Discover Haina (Kloster)

Haina (Kloster) lies in Kellerwald Nature Park, between Lake Edersee, Marburg and Bad Wildungen. The Cistercian abbey, an English landscape garden and hiking trails give the village its distinct character: depending on your interests, you can focus on cultural history, traces of the Tischbein family or outdoor activities.

The monastery complex and traces of the Tischbein family

Haina Monastery is one of Germany’s best-preserved and most significant medieval monastery complexes from an art-historical perspective. The Cistercian abbey includes an early Gothic hall church, a cloister and historic monastic rooms. Architecture and monastic history together define its cultural character.

One special feature is the monastery’s bronze hare bell. It was probably cast between 1227 and 1230, during the monastery’s founding period. The birthplace of painter Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein (1751–1829) has also been preserved beside the monastery wall. In a side room of the cloister, the Friends of Haina Monastery association presents an exhibition on the work of the Tischbein artistic dynasty, which changes annually.

Garden and hiking trails

In 1789, Friedrich von Stamford began creating an English landscape garden around the former Haina Monastery. A five-kilometre hiking trail through Stamford’s Garden passes several viewpoints and an avenue of trees. The garden and its route therefore offer a distinct experience alongside the monastery’s architecture.

Another hiking option is the Kellerwaldsteig. In Haina, due to construction of a new Vitos Clinic building, it goes around the new building via an orchard meadow and the Old Cemetery. Check the current trail signs before setting out. Stamford’s Garden and the Tischbein Trail are accessible year-round; sturdy footwear is recommended for both.

Forest, water and monastic history

Much of the extensive woodland belonging to the former abbey has been preserved. In 1533, Landgrave Philipp converted it into endowed forests. The former uses of the monastery complex can also be seen at Steinklippe, where the Cistercians quarried greywacke, which was used in the monastery church. A pond lies on the valley floor, where they farmed fish. The forest, building history and fish farming thus offer different traces of the monastery’s history.

Regional perspective and planning your visit

In the wider Waldeck-Frankenberg travel region, the ancient beech forests of Kellerwald-Edersee National Park have been a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site since 2011. Another hiking option in the wider Waldeck-Frankenberg travel region is the 66-kilometre Urwaldsteig Edersee trail. It can be hiked in eight stages or as part of a three-day ranger-led hike, with each stage covering around 22 kilometres. The trail lengths offer different scales for planning: five kilometres in Stamford’s Garden or 66 kilometres in total on the Urwaldsteig.

The Psychiatry Museum in the former parlatorium of Haina Monastery is closed until further notice for renovation work. Check its current status before visiting.

Discover more destinations

Battenhausen, Battenberg, Burgwald, Twistetal, Allendorf, Frankenau, Korbach, Lichtenfels

Return to the wider travel overview: Waldeck-Frankenberg.