Jerichow

Jerichow lies in the lowlands east of the Elbe, where a Premonstratensian foundation was confirmed by King Conrad III in 1144. Canons from Magdeburg first settled near the market, but moved in 1148 to a quieter site. There they built a Romanesque basilica and convent buildings from locally made brick, a striking choice in a region with little natural building stone. The monastery became caught between the competing claims of the archbishops of Magdeburg and the margraves of Brandenburg. Its twin-towered church and cloister endured as witnesses to the spread of brick building across northern Germany. During the Lutheran Reformation the community was dissolved in 1552, ending more than four centuries of monastic life at Jerichow.