When I reached the small town of Maulbronn around 11 AM, the sky was dark and cloudy with shower rain, and I heard the sound of roaring thunder nearby, a bad day for sightseeing and no surprising I was the only visitor to this World Heritage Site of Maulbronn Monastery. I really impressed with the complex when I first saw it, it was almost like a small walled separate village inside the town of Maulbronn with rows of beautiful half-timbered buildings that normally located in German historic town center. The monastery itself was the largest building with interesting mix of Romanesque and Gothic. After I bought the ticket from visitor center, I walked pass the square with fountain to the entrance of the monastery.

The first thing I saw inside was the cloister with big beautiful blooming magnolia tree, such a beautiful sight, the magnolia enhanced the whole cloister to be very dreamy especially around the fountain house. The fainted pink wall paintings on the ceiling of fountain house resonated the blooming pink flowers. Maulbronn welcomed me with a striking view. Then I went inside the Romanesque church, it was very dark, I hardly saw the details of beautiful ceiling and choir. Maybe I misunderstood in something, I initially thought that the Cistercian monastery should be plain and austere, but at Maulbronn there were many walls and ceiling painting and colorful brick which really made the complex lively than I expected. Most of the other parts of the complex surrounded the cloister were just empty halls, and most of them were under renovation. After I saw all the thing that still opened, I heard the sound of thunder again, so I decided to go outside and took some photos, and when I reached my car, the heavy rain started.

I quite enjoyed my trip at Maulbronn despite its small size and I spent only 1 hour in this place. The complex’s architecture and surrounding were beautiful, and that blooming magnolia tree was amazing. To be honest this monastery could not be compared with those grand monasteries in Italy or Iberia peninsular. I think I need to visit other Cistercian monasteries in order to under its outstanding and why it was listed by UNESCO. But with current knowledge Maulbronn exceeded my expectation and is a really nice World Heritage Site.