In addition to the secular fortifications of medieval times, there have been some sixteen monastery foundations in the Waldecker Land since the 12th century. These and the churches created a spiritual-cultural and economic basis for the clerical sovereignty and today monasteries and churches bear witness to a brilliant past. Touristic highlights are Kloster Haina, because it is one of the best preserved witnesses of a Cistercian Gothic building in Germany, the first Waldeck monastery foundation in Netze, with the Netzer altar as one of the most significant examples of German iconography, and the former Cistercian monastery in Frankenberg.

This simple baroque building with classical elements was built between 1735 and 1787 according to the plans of Julius Ludwig Rothweil. The richly decorated organ loft with the town coat of arms comes from the court sculpture Marcus Christoph Krau (1782). The Kassel court stucco maker, Joh. Michael Brühl, made the rococo stucco on the ceiling vaults (1776).

Phone +49 (0) 5691 / 801240

The gothic hall church with the crooked church tower is the symbol of Mengeringhausen. It was renovated in 2004. The carved baroque altar, the Renaissance chancel, the sandstone epitaphs and the Vogt organ from 1850 can all be viewed.
Phone +49 (0) 5691 / 801240

The foundation stone for the current church in Helsen was laid on 10 May 1653. The church was originally the court church for Waldeck and Pyrmont until in 1752 the Arolsen town church took over this function. Today the Waldeck coat of arms above the resonance plate of the pulpit reminds visitors of this function, as does the large, original pulpit altar.
Phone +49 (0) 5691 / 801240

Typical of a church in the Waldeck region, this church shows the connection between two building construction traditions. The Hessian influence – particularly influenced by the Elisabeth Church in Marburg – can be seen in the deep chancel, the Westphalian influence shows itself in the round columns and quadratic scheme of the nave.
Phone +49 (0) 5621 / 96567 41

Right on the hiking trails, the impressive double towers of the monastery from the 12th century remind us of days long gone. Guided tours: www.kloster-flechtdorf.de.
Phone +49 (0) 5633 / 91124

The St. John’s church in Adorf is the largest and most important Romanesque church in the region. The church was built in the second half of the 12th century and has a heavy west tower with a dome shaped roof.
Tel. 05633 / 248

This church dedicated to Our Lady in Frankenberg has three naves and was built in 1268 in the Gothic style according to the example of the Elisabeth Church in Marburg.
Phone +49 (0) 6451 / 717672

Today an administrative centre and district museum.
In the museum visitors will find, along with examples of sacred art, also items from past rural and city life.
Phone +49 (0) 6451 / 743672

On the grounds of the centre for social psychiatry in Haina, Germany’s best preserved Cistercian monastery with its rich stained-glass ornamentation can be viewed. The psychiatric museum and the Stammforderscher Garten, an English landscape park, are also part of the monastery.
Phone +49 (0) 6456 / 245

In the middle of the old centre of Korbach’s, above the old market square, the Kilian’s Church is situated. This is a Gothic hall church with three naves, the one in the centre covering three times three bays, so that this somewhat broader than long church area has the feeling of a centrally planned building. The Westphalian influence is undeniable, in particular when one considers the model of the Wiesenkirche in Soest.
Phone +49 (0) 5631 / 53232