnery of the same name in the former suburban village of Söflinger. Since its inception, Söflingen has been the largest and most influential abbey of the Clarissa order. This women's monastic order, founded by Saint Clara of Assisi, was under the special patronage of the popes and received significant privileges, such as exemption from taxes. The charter of the order was quite strict: prayer, poverty and seclusion. The buildings of the Söflingen monastery at that time fully corresponded to these principles: strict lines, no frills and decorations.
The history of the Clarissa Order has seen ups and downs, persecution and patronage, schisms and reformation. All this was reflected in the situation of the Ulm monastery. It suffered especially as a result of the Thirty Years War: Söflingen was almost completely destroyed, and the nuns took refuge behind the walls of Ulm. After the end of the war in 1648, large-scale construction began in the monastery. At the same time, the only building that has survived to this day was erected - the monastery church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. The early Baroque exterior of the church has remained unchanged, and the interior, with the exception of the main altar, was changed in 1821.
In 1803, Söflingen monastery was disbanded, and a field hospital was organized on its territory. And by 1818, all the monastery buildings with the exception of the church were demolished.
