In the year 1235 Count Henry III of Sayn and his wife Mechthildis von Landsberg gave to the Cistercian nuns the land necessary for the founding of a nunnery in Drolshagen. In 1844 the city of Drolshagen acquired the nunnery for 4,250 thalers. The foundation included the expansion of the church as a common nunnery and parish church. The nunnery was primarily reserved for the nobility. Daughters of Sauerland and Rhineland genders were admitted.
After the Reformation the number of nuns was reduced to four in the late 16th century, so that the choral service could no longer be 'properly' performed. The retreat was handled carelessly, the religious costume spurned. But at the beginning of the turmoil of the Thirty Years' War, in which the convent temporarily sought refuge in Cologne, the moral decline of the nunnery came to an end.
A sad chapter in the history of the nunnery was the economic decline caused by poor management and waste in the 18th century. The secularization of 1803 that led to the dissolution of the spiritual possessions was therefore not regretted by the remaining nuns. The small convent willingly left the nunnery for sale. The altered building was bought by Theodor Alterauge, a citizen of Drolshagen. The city acquired the nunnery building, which had not been demolished in 1844 and was intact at the time, for 4,250 thaler. The rooms were used as a school. The building, which was completely renovated in 1987, now houses the municipal building office and the music school. The vaulted cellar serves a variety of uses: art exhibitions as well as wedding ceremonies and events at the VHS. In the attic there is a often used music hall.
From the former property of the nunnery you can still see the "Eichener Mühle" as a former ban mill and the oldest house in the city on the corner of Hagener Street and Gräfin-Sayn-Street. Particularly worth seeing is the Romanesque basilica of St. Clemens with remains of paintings from the transition period from the 10th to the 11th century.
Visible only from the outside - vaulted cellar open for exhibitions during the holidays
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