Corvey Abbey
Schloss Corvey
A former imperial abbey on the Weser River; its Carolingian Westwork is a World Heritage Site, and the complex now houses a Baroque palace and library.
Corvey Abbey stands on the Weser River on the eastern outskirts of Höxter in North Rhine-Westphalia. Founded in 822, it was one of the few imperial abbeys of the Holy Roman Empire with territorial sovereignty. It was secularised in 1803 and converted into a palace. The highlight is the Westwerk, the western tower built in the late 9th century, one of the very few surviving Carolingian buildings, with traces of murals inside. Together with the Corvey Civitas archaeological site, it was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 2014. The palace section includes a Baroque abbey church, a museum and a Ratibor Library with about 74,000 volumes. Hoffmann von Fallersleben, the lyricist of the German national anthem, once worked here as librarian and is buried on the grounds. During the open season, hours are 10:00–18:00 daily, with last entry at 17:00. Tickets for the Westwerk and church cost about 5 euros, and a combined ticket including the museum and library costs about 14 euros. The audiovisual show in the Westwerk requires joining a guided tour, and public guided tours run daily at 15:00. The abbey is about an hour's drive from Kassel and can be combined with Höxter's old town and the small towns along the Weser Valley.
Opening hours
Open season approx. late March–early November, 10:00 am–6:00 pm; closed in winter
Nearby sights
- Tierpark Sababurg
- Sababurg (Sleeping Beauty Castle)
- Schloss Wilhelmsthal
- Hann. Münden Old Town
- Hercules Monument & Cascades
- Wilhelmshöhe Palace & Old Masters Gallery
- Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe Water Features
- Löwenburg