Her journey takes her, among other places, to Tholey Abbey, where stained-glass windows by Gerhard Richter and the artist Mahbuba Maqsoodi bring contemporary art to centuries-old walls. She visits the former Seeon Monastery, which today brings people together as a successful conference hotel, and Hornbach Monastery, which has been transformed into an innovative family hotel. At Eberbach Abbey, known for its viticulture and as the setting for The Name of the Rose, cultural history and the present come together. At Chorin Monastery, a lost monastic culture is brought back to life both digitally and analog, while at Lüne Monastery, a Protestant women’s community cares for extraordinary art treasures.

 Felicitas von Aretin is a German historian, journalist, and nonfiction author. She studied modern and contemporary history, art history, and public law, and earned her doctorate in modern history from the European University Institute in Florence.

 After earning her doctorate, she worked as a journalist for publications including the *Tagesspiegel*, *Die Welt*, and the *Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung*. She later held leadership positions in science communication, including at Freie Universität Berlin, the Max Planck Society, and the German Youth Institute in Munich.

Hardcover book, 49,90 €; eBook, €34.90

Experience the World of Monasteries (Excerpt)

Felicitas von Aretin

A thought-provoking, richly illustrated table book about the "philosophy of the good life" and probably the most unusual book ever written about a theme park.

The search for the good life occupies us all. Sometimes it is so deeply hidden in the demands of everyday life that we simply cannot find it, sometimes it seems to be completely lost from view due to crises. In this book, the habilitated historian and essayist Stefan Lindl has embarked on an unusual journey in search of the good life.

In the Europa-Park he discovers a world that remains hidden from most visitors. The book is the richly illustrated story of this wondrous journey of voyage of discovery full of hedonism and holiness, baroque existence and paradisiacal revolution, full of catharsis and stairways to heaven.

In the park, Stefan Lindl encounters the deeper layers of our reality and ultimately also the secret of the good life.

Hardcover book, 49,90 €; eBook, 44,90 €

The Park Reading sample

In the 14 hand-picked portraits of historic buildings, the two authors explore essential questions of architectural heritage: What does it mean to preserve a monument today?

What does it take to preserve these buildings for future generations? A real reading experience with authentic portraits on 256 pages and more than 300 photos, some previously unpublished.

Experience the audible interviews and accompanying videos directly while reading via QR codes - an invitation to discover history authentically, up close and in a completely new multimedia way.

Houses in this book: Dölitz Manor, Grünow Manor, Below Manor, Hollander Manor, Udars Manor, Kannawurf Castle, Schönberg Castle, Hohenburg Manor, Irmelshausen moated castle - part of Bibra, Hundisburg Castle, Augustusburg Castle, Weissenstein Castle, New Palace, Hohenzollern Castle

Hardcover book, 240 pages, format 21 x 26.5 cm, 49,90 € 
eBook, 44,90 €