It is an unusual real estate offer: A property of more than 136,000 square meters (34 acres), including 11,664 square meters (125,550 square feet) of living space, and 130 rooms. The Benedictine nuns from St. Erentraud's Abbey near Kellenried in the south of the state of Baden-Württemberg, between Lake Constance and Ulm, are looking for someone to buy their convent. Price: Just under €5 million ($5.9 million).

Sister Eva-Maria confirms the fact on the telephone but apologetically declines to give details. "At the moment, we're not saying much about it," she says. The convent has a welcoming and informative website, with one main photo showing far more sisters than the dozen or so living there today. In 2018, there were still 19 nuns at the convent.

The first ones came there in 1924, and the convent was officially founded two years after that. Now, the description of the simple 100-year anniversary celebration in 2024 can be found on the same page as the announcement that the recently renovated guest wing has closed. According to expert estimates, even the sale of the large buildings will not bring in any great profit for the order, as building suitable accommodation for the remaining nuns will be expensive.

The intended sale of the Kellenried convent attracts notice because of its advertisement with a commercial agent who is specialized in such properties. But it is not the only one of its kind. Every year, dozens of monasteries and convents in Germany, both large and small, are being closed down. According to figures from the German Conference of Superiors of Religious Orders (DOK), which represents Catholic orders in Germany, the number of convents in Germany fell from 1,627 to 964 in the 10 years between 2012 and 2022. The number of monasteries fell from 461 to 385 in the same time period.

Traditionally, there have always been more nuns and convents than monks and monasteries in Germany, not least because in the Catholic Church,........

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