Gehrden Monastery

Gehrden Abbey is a former Benedictine abbey in Brakel-Gehrden in the district of Höxter in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The former monastery church has the largest historic bell ringing in Westphalia.
The history of the founding of the monastery is obscured by later forgeries of documents, especially the alleged founding document of 1138. The actual foundation took place in 1142 by the Paderborn Bishop Bernhard I of Oesede, who moved the Benedictine convent of St. Maria from the Iburg near Bad Driburg to Gehrden. For the foundation of the monastery, the nobleman Heinrich von Gehrden made his entire estate in Gehrden and neighboring Siddessen available. The monastery subsequently gained property and influence through the entry of numerous members of the regional nobility. In 1173, Werner von Brach and his wife Beatrix donated land to the monastery, the latter leading the monastery as prioress around 1200.

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