The site Cisterscapes – Cistercian Landscapes Connecting Europe is a transnational site which connects 17 monastic landscapes in Germany, Austria, Czechia, Poland, Slovenia.

The Cistercian monastic Order, derived from the Benedictines and founded in Citeaux (France), in 1098 has spread widely throughout Europe, especially in Central Europe from the Morimond lineage. 

They made major contributions to culture and technology in medieval Europe, funding abbeys in many European countries under the principle of economic self-sufficiency. In Sharing knowledge and practices is part of the Cistercians model as the abbeys established cross-border culture, bringing a common identity and narrative through a “uniform and unifying structure of organisation, economy, and landscape”. 

The Cisterscapes network has, therefore, a historic pan-European nature, contributed to European history and integration and contributed to shaping some of the European values, such as the balance between unity and diversity, and the sustainable use of natural resources.