Ilsenburg House

In the future it is intended to make use of the house, together with the surviving, medieval cloisters (Klausurgebäude) of the monastery, as an art and cultural centre with overnight accommodation as well as a restaurant open to the public.

During the 30 Years' War the castle of Wernigerode, occupied by Henry Ernest, had fallen into such a state, that he moved his court to Ilsenburg in September 1648.

The high altar, pulpit and the baptismal angel (Taufengel) are examples of fine baroque wood carving and still demonstrate today the skill of the master craftsman who made them.

In 1929 Prince Christian Ernest rented the house, the remains of the former cloisters and the adjacent park for 30 years to the Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union.

That same year the Old Prussian Evangelical Supreme Ecclesiastical Council (Evangelischer Oberkirchenrat, EOK) established a convalescent home for church workers in several of the rooms.

From 1974 to 1990 a convalescent home was established in the building for employees of the Ministry for Rural Affairs and Food (Ministerium für Land- und Nahrungsgüterwirtschaft).