Schäftlarn Abbey (Kloster Schäftlarn) is a

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monastery on the

Isar The Isar () is a river in Austria and in Bavaria, Germany. Its source is in the Karwendel mountain range of the Alps. The Isar river enters Germany near Mittenwald and flows through Krün, Wallgau, Bad Tölz, Munich, and Landshut before reaching ...

in Schäftlarn, south 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 ...

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 ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

History

The monastery was founded in 762 by Waltrich, a priest of noble family, on his own land. The monastery was dedicated to Saint Dionysius of Paris. The first monks came from the cathedral monastery of Saint Mary and Saint Corbinian in

Freising Freising () is a university town in Bavaria, Germany, and the capital of the Freising (district), with a population of about 50,000. Location Freising is the oldest town between Regensburg and Bolzano, and is located on the Isar river in ...

. In the tenth century the monastery was turned into a house for lay canons. During the next two centuries the monastery grew as a result of various gifts and endowments (among them the estates of

Schwabing Schwabing is a borough in the northern part of Munich, the Capital (political), capital of the Germany, German state of Bavaria. It is part of the city borough 4 (Schwabing-West) and the city borough 12 (Schwabing-Freimann). The population of Sc ...

and Hesselohe). In 955 the monastery was destroyed by the Hungarians who were then making marauding incursions into Germany.Löffler, Klemens. "Schäftlarn." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 13 December 2022 In 1140, Bishop

Otto of Freising Otto of Freising (; – 22 September 1158) was a German churchman of the Cistercian order and chronicled at least two texts which carry valuable information on the political history of his own time. He was the bishop of Freising from 1138. Ot ...

refounded it as a

Premonstratensian The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular in the Catholic Chur ...

monastery, with canons from Ursberg Abbey. Schäftlarn reached a high point in the cultivation of arts in the eighteenth century. It was dissolved 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."Schäftlarn Abbey", Collegio Sant'Anselmo
/ref> In 1866 King

Ludwig II of Bavaria Ludwig II (Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelm; 25 August 1845 – 13 June 1886), also called the Swan King or the Fairy Tale King (), was King of Bavaria from 1864 until his death in 1886. He also held the titles of Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke ...

restored possession to the Benedictines, who set up a secondary school (''" Gymnasium"'') here.

Present day

As of 2022, there were fifteen monks at the abbey. The abbey is a member of the

Bavarian Congregation The Bavarian Congregation is a congregation of the Benedictine Confederation consisting (with one exception) of monasteries in Bavaria, Germany. It was founded on 26 August 1684 by Pope Innocent XI (1676-1689). First Congregation Until the secula ...

of the

Benedictine Confederation The Benedictine Confederation of the Order of Saint Benedict () is the international governing body of the Order of Saint Benedict. Origin The Benedictine Confederation is a union of monastic congregations that nevertheless retain their own aut ...

. The abbey church is dedicated to Saint Dionysius and Saint Juliana. The monks who live here carry out forestry, have a distillery and an apiary. For over thirty-five years, the abbey has hosted a summer concert series, featuring famous soloists and an orchestra composed of musicians from the great Munich concerts halls. Schäftlarn Abbey is the starting point for the first stage of a Route of Santiago de Compostela. In February 2022, two S-Bahn trains collided head-on, resulting in one fatality and at least eighteen injured, some seriously. The injured passengers were brought to the nearby abbey.

School

The school was closed between 1941 and 1945 by the

National Socialists Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

. Immediately after the

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

the school, which is private, was re-opened as a ''"Progymnasium"'', that is to say, only for German forms 5 to 10 (equivalent to the Upper Fifth form), to the year before the

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

. Abitur examinations were not conducted in Schäftlarn until 1973. In 2022 the school had just over 500 students, both day pupils (boys and girls) and boarders (boys only).Abtei Schäftlarn
/ref> It is widely known throughout Munich. The subway lines S7, as well as the busses 904 and 974 connect the school to the city. Therefore, students come from all over Munich and the suburbs bordering the city. Kloster Schaeftlarn

Architecture

The present abbey buildings were constructed in 1707 to plans by

Giovanni Antonio Viscardi Giovanni Antonio Viscardi (27 December 1645 – 9 September 1713) was a Swiss architect of the baroque, who worked mostly in Bavaria. Biography Early life and education Giovanni Antonio Viscardi was born in San Vittore GR, San Vittore, Gris ...

. The abbey church of Saint Dionysius and Saint Juliana is a beautiful example of the

Rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

architectural style. It was begun as a new building from 1733 to 1740 under Francois de Cuvilliés the Elder, and finished during the period from 1751 to 1760 by Johann Georg Gunetzrhainer and Johann Michael Fischer. From 1754 to 1756, the church was painted and decorated with stucco by

Johann Baptist Zimmermann Johann Baptist Zimmermann (3 January 1680, Wessobrunn, Gaispoint — 2 March 1758, Munich) was a German Painting, painter and a prime Stucco, stucco plasterer during the Baroque. Zimmermann was born in Gaispoint, Wessobrunn. He and his brothe ...

. From 1756 to 1764

Johann Baptist Straub Johann Baptist Straub (1 June 1704 (baptism) – 15 July 1784) was a German Rococo sculptor. Biography Straub was born in Wiesensteig, into a family of sculptors. His father Johann George Straub and his brothers Philipp Jakob, Joseph, an ...

worked on the altars and the chancel. There is also a

formal garden A formal garden is a garden with a clear structure, geometric shapes and in most cases a symmetrical layout. Its origin goes back to the gardens which are located in the desert areas of Western Asia and are protected by walls. The style of a form ...

here, the "Prelate's Garden", recently restored.

References

Sources

*Winhard, Wolfgang, and Peda, Gregor (nd). ''Kloster Schäftlarn: Geschichte und Kunst''. Kunstverlag Peda Gregor. *Mitterer, Sigisbert, 1962. ''1200 Jahre Kloster Schäftlarn''. Seitz Verlag.

External links

Schäftlarn Abbey website

Klöster in Bayern: Schäftlarn
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schaftlarn Benedictine monasteries in Germany Premonstratensian monasteries in Germany Monasteries in Bavaria Christian monasteries established in the 8th century Rococo architecture in Germany Registered historic buildings and monuments in Bavaria 8th-century establishments in Germany Buildings and structures in Munich (district) 762 establishments Churches completed in the 760s 8th-century churches in Germany