Benediktbeuern Abbey (Kloster Benediktbeuern) is an institute of the

Salesians of Don Bosco The Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB), formally known as the Society of Saint Francis de Sales (), is a religious congregation of men in the Catholic Church, founded in 1859 by the Italian priest John Bosco to help poor and migrant youth during the ...

, originally a monastery of the

Benedictine Order The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly Christian mysticism, contemplative Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), order of the Catholic Church for men and f ...

, in Benediktbeuern in

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

, near the Kochelsee, 64 km south-south-west of

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. It is the oldest and one of the most beautiful monasteries in Upper Bavaria."Benediktbeuern Abbey", Religiana
/ref> It was badly damaged in an extreme weather event in 2023.

First Benedictine foundation

The monastery, dedicated to Saints James and Benedict, was founded in around 739/740 as a Benedictine abbey by members of the Huosi, a Bavarian noble clan, who also provided the three brothers who served one after the other as the first three abbots, traditionally named as Lanfrid, Waldram (or Wulfram), and Eliland, for nearly a century. It is possible that

Saint Boniface Boniface, OSB (born Wynfreth; 675 –5 June 754) was an English Benedictines, Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of Francia during the eighth century. He organised significant foundations of ...

had an involvement in the foundation; he may have consecrated the church (to the holy Trinity), though this is not widely accepted. There was here a school of writing, whose work survives in the form of numerous codices of the 8th and 9th centuries. In 955 the monastery was destroyed by the Hungarians. It was restored in 969 by Wolfold, a priest, as a house of canons.

Second Benedictine foundation

Under the influence of

Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor Conrad II (, – 4 June 1039), also known as and , was the Holy Roman Emperor, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 1027 until his death in 1039. The first of a succession of four Salian dynasty, Salian emperors, who reigned for one century ...

it was rebuilt and in 1031 returned to the Benedictine rule and re-settled by monks from

Tegernsee Abbey Tegernsee Abbey ( German ''Kloster Tegernsee'' or ''Abtei Tegernsee'') is a former Benedictine monastery in the town and district of Tegernsee in Bavaria. Both the abbey and the town that grew up around it are named after the Tegernsee, the lake ...

under the first abbot of the new foundation, Ellinger. Under the second abbot, Gothelm (1032–1062), and the monks Gotschalk and Adalbert the school and scriptorium were re-established. In 1052, Bishop Nitker of Freising, had been granted the abbey by

Emperor Henry III Henry III (, 28 October 1016 – 5 October 1056), called the Black () or the Pious, was Holy Roman Emperor from 1046 until his death in 1056. A member of the Salian dynasty, he was the eldest son of Conrad II and Gisela of Swabia. Henry was rais ...

without the knowledge of abbot Gothelm. In response, the monks, keen to assert their autonomy, chose to do so by documenting the history of their abbey. A monk named Gottschalk took on the task of recording, quickly producing a chronicle, a list of monastic properties, and a record of both benefactors and adversaries. Gotschalk, now abbot, was responsible for the translation of the relics of Saint Anastasia here in 1053, which by making the abbey a place of pilgrimage added substantially to its fame and prosperity; he was also its first historian. In April 1055, the abbey received half a manse in the village of Issing. Along with this gift was presented to the monks a manuscript of Ambrose's commentary on Psalm 118. Benediktbeuern suffered four serious fires, in 1248, 1377, 1378, and 1490, but was prosperous enough to re-build each time. The abbey enjoyed for centuries an extremely high reputation as a place of learning and research. Botanical research and the establishment of a medicinal herb garden in about 1200 are also evidenced. In about 1250 the library covered the whole range of higher education as it then existed. The abbey also excelled at theological, philosophical and scientific studies. In the 1530s, Antonius Funda made considerable advances in the systematic writing of monastic history. In 1611 many of the community died of the plague. During the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

the grammar school was suspended and in 1632 Simon Speer was tortured and put to death by the

Swedes Swedes (), or Swedish people, are an ethnic group native to Sweden, who share a common ancestry, Culture of Sweden, culture, History of Sweden, history, and Swedish language, language. They mostly inhabit Sweden and the other Nordic countries, ...

for refusing to surrender the goods of the abbey.Alston, George Cyprian. "Abbey of Benedictbeurn." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 21 November 2022 From 1681 to 1686 the cloister church was entirely rebuilt in the Baroque style. The school had reopened by 1689, when the study of languages, music, mathematics and botany was especially emphasised. In 1698 the school in the north wing was opened. The library complex dates from 1722. Johann Michael Fischer built the Anastasia Chapel in the Abbey Church of St. Benedikt (1750–1758), considered a jewel of Baroque architecture In 1684 the Bavarian Congregation of Benedictine monasteries was founded by

Pope Innocent XI Pope Innocent XI (; ; 16 May 1611 – 12 August 1689), born Benedetto Odescalchi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 21 September 1676 until his death on 12 August 1689. Political and religious tensions with ...

, to which Benediktbeuern belonged until its dissolution in 1803. In 1700, Benediktbeuern librarian and archivist Karl Meichelbeck (1669–1734) – people called the monk the "

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding i ...

of Bavaria" – used the source-critical method of historiography for the first time in South Germany. He was the author of the ''Historia Frisingensis'' (''"History of the Diocese of Freising"''), the ''Chronicon Benedictoburanum'' (''"History of Benediktbeuern Abbey"''), and the ''"Annals of the Bavarian Congregation"''.

Secularisation 1803

During the

secularisation In sociology, secularization () is a multilayered concept that generally denotes "a transition from a religious to a more worldly level." There are many types of secularization and most do not lead to atheism or irreligion, nor are they automatica ...

of Bavaria in 1803 the abbey, then comprising thirty-four monks, was dissolved. Some of the former monks took posts as university professors: for example, Ägidius Jais went to

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

as a pastoral theologian; Sebastian Mall to

Landshut Landshut (; ) is a town in Bavaria, Germany, on the banks of the Isar, River Isar. Landshut is the capital of Lower Bavaria, one of the seven administrative regions of the Free state (government), Free State of Bavaria, and the seat of the surrou ...

as an orientalist; and Florian Meilinger to Munich as a mathematician. The library and archives had contained many priceless manuscripts and charters. Ziegelbauer printed a catalogue of the library, dated 1250, in which more than one hundred and fifty books and manuscripts are enumerated . Mabillon, who visited the abbey in 1683, and Bernard Pez, librarian of

Melk Abbey Melk Abbey () is a Benedictine abbey above the town of Melk, Lower Austria, on a rocky outcrop overlooking the Danube river, adjoining the Wachau valley. The abbey contains the tomb of Saint Coloman of Stockerau and the remains of several member ...

, who was there in 1717, both left on record their testimony as to the great value of the codices there preserved. At the suppression the library comprised 40,000 volumes. A number of these, and many of the codices, were added to what is now the

Bayerische Staatsbibliothek The Bavarian State Library (, abbreviated BSB, called ''Bibliotheca Regia Monacensis'' before 1919) in Munich is the central "State libraries of Germany, Landesbibliothek", i. e. the state library of the Free State of Bavaria, the biggest u ...

and the remainder left to be dispersed over time by the neglect or indifference of subsequent owners. There were reports, however, that, some books were used to fill holes in the cart tracks of the moor between the monastery and the river Loisach. In the course of the disposal of the library and archives, there came to light the manuscript of the ''

Carmina Burana ''Carmina Burana'' (, Latin for "Songs from Benediktbeuern" 'Buria'' in Latin is a manuscript of 254 poems and dramatic texts mostly from the 11th or 12th century, although some are from the 13th century. The pieces are mostly bawdy, irreveren ...

'', a 13th-century collection of songs by wandering scholars. The manuscript, also known as the ''Codex Buranus'', is also now in the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek.

From secularisation to 1930

The abbey premises were acquired by Josef von Utzschneider, who in 1805 set up an experimental glassworks here, known as the Optical Institute. He was joined by

Joseph von Fraunhofer Joseph Ritter von Fraunhofer (; ; 6 March 1787 – 7 June 1826) was a German physicist and optical lens manufacturer. He made optical glass, an achromatic telescope, and objective lenses. He developed diffraction grating and also invented the ...

, who was able here among other things to develop flawless or "waveless"

flint glass Flint glass is optical glass that has relatively high refractive index and low Abbe number (high dispersion). Flint glasses are arbitrarily defined as having an Abbe number of 50 to 55 or less. The currently known flint glasses have refractiv ...

and discover the

Fraunhofer lines The Fraunhofer lines are a set of spectral absorption lines. They are dark absorption lines, seen in the optical spectrum of the Sun, and are formed when atoms in the solar atmosphere absorb light being emitted by the solar photosphere. The l ...

which have become of importance in the development of

spectroscopic analysis Spectroscopy is the field of study that measures and interprets electromagnetic spectra. In narrower contexts, spectroscopy is the precise study of color as generalized from visible light to all bands of the electromagnetic spectrum. Spectrosc ...

. In 1818 the Bavarian State took over the buildings, which from then on were used for military purposes, initially as a stud-farm for the rearing and training of cavalry horses, and thereafter as a barracks, invalid home, military convalescent home and prison. In 1901 Freiherr von Kramer-Klett, the restorer of several Bavarian monasteries, offered five and one-half million marks for the property, but was met by a demand for twelve millions, which he refused. In 1925 the former abbey brewery was closed.

From 1930

Sicht von Norden auf das Kloster Benediktbeuern

Since 1930 the buildings have been used by the

Salesians The Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB), formally known as the Society of Saint Francis de Sales (), is a religious congregation of men in the Catholic Church, founded in 1859 by the Italian priest John Bosco to help poor and migrant youth during the ...

, of whom about 40 now live and work here. The former cloister is used for conferences, concerts and events. The ''Meierhof'', the old abbey's "steward's house" has been restored to the Centre for Environment and Culture Benediktbeuern with conference rooms and accommodations for guests. The grounds also include a youth hostel and a branch of the Catholic Foundation College Munich. Retreatants stay at the monastery guesthouse. Pilgrims on the Way of St. James and cyclists on the Lake Constance-Königssee Trail find their way takes them by Benediktbeuern. The abbey church was declared a " basilica minor" in 1972.

2023 extreme weather event

On August 26, 2023, as a result of a storm with hail and heavy rain, all buildings in the complex, including the basilica and Anastasia Chapel, were affected. Almost all roofs were destroyed, numerous windows were broken and facades were damaged. The damage to the roof also led to water ingress in connection with its absorption into the historical, wooden building structure, so that some parts are considered to be at risk of collapse. In an initial overview, the monastery puts the total damage at a "high, double-digit million amount". The facility was completely evacuated and closed until further notice.

References

Sources

* * *

External links

Homepage of Kloster Benediktbeuern

Philosophisch-Theologische Hochschule Benediktbeuern (PTH)

Benediktbeuern - Alles über das Klosterdorf

Klöster in Bayern
*
Don Bosco website: abbey ceilngs

Information for visitors
of the Monastery (in English) * Photos of the interior of the Abbey Church and the monastic buildings, in th
''Warburg Institute Iconographic Database''
{{Authority control Benedictine monasteries in Germany Carolingian architecture Salesian monasteries Monasteries in Bavaria Christian monasteries established in the 8th century Basilica churches in Germany Roman Catholic churches in Bavaria 8th-century establishments in Germany Buildings and structures in Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen Monasteries used as prisons