This is a list of Christian religious houses, both for men and for women, whether or not still in operation, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Most religious houses survived the Reformation, although many nunneries did so by becoming Lutheran collegiate foundations for women of the aristocracy ( Damenstifte ). The great majority were closed however during the secularisation of the Napoleonic period, with the exception of the hospital orders, such as the Alexians and their female equivalents, the Cellite Sisters, the number of whose houses is a notable feature of the Land. Also noteworthy are the small communities of local origin, such as the Olpe Sisters and the Schervier Sisters. Extant religious houses are indicated by bold type.
A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns, or monasteries of monks or nuns. Houses of canons regular and canonesses regular also use this term, the alternative being "canonry".
Independent Augustinian communities are Roman Catholic religious communities that follow the Augustinian Rule, but are not under the jurisdiction of the Prior General of the Augustinian hermits in Rome.
Lamspringe Abbey is a former religious house of the English Benedictines in exile, at Lamspringe near Hildesheim in Germany.