Lichtenthal Abbey is a Cistercian nunnery founded in 1245 by Margravine Irmengard of Baden, who is buried here. It has been in continuous operation for nearly eight centuries — one of the few medieval foundations in southwestern Germany that survived the Reformation, secularisation, and two world wars without being shut.
The abbey church and the medieval Princes' Chapel (Fürstenkapelle) are open to visitors most days, with the nuns' graves and a small museum of religious art. The whitewashed walls and Cistercian austerity are a quiet counterpoint to the gilded grandeur of the town centre. The walk out from the centre along the Lichtentaler Allee makes the trip; about 45 minutes each way.