Monastic landscapes<\/h1><\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/div>The Cistercians as landscape designers<\/strong><\/p>\nThe Cistercian order has left its mark on the landscape since the Middle Ages. From Burgundy, the Cistercians settled all over Europe, building monasteries in the solitude of marshy valleys, cultivating and settling land. Cistercian monastic landscapes have typical characteristics throughout Europe. They are a common European heritage: <\/p>\n
\n- Sophisticated hydraulic engineering<\/strong> for supplying and disposing of the monastery and for generating energy (wells, kitchens, latrines, breweries, mills)<\/li>\n
- Extensive pond farming<\/strong> to supply fish during the fasting periods<\/li>\n
- Granges<\/strong>, specialized farmsteads with correspondingly large plots of land for agriculture and livestock breeding as the economic basis of the monastery economy<\/li>\n
- Large forests<\/strong> for construction and firewood supply<\/li>\n
- Viticulture<\/strong> for religious purposes, but also for trade<\/li>\n
- Fruit and hop growing<\/strong><\/li>\n
- City courtyards<\/strong> as marketing locations for the surpluses<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>
The Cistercians as landscape designers<\/strong><\/p>\n The Cistercian order has left its mark on the landscape since the Middle Ages. From Burgundy, the Cistercians settled all over Europe, building monasteries in the solitude of marshy valleys, cultivating and settling land. Cistercian monastic landscapes have typical characteristics throughout Europe. They are a common European heritage: <\/p>\n\n