Salem Abbey, or Kloster Salem, was a prominent Cistercian monastery in Salem, Baden-Württemberg, about ten miles from Konstanz. In 1134 the knight Guntram von Adelsreute gave an estate to the Cistercian order after hearing a sermon by Bernard of Clairvaux. In 1137 twelve monks arrived from Lucelle Abbey in Alsace, and Abbot Frowin named the house Salem, probably in reference to Jerusalem. In 1155 Emperor Frederick I granted the abbey imperial immediacy.
About 1300 about 300 monks and lay brothers lived there. Construction of the Salem Minster began in 1299, and it was consecrated in 1414. A fire in 1697 destroyed every building except the church.
Napoleon ceded the abbey to the Margraviate of Baden in 1802. Prince Maximilian of Baden and Kurt Hahn founded Schule Schloss Salem on the grounds in 1920. The site is now open for tours.
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