Wienhausen is a village on the River Aller, a few kilometres from Celle, and it has something remarkable behind its walls: a medieval convent that never really stopped being a convent. Kloster Wienhausen was founded in the thirteenth century as a Cistercian nunnery, and when the Reformation arrived in the sixteenth, it turned Lutheran but carried on as a community of women. A group of Protestant sisters still lives there today. The brick Gothic buildings, with their stepped gables and cloister, are among the best preserved of their kind in northern Germany.
What makes the abbey famous is its textile collection. Inside are medieval embroideries and tapestries, some of them very large and very old, that survived because the nuns never threw anything away. They show scenes of saints, legends and daily devotion, and some are among the oldest of their type in Germany. Because they are fragile, they are displayed only at limited times, and the abbey is generally open for guided visits in the warmer months, so check hours before you go. The garden and the cloister, in summer, are extremely peaceful.
The road to the abbey is a country lane through fields and woods, along the Aller, with a flat landscape of meadows, pine and birch, with a few half-timbered farmhouses. It is easy, slow riding, best done on a quiet weekday morning, when you might pass only a tractor or a cyclist. The Aller is a lazy river here, with willows and herons, and in spring the meadows flood. A stop at the abbey is a chance to leave the engine silent and listen to the birds.
Wienhausen is small, with about four thousand people, so services are modest. Celle, a larger and beautiful town of half-timbered houses a short ride away, has fuel, restaurants and hotels, and is the sensible place to eat. Near the abbey, there may be a cafe or two, though opening hours vary. Respect the quiet of the place; it is a living community, not just a museum, and helmets and loud boots are best left at the gate. It is a gentle, reflective stop on a ride.