Ripon as the Liberty of Ripon and it was during this time that a grand Collegiate Church was built on top of the ruins of Wilfrid's building. Eventually developed in the Gothic style, the project owed much to the work of Roger de Pont L'Evêque and Walter de Gray, two Archbishops of York during the Plantagenet era. During the 12th century Ripon built up a booming wool trade, attracting Italian trade merchants, especially Florentines, who bought and exported large quantities. Ripon's proximity to Fountains Abbey, where the Cistercians had a long tradition of sheep farming and owned much grazing land, was
Riddagshausen Abbey for training of preachers, the first in Germany. The religious community and the seminary were dissolved in 1809. The site, now included within the city of Brunswick, in the district of Wabe-Schunter-Beberbach, is now mostly a nature reserve and arboretum. The nature reserve "Riddagshäuser Teiche" is designated as Important Bird Area and Special Protection Area. The surviving buildings include the abbey church and the gate house, now home of the Cistercian Museum Riddagshausen Abbey Riddagshausen Abbey (Kloster Riddagshausen) was a Cistercian monastery just outside the city of Brunswick in Germany. It was founded as Marienzelle by Ludolf the Wend, a