Ilanz, Graubünden, Switzerland
Kloster Ilanz (Ilanzer Dominikanerinnen)
The mother house of the Ilanz Dominican sisters, a community founded in 1865 that once had more than 500 sisters. The present convent above the town was designed by the Zurich architect Walter Moser, occupied from 1969/70, and is a protected monument with a hall church lit by 15 asymmetrical light shafts.
The sisters' foundation decided in November 2025 to pursue a sale of the whole property, because the aging community can no longer staff or pay for it. They want a buyer who will turn the complex into housing, workspace and meeting space while renting one wing back to the sisters and keeping the church as a place of worship and culture. The foundation wanted to know by the end of 2026 whether a buyer exists.
Before you act. No asking price is published and there is no public listing; inquiries go to the sisters' foundation. The convent is a listed concrete building of 1969 to 1975, not a medieval one, and the sisters hope to rent back a wing as tenants. No buyer had been reported by October 2026, when nine sisters needing care moved to care homes in Disentis and Vella because the convent will not be able to run its own care home in the medium term.
Last checked 9 November 2026. Responsible body: Stiftung der Ilanzer Dominikanerinnen (the sisters' foundation, which is running the sale).
Müstair, Switzerland
A non-denominational foundation set up in 1969 raises the money to restore and maintain the complex, because the convent could not afford to. The foundation says it depends on financial support to care for the heritage, and that current donations go to restoring the wall paintings in the convent church.
Saint-Amour, France
The whole complex is for sale and must be restored from top to bottom; the estate agent describes it as 'à réhabiliter entièrement'. It is the cheapest monastic building found in France: the price of a flat buys a protected 17th-century convent with its cloister and chapel choir. A buyer could return it to religious use or simply keep it standing.