Franciscan monastery um 1970

To revitalise and strengthen the Catholic faith, the first Franciscan monastery in Kempen was established on Burgstraße between 1627 and 1630. The Paterskirche (St. Franciscan Church), which still stands today, was consecrated in 1637.

The foundation of the monastery is owed to Nikolaus Halver, a humble blacksmith, who bequeathed his modest fortune and a small house on Peterstraße to the Franciscans of Venlo in his will.

With the support of Elector Clemens August, the dilapidated monastery was replaced between 1746 and 1748 by the present-day convent building. Though simple in its external appearance, the interior was adorned with exquisite Rococo stucco work.

In 1794, during the French Revolutionary Wars, the monastery was seized and converted into a military hospital. The monks were expelled in 1802.

In the years that followed, the building served a variety of purposes: as an agricultural winter school and grammar school until 1863, and from 1839 to 1910, it also housed a teacher training college.

In 1912, the Municipal Kramer Museum was established on the ground floor. Following further alterations, the upper floors accommodated the tax office and the administrative offices of the Kempen-Krefeld district until 1957.

Since 1986/87, the building has served as the city’s cultural centre: the Kulturforum Franziskanerkloster. Today, it is home to the Municipal Kramer Museum, the Museum of Lower Rhine Sacred Art, the Thomas Archive, and the City Library.