„The incomparable precious Charterhouse“

Travel reports of the 18th century praised the Carthusian monastery in Mainz as an "incomparably precious Carthaus", whose visit was one of the highlights of every trip to the Rhine at that time. In 1781, however, the monastery was secularized and left to be demolished. The special exhibition presents the history and splendor of the oldest German Carthusian monastery.

The order, founded in 1084 by St. Bruno near Grenoble, has one of the strictest monastic rules of all. This obligates its members to comprehensive silence and a life of complete seclusion. The Carthusians founded their first settlement on German soil in 1320 in a side valley of the Rheingau, but only three years later they moved to the gates of Mainz.

Thus, 2023 marks the 700th anniversary of the establishment of the Charterhouse of St. Michael. Historical views present the location and exterior of the extensive monastery complex. The focus, however, is on its overwhelming furnishings with magnificent altars, the once so rich church treasure and, last but not least, a valuable monastery library.