Fischbachau Priory (''Kloster Fischbachau'') was a

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monastery located in

Fischbachau Fischbachau is a municipality in the district of Miesbach in Bavaria in Germany. Geography Fischbachau is located in the valley of the river Leitzach, on an Alluvial fan at the east edge of the Leitzachtals and at the foot of Breitenstein m ...

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. The monastery was founded in 1087 as a priory of

Hirsau Abbey Hirsau Abbey, formerly known as Hirschau Abbey, was once one of the most important Benedictine abbeys of Germany. It is located in the Hirsau borough of Calw on the northern slopes of the Black Forest mountain range, in the present-day state of B ...

against the background of the

Investiture Controversy The Investiture Controversy, also called Investiture Contest (German: ''Investiturstreit''; ), was a conflict between the Church and the state in medieval Europe over the ability to choose and install bishops (investiture) and abbots of monast ...

and the

Hirsau Reforms William of Hirsau (or Wilhelm von Hirschau) ( 1030 – 5 July 1091) was a Benedictine abbot and monastic reformer. He was abbot of Hirsau Abbey, for whom he created the ''Constitutiones Hirsaugienses'', based on the uses of Cluny, and was the fath ...

, by the monks who had previously formed the small monastery founded in 1077 at

Bayrischzell Bayrischzell is a municipality in the district of Miesbach in Bavaria in Germany. Geography Bayrischzell is located in the Mangfallgebirge between Schliersee in the West and Oberaudorf in the East. It is located at the foot of Wendelstein moun ...

by Haziga of

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...

, wife of Count Otto II of Scheyern, ancestors of the

Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a German dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including Bavaria, the Palatinate, Holland and Zeeland, Sweden (with Finland), Denmark, Norway, Hungary (with Romania), Bohemia, the Electorate o ...

s. The original site at Bayrischzell was soon abandoned for unsuitability and lack of water. Nor did the monastery remain long at Fischbachau; the community moved on, for much the same reasons as before, to yet another site at the little village of Petersberg, and from there a final time to Scheyern, where they remained and which became

Scheyern Abbey Scheyern Abbey, formerly also Scheyern Priory (german: Kloster Scheyern), is a house of the Benedictine Order in Scheyern in Bavaria. First foundation The monastery at Scheyern was established in 1119 as the final site of the community founded ...

. A small priory or cell remained however at Fischbachau, which was from then on a priory or cell of Scheyern, centred on the church of

Saint Martin Saint Martin may refer to: People * Saint Martin of Tours (c. 316–397), Bishop of Tours, France * Saint Martin of Braga (c. 520–580), archbishop of Bracara Augusta in Gallaecia (now Braga in Portugal) * Pope Martin I (598–655) * Saint Mart ...

. This was refurbished in about 1700 in the

Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

style, of which it remains a spectacular example. The monastic community was dissolved during

secularisation In sociology, secularization (or secularisation) is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions. The ''secularization thesis'' expresses the ...

in 1803, and only the church is left.

External links

Fischbachau Village website
* Photos of the interior of St Martin and St Mariae Schutz in Fischbachau, in th
''Warburg Institute Iconographic Database''
Monasteries in Bavaria Benedictine monasteries in Germany 1087 establishments in England Christian monasteries established in the 11th century {{Christian-monastery-stub