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1229 Foundation of the convent in the grounds of Mansfeld castle;
1258 The convent is moved to the village of Helfta near Eisleben in Thuringia;
1342 Destruction of the buildings and devastation of the grounds by Duke Albrecht
Albrecht of Brunswick;
1343 The convent (New-Helfta) is rebuilt within the town wall of Eisleben;
(1483 - 1546) Martin Luther, rebell and reformer was born and died in Eisleben.
1525 During the peasant uprising and the course of Reformation New Helfta again falls victim to destruction. A few nuns try to re-establish monastic life among the ruins of the original convent buildings at Helfta until
1542 Helfta is secularised and the land is administered by local landlords; it falls into disrepair;
1712 all farmland passes into the hands of the Prussian government and is turned into a State farm;
1950 The land is returned to the people of the GDR and becomes a communally administered fruit farm. The ruined convent-buildings and the remains of the church are being used as stables and garages;
1994 all buildings and about 30 acres are bought by the re-established diocese of Magdeburg, the sale was financed entirely by donations from Western and Eastern German catholics collected by »Friends of Helfta«;
1998 Restoration work, archeological excavations and rebuilding of the convent of Helfta begin;
1999 Cistercian Nuns from Seligenthal, Bavaria move into the new convent.
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Church windows
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