Marienborn

Marienborn
Location of Marienborn
Marienborn
Marienborn
Coordinates: 52°12′N 11°7′E / 52.200°N 11.117°E / 52.200; 11.117
CountryGermany
StateSaxony-Anhalt
DistrictBörde
MunicipalitySommersdorf
Area
  Total
9.98 km2 (3.85 sq mi)
Elevation
154 m (505 ft)
Population
 (2006-12-31)
  Total
511
  Density51/km2 (130/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
  Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
39365
Dialling codes039400
Vehicle registrationBK

Marienborn is a village and a former municipality in the Börde district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it has been part of the municipality of Sommersdorf. It is about 27 km (17 mi) southwest of Haldensleben. The historic pilgrimage centre near the former inner German border is known for the preserved Helmstedt-Marienborn border crossing, now a memorial site.

In 1191 Wichmann von Seeburg, then Archbishop of Magdeburg, established an asylum at the site of an apparition of the Virgin Mary and a spring (Born) with healing waters, which during the 13th century evolved into a monastery for Augustinian nuns. The sisters of Marienborn abbey left a monastery church and cloister with foundations from about 1200, while the pilgrimage chapel at the spring is a replica dating from the 19th century.