History of the abbey

The Cistercian convent in Marianowo was founded in November 1248 by the Prince of Szczecin, Barnim I and four families of knights von Osten, von Borck, von Jerichow and Regedanz.
The newly founded cloister became the cloister of the Blessed Virgin and All Saints.
It is not known where the convent came from. It is assumed that it was probably from Banbergia or Zehdenick in Brandenburg what may be confirmed by the fact that their parent cloister was in Lehnin. It is not out of question that the convent came from Szczecin where in 1243 Prince Barnim established the nuns from Cistercian Order.
The foundation act was written out in Pyrzyc. Generally speaking, it may be said that the endowment was relatively generous and included lands where the nuns founded threee villages: Wiechowo, Lutkowo, Białą Ińską.
The properties of the convent were from Chociwlo and Ińsk to Stargard. Apart from the grants of lands they gained numerous privileges, among many, judicial, fishery, and an exemption from taxes. They were also given a free hand to administer their lands. They could sell, lease, or exchange depending on their needs.
Prince Barnin I allowed the potential subjects and settlers not to give tribute or serve, but for the defense of the country. The convent got higher and lower judiciary with its own chairs of the village council.
The endowment they had allowed them to erect church and cloistral buildings which were finished until 1265.
In 1349 Brandenburgian margrave, Ludwik, handed them over a village of Brzeziny, Prince Warcisław in 1390 gave them part of Gogolewo village, and in 1393 Hasso von Wedel of Krępcew gave them the patronage over the church in Gogolewo. He also bought 14 farmsteads with lands and then gave them as dowry when his daughter joined the convent.
Having such significant income, the convent of Marianowo had more and more members and its nuns were the representatives of the best knight's families in Pomerania. Each novitiate was coming with a dowry of money, farmstead or a part of a village. They had some income from grants, leases, and endowments, as well as from the patronage over the churches in Wiechów, Lutków and Gogolewo.
Due to the numerous privileges the nun were obliged to perform some services, e.g. they had to provide the Bishop of Kamieniec with 30 pair of thread gloves and two barrels of beer, fruit, crops, and poultry. They had to give certain number of tablecloth and bedspread. However, during the wartime they had more responsibilities, for example, they had to give armoured car with six horses and equip six warriors.
The time devoted to work concentrated on farming plants in gardens, medicinal herbs, vegetables and flowers. They also sewed and embroidered liturgical vestments, for their own church as well as for other ones, thread gloves, tablecloths, headgear for bishop and habits and scapulars defined in the observance.
Surely, there was a scriptorium at the cloister, where they copied and illuminated books. The nuns also run a sort of educational institution for girls from the noble families.
The end of the convent came due to the Reformation. The cloister was liquidated; its properties were handed over to the Treasury after the death of the last nun.
In 1535 a special commission made an inventory in order to list all convent's properties and to prepare the convent for secularization. Some knights' families, e.g. Wedel family, opposed to this. They made the prince set up an institution for lonely women in the place of the cloister and it was opened in 1541. There was very strict discipline similar to the monastic observance.
From the previous cloistral properties a domain was created which role was to make provision for school girls (in 1571 it was 10 villages, income from taverns, forges and mills). The previous convent was functioning in this form, with some modifications of the rules and principles until 1944 when it was supervised by the Wedel family.

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Today of the abbey
Post-cloistral complex in Marianowo is the best preserved Cistercian nuns object in Western Pomerania.

CLOISTER

There is only western wing and some relics of the eastern wing that have survived until these days. Now, the western wing is the office of Parish of Immaculate Conception

POST-CISTERCIAN CHURCH

The Parish of Immaculate Conception is from the 2nd half of the 13th century. The interior is decorated with high altar, pulpit from 1727, and baroque wooden epitaph. The most valuable is Crucifix from the 13th century which is now kept in the National Museum in Poznań.

Contact:
Parafia Niepokalanego Poczęcia Najświętszej Maryi Panny
ul. Sydonii 3
73-121 Marianowo,
tel : 0048 91 561-38-80

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