Ter Apel Monastery
Ter Apel Monastery (Dutch: Klooster Ter Apel) is a former monastery in the village of Ter Apel in the northeastern Dutch province of Groningen. It is the only monastery in the larger area of Friesland and Groningen that survived the Reformation in a decent condition, and the only remaining rural monastery from the Middle Ages in the Netherlands. The convent buildings house a museum for monastery and church history and for religious art, as well as two contemporary art galleries. The former lay church of the monastery still functions as a reformed church.
Ter Apel Monastery, church and east wing | |
| Monastery information | |
|---|---|
| Order | Canons Regular of the Order of the Holy Cross |
| Established | 1465 |
| Disestablished | 1593 |
| Mother house | Bentlage Priory, Bentlage, Rheine |
| Dedicated to | Novae Domus Lucis |
| Diocese | Roman Catholic Diocese of Osnabrück (until 1593) Roman Catholic Diocese of Groningen-Leeuwarden |
| Site | |
| Location | Ter Apel, Netherlands |
| Coordinates | 52°52′34″N 7°4′28″E |
| Visible remains | East, north, south wings |
| Public access | yes |
The monastery is located in the extreme southeast of the province of Groningen on a forested sand ridge along the ancient trade route from Münster to Groningen. For passing travelers and pilgrims, the monastery was a place of hospitality and dedication. Ter Apel is the last monastery founded in Groningen, and of 34 monasteries in the province it is the only one still recognizable as a convent.