Thesinge

Thesinge is a village in the municipality of Ten Boer, in the province of Groningen, with according to the CBS 450 inhabitants and according to the municipality about 700 inhabitants.
Thesinge originated as a peat reclamation village in the Central Wold area. The first inhabitants settled in the eleventh or twelfth century on a low mound, which was raised to counteract the effects of subsidence due to the shrinking of the peat. At this mound, the Benedictine monastery Germania was founded at the end of the twelfth century. The name probably refers to the parish of Garmerwolde, from which the village area of Thesinge was split off.

The monastery church of Thesinge is the remnant of a large monastery complex Germania in the place Thesinge in the Dutch province of Groningen.
The church originally formed part of the monastery Germania. This monastery was a so-called double monastery: a monastery for men and a monastery for women. The monastery was built at the end of the 12th century by Benedictine monks on the site of an already existing village. The monastery is built on a low mound and founded on piles. Since the surrounding peat has subsided and decayed due to erosion, the church stands higher than the surrounding area. The patron saint of the monastery and church was Saint Felicitas with her seven sons. The monastery had a significant land ownership of about 1400 hectares in various places in Groningen. The monks engaged in land reclamation and water management. They also adjudicated conflicts. The monastery owned its own writing workshop where books were written. It was one of the two monasteries with such a workshop in the province of Groningen. The current church belonged to the monastery and was founded around 1250. The monastery buildings were temporarily abandoned and partially destroyed between 1584 and 1594, but were then taken back into use. The last nuns died shortly after 1627. The monastery church was partially demolished in 1786. The choir was lowered and is the only remnant of the entire complex.

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