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About this place
Wonnenstein Monastery (Kloster Wonnenstein) in Niederteufen is a former Capuchin convent of Franciscan tertiary sisters in the municipality of Teufen, canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Switzerland. Dedicated to Mary, the complex stands in the hills above the Sitter valley a few kilometres from St. Gallen and is listed among Switzerland's cultural properties of national importance.
Which canton is it actually in?
Wonnenstein has an unusual legal status. It sits inside Teufen, in Ausserrhoden, yet the ground within the convent walls belongs to the neighbouring canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden, making it an exclave. The question of who owned it dragged on after Appenzell split in 1597. A federal decision in 1870 settled it: land inside the walls went to Innerrhoden, the surrounding farmland stayed with Ausserrhoden. Some databases therefore list it under Schlatt-Haslen, though on the ground you are in the Niederteufen area.
What is its history?
The story begins with a community of Beguines in the 13th century. Around 1379 to 1381, Abbot Kuno von Stoffeln of St. Gallen gave a group of devout women a farmstead, usually taken as the convent's founding. In the 15th century the sisters were under the Upper German Conventual Franciscans, and the Reformation briefly cost them their home.
The turning point came in 1596, when Anna Wäspi of Jonschwil, sent from Pfanneregg convent near Wattwil, became superior and introduced the Pfanneregg reform, bringing Capuchin influence with it. The 17th century was Wonnenstein's high point economically and culturally. It had 21 sisters in 1616, 47 in 1938 and 11 in 2000. No new sisters joined after 1964. Wonnenstein also served as mother house of Jakobsbad convent, founded in 1851, and since 1958 it has belonged to the St. Clare Federation of Capuchin nuns.
What is there today?
The community shrank steadily until a single sister remained in recent years. Since 2014 the association Kloster Maria Rosengarten Wonnenstein has been the convent's successor. In 2023 the Appenzell Innerrhoden government published a statement on the site's future, explaining the change of legal form in view of the approaching end of the community.
How do you get there?
From St. Gallen, take the Appenzeller Bahnen line towards Appenzell to Teufen or Niederteufen, then walk a short way along rural roads. By car, follow the road from St. Gallen through Teufen.
Who is it for?
Wonnenstein suits visitors interested in religious and regional history of Appenzell, convent architecture and the rolling landscape of the Appenzellerland. It pairs well with a walk around Teufen and a visit to St. Gallen and its abbey district.
Frequently asked questions
Which canton is Wonnenstein in? Physically in Teufen, canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden, but the land within the walls belongs to Appenzell Innerrhoden.
Who founded the convent? It grew out of a 13th-century Beguine community. Around 1379 Abbot Kuno von Stoffeln of St. Gallen gave it a homestead. The Capuchin character stems from the reform of 1596.
Do sisters still live there? Numbers fell from 47 in 1938 to a single sister in recent years. Since 2014 the association Kloster Maria Rosengarten Wonnenstein has looked after the site.
What order is it, and to whom is it dedicated? It is a Capuchin convent of the Third Order of St. Francis, dedicated to Mary.
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