In Ihlow, a reconstructed monastery site, a Fehn house and examples of sacred art offer distinct glimpses into history. There is also a pilgrimage route, a network of cycle paths and insights into how the landscape has changed. Which of these themes you want to shape your trip can help guide your choice: visiting a historic site is different from taking a longer route or exploring the history of the landscape.
Ihlow Monastery Site and Pilgrimage Route
The Ihlow Monastery Site is open to visitors free of charge all year round. You can see a partial reconstruction of the former Cistercian abbey, “Schola DeI”. Underground is the “Room of Tracing the Past”: this exhibition space contains archaeological finds from excavations and also serves as a place for spirituality. The reconstructed abbey, the finds and its present-day spiritual purpose are different aspects of the same site. Check the latest visitor information before you travel.
The “Schola Dei” pilgrimage route begins at the monastery site and leads to St. Ludger's Church in Norden. The route is 40 km long in total and has 16 stations. It is therefore a separate travel option from visiting the monastery site: the route extends beyond this individual location and continues to Norden.
Fehn House and Medieval Carving
Grootsche Huus in Ihlowerfehn is an original Fehn house dating from the 18th century. The brick building retains its traditional furnishings in historic rooms. Visitors can also learn about old East Frisian crafts there. The architecture, furnishings and crafts offer different points of access: the house itself bears witness to its era of construction, while the rooms and crafts on display turn the spotlight on traditional ways of life and work.
Another highlight of art history can be found in Bangstede. The church there dates from the 13th century. It still houses the partially preserved body of the suffering Christ on the cross, a carved work considered one of the most important examples of medieval carving in East Frisia. The church thus brings together a medieval building and a specific example of medieval carving.
Landscape History and Routes
The Riepe Silt Museum explores a different historical layer. It explains how the siltation project carried out by the Emden-Riepe Water and Soil Association from 1954 to 1994 changed the landscape of Riepe and Riepsterhammrich. Unlike the monastery site or the church, the focus here is on a 20th-century project and its impact on a specific landscape. Visits are by prior arrangement.
The cycle route network covers more than 220 km. Green-and-white signposts lead through Ihlow and beyond the municipality’s borders. This offers a different scale from visiting a single building: the network extends beyond the municipality, while each of the cultural sites mentioned has its own focus. As the network and signposting can change, check them locally before planning your route.
A Further Attraction in the Wider Aurich Travel Destination
In the wider Aurich travel destination, the Fehntjer Tief Nature Conservation Station works to preserve the natural and cultural landscape of the same name. It serves as an out-of-school learning centre for environmental education and as a place for meeting and public outreach. In spring and summer, students and visitors can experience the plant and bird life of the Fehntjer Tief’s wet meadows on bicycle or walking tours. These seasonal nature experiences give the wider Aurich area a different focus from the architectural and art history of the places described in Ihlow.
The listed Gulfhaus is part of the Nature Conservation Station’s built heritage. It is a typical East Frisian farmhouse dating from 1843. Together, landscape conservation, environmental education and the historic building showcase different facets of the wider Aurich travel destination.
Discover more destinations: Ostersander, Neu Barstede, GroĂźheide, Osteel, Leezdorf, Upgant-Schott, LĂĽtetsburg, Halbemond.
View the wider travel guide: Aurich.
