During a mid-April weekend I decided to head to Sachsen Anhalt and visit a couple of towns and a monastery. My first stop was the town of Osterburg. Once there I left the train station and headed through the old town. I walked along a circular street that trods on what was once the medieval walls that encircled the city and which now features nice villas and houses. After that I reached the main church, St Nikolai, originally built in a Romanesque style during the 12rth century it was rebuilt in the 15th century in a late Gothic style, later refurnished in the 19th century, I found it open so went inside to visit. After the visit, I went through the Kleiner Markt with its Neptune fountain, made in Italy at the beginning of the 20th century. Walking through the rest of town I admired the nice architecture which included picturesque timber-framed buildings. Then heading back to the station I took a short ride and ended up in nearby Seehausen. Known as Hansestadt Seehausen, despite its distance from the Baltic Sea it became a member of the Hanseatic League in 1359 due to its location on the river Aland, a tributary of the Elbe. Its highlight is the church of St Peter, built in a Romanesque style in the 12th century but transformed in the current Gothic style in the mid-15th century and featuring two twin towers reaching a height of 62 meters. Unfortunately, as I approached it I found it closed so I couldn't visit the interior. I continued on through town and reached the northern end of the old town where the Beustertor is located. This 15th-century gate is the only one of five gates of the medieval walls which was not demolished in the 19th century. Right in front of it was the Salzkirche, a church built around 1460 in a brick Gothic style. Heading back through town I admired some nice timber-framed houses and passed by the small main square where the only ice cream shop was located and all the locals converged. Once back at the train station I then took a train to the city of Stendal and once there switched to a bus that took me to the small village of Jerichow. Here I then proceeded to visit the famous Jerichow Monastery, after paying an entry ticket. Included in the entry was an audioguide which through a QR on my phone I was able to listen to while touring the complex. Despite its name and its look, Jerichow was not really a monastery but rather a collegiate church. Founded in 1144 it was then managed by Premonstratensian canons which started the construction of the collegiate church. A three-naved Romanesque basilica was built in 1172 with the addition of a crypt and later a winter rectory and administrative offices. In the following century construction of the summer rectory and the cloister began. The last phase of construction was the addition of the westernmost bay with the 56-meter-high towers and the western façade from 1256 to 1262 in an early Gothic style. As an outstanding example of brick Romanesque architecture, the collegiate church of St. Mary and St. Nicholas is one of the oldest such buildings in northern Germany. The building was also a significant example of a transfer of style from Italy with master craftsmen from there who were involved in the early construction of the complex. I started out by visiting the cloister and then the chapterhouse dating to the end of the 12th century and occupying the eastern wing. Then heading towards the church I admired the beautiful portal of the canons, featuring a rich decoration with vegetable ornaments, representations of animals, and mythical creatures including that of a fox. The fox is disguised with the canon's religious robe while preaching to two geese, depicting the warning of false prophets and preachers. Next up was the interior of the church, a classic simple Romanesque with a 13th-century baptismal font right next to the western main face, large columns separating the three naves, and a raised apse. Below the apse, was the crypt with light grey sandstone pillars with elaborate finely crafted palmette and diamond band decorations some of which with figurative depictions. One of the pillars, the one on the far end, was taken to Magdeburg from the forum in Rome by Emperor Otto I in the 10th century and eventually made its way to Jericho. Next up, back through the cloister I visited two adjoining large rooms, the summer and winter refectories where the monks would have their meals depending on the season. Next to the winter one in fact there was a small room that served as a quite advanced heater that served its purpose well. Both refectories featured nice columns with decorated capitals. From there I then headed out and past the distillery, one of the main features of this and other monasteries. Now it was turned into a small museum detailing the complex's history. Once outside I then admire the complex from afar and from different perspectives getting to the western facade with its twin towers. One last walk through the herb garden, quite typical in German monasteries, I then out of the complex and through the village. Here I then came across the Romanesque town church of St. George, a brick building erected in the 13th century with a half-timbered tower that was added in the 17th century. Next to it is the castle hill, an artificially raised mound that was originally located directly on the Elbe and is now a few hundred meters from it as the Elbe changed its course several times after floods. A tower mound castle was built on the hill in the 12th century, surrounded by a double moat, a circular wall, and ramparts but was destroyed during the Thirty Years' War. In from the castle hill, I then waited for the bus that eventually took me to the town of Genthin. Here, I had some time until my next ride so walked around town exploring a little. However, as it was late everything was already closed and so I only admired the main square and baroque three-nave hall church of Sankt Trinitatis from the outside. Eventually, I headed to the train station and back to Berlin.
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| The church of St Nikolai in Osterburg |
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| The Kleiner Markt |
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| A street in the old town with the church of St Nikolai |
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| The Petrikirche in Seehausen |
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| Another view of the church |
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| The Beustertor |
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| A street in the old town |
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| The Jerichow Monastery |
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| The monastery church |
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| One of the refectories |
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| The view from outside |
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| The monastery seen from its park |
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| View of the church's apse |
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| Jerichow's Stadtkirche |
