Tegernsee Abbey (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

Kloster Tegernsee, ''Abtei Tegernsee'') is a former

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 in the town and district of

Tegernsee Tegernsee is a town in the Miesbach district of Bavaria, Germany. It is located on the shore of Lake Tegernsee, which is 747 m (2,451 ft) above sea level. A spa town, it is surrounded by an alpine landscape of Upper Bavaria, and has an e ...

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 ...

. Both the abbey and the town that grew up around it, are named after the

, the lake on the shores of which they are located. The name is from the

Old High German Old High German (OHG; german: Althochdeutsch (Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 750 to 1050. There is no standardised or supra-regional form of German at this period, and Old High ...

''tegarin seo'', meaning ''great lake''. Tegernsee Abbey, officially known as St. Quirinus Abbey for its patron saint St. Quirinus, was first built in the 8th century. Until 1803, it was the most important Benedictine community in Bavaria. Today, the monastery buildings are known as Schloss Tegernsee (Tegernsee Castle) and are in the possession of

Prince Max, Duke in Bavaria Max-Emanuel Ludwig Maria Herzog in Bayern (sometimes styled Prince Max of Bavaria, Duke in Bavaria; born 21 January 1937) as the younger son of Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria, is the heir presumptive to both the headship of the former Bavarian royal ...

, a member 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 ...

family. The local

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

parish church of Saint Quirinus is in the former abbey church. The former abbey premises also accommodate the Tegernsee Grammar School (''Gymnasium Tegernsee'') and the well-known

Ducal Bavarian Brewery of Tegernsee The Ducal Bavarian Brewery of Tegernsee (German ''Herzoglich Bayerisches Brauhaus Tegernsee KG'') is a brewery in Tegernsee, Bavaria, Germany, located inside the north wing of former Tegernsee Abbey and owned by Maria Anna, Duchess in Bavaria, yo ...

, with a

brew pub Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries. They produce smaller amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as having an emphasis o ...

and a restaurant.

History

Foundation and early history

The monastic community at Tegernsee was founded in the mid-8th century (either in 746 or around 765). It was settled by monks from St. Gall and dedicated to Saint Quirinus of Rome, whose relics were brought here from

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

in 804. Soon the monastery spread the message of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

as far as

Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

and

Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...

. The founders were the brothers Otkar (or Otocar), and Adalbert, members of one of the ancient noble clans of Bavaria, although it is not certain exactly which family they were from. There is little definite information on the early days of the monastery as a result of a fire in about 970, which destroyed earlier evidence. However, a well-known and detailed (but nevertheless entirely unverifiable) tradition about the foundation has developed. According to this tradition, Otkar and Adelbert were princes of the

Huosi The Huosi were one of the ''Uradel'' (ancient noble families) in the duchy of Bavaria. Their status was enshrined in the '' Law of the Bavarians'', which lists them first among the five families having special rights privileges after the ducal Ag ...

. They were kin of the

n ruling house of the

Agilolfing The Agilolfings were a noble family that ruled the Duchy of Bavaria on behalf of their Merovingian suzerains from about 550 until 788. A cadet branch of the Agilolfings also ruled the Kingdom of the Lombards intermittently from 616 to 712. T ...

er, whose principal territory was the area now known as the Huosigau in south-west Bavaria, although they had many other lands elsewhere in Bavaria and in

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...

. They and their families lived at the court of

Pippin the Younger the Short (french: Pépin le Bref; – 24 September 768), also called the Younger (german: Pippin der Jüngere), was King of the Franks from 751 until his death in 768. He was the first Carolingian to become king. The younger was the son of ...

, King of the Franks (714-768), whose son fell into a rage during a game of

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

and killed the son of Otkar with the

chessboard A chessboard is a used to play chess. It consists of 64 squares, 8 rows by 8 columns, on which the chess pieces are placed. It is square in shape and uses two colours of squares, one light and one dark, in a chequered pattern. During play, the bo ...

. Pippin, fearing the revenge of such a powerful family, he summoned Otkar and Adalbert before they could hear of the killing, and asked them for their advice: "How would you deal with a terrible evil if there were no way to change it?" The brothers replied: "All one could do in such a case would be to accept the evil with humility and submission to the will of God." Only then did Pippin tell them of the death of Otkar's son. The brothers, bound by their own judgment, were unable to take up arms and found themselves forced to accept the murder. Instead, they decided to turn their backs on the world. They returned to their homeland in the south of Bavaria and founded a monastery on an unusually beautiful site by the shores of the Tegernsee, into which they withdrew. For many centuries a large panel in the nearby church of Egern depicted the scene of the princes playing chess. After the fall of Tassilo III, Duke of Bavaria (748-788), Tegernsee became a

Carolingian Empire The Carolingian Empire (800–888) was a large Frankish-dominated empire in western and central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the Lom ...

royal monastery during the

Carolingian Renaissance The Carolingian Renaissance was the first of three medieval renaissances, a period of cultural activity in the Carolingian Empire. It occurred from the late 8th century to the 9th century, taking inspiration from the State church of the Roman Emp ...

. The community was greatly weakened by Hungarian raids and by repeated attempts at secularisation during the reign of

Arnulf, Duke of Bavaria Arnulf II (birth unknown; died 14 July 937), also known as the Bad (german: der Schlimme), the Evil (''der Böse'') or the Wicked, a member of the Luitpolding dynasty, held the title of Duke of Bavaria from about 907 until his death in 937. He ...

(907-937) and in the course of the 10th century suffered a sustained decline, culminating in the fire of around 970.

Middle Ages

Restored and re-founded, however, under Emperor

Otto II Otto II (955 – 7 December 983), called the Red (''der Rote''), was Holy Roman Emperor from 973 until his death in 983. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto II was the youngest and sole surviving son of Otto the Great and Adelaide of Italy. ...

(973-983) as an Imperial Abbey in 978, and re-settled by monks from St. Maximin's Abbey, Trier, Tegernsee entered a new period of growth. With the activities of the monk Froumund (1006-1012) and Abbot Ellinger (1017-1026 and 1031-1041), the abbey became a centre of literature, manuscript production and learning, and was also active in the resettlement of other Benedictine houses in Bavaria, including the newly founded abbey of Saints Ulrich and Afra in

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...

in c. 1012. This golden age of the abbey lasted almost to the end of the 12th century. Among the literary and scientific works produced at that time were: "

Ruodlieb ''Ruodlieb'' is a fragmentary romance in Latin verse written by an unknown southern German poet who flourished about 1030. He was almost certainly a monk of the Bavarian Tegernsee Abbey. The poem is one of the earliest German romances of knight ...

" (considered the first German novel; last third of the 11th century); the Quirinals (12th century); " Play about the Antichrist" (1155?); and the Tegernsee Letter Collection (1178 to 1186). The well-known ''Tegernseespruch'' of

Walther von der Vogelweide Walther von der Vogelweide (c. 1170c. 1230) was a Minnesänger who composed and performed love-songs and political songs (" Sprüche") in Middle High German. Walther has been described as the greatest German lyrical poet before Goethe; his hundr ...

dates either from a little before 1206 or from c. 1212, and thus belongs, not to this period, but to the beginning of the period of decline that followed. Tegernsee was largely spared the political and ecclesiastical confusions arising from the conflict between

Pope Alexander III Pope Alexander III (c. 1100/1105 – 30 August 1181), born Roland ( it, Rolando), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 September 1159 until his death in 1181. A native of Siena, Alexander became pope after a con ...

(1159-1177) and Emperor Frederick I "Barbarossa," Holy Roman Emperor, and even managed to acquire substantial privileges from both pope and emperor. However, despite those privileges and its early status as an imperial abbey, Tegernsee lost that status as it was never able to effectively enjoy

Imperial immediacy Imperial immediacy (german: Reichsfreiheit or ') was a privileged constitutional and political status rooted in German feudal law under which the Imperial estates of the Holy Roman Empire such as Imperial cities, prince-bishoprics and secular pri ...

. Therefore, it remained subordinate to Bavaria throughout its existence. The shape of the future was made plain with the appointment of Abbot Manegold of Berg, son of the Count of Berg, to this Bavarian abbey in 1189, as the result of political intrigue by the Counts of

Andechs Andechs is a municipality in the district of Starnberg in Bavaria in Germany. It is renowned in Germany and beyond for Andechs Abbey, a Benedictine monastery that has brewed beer since 1455. The monastery brewery offers tours to visitors. The 2 ...

, ''

Vögte During the Middle Ages, an (sometimes given as modern English: advocate; German: ; French: ) was an office-holder who was legally delegated to perform some of the secular responsibilities of a major feudal lord, or for an institution such as ...

'' (''lords protectors'') of Tegernsee, and Bishop

Otto of Freising Otto of Freising ( la, Otto Frisingensis; c. 1114 – 22 September 1158) was a German churchman of the Cistercian order and chronicled at least two texts which carries valuable information on the political history of his own time. He was Otto I ...

. The political and economic interests of the noble families of Berg, Andechs and

Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynasty ...

, now came to dominate the abbey and as a result, it declined during the 13th and 14th centuries into little more than a private monastery dependent on a small number of noble families. To make matters worse, it burnt down in 1410.

Later history to dissolution

However, in 1426, Tegernsee received a Visitation from the Vicar-General, Johannes Grünwalder, which marked a new beginning. Over the next decades, with the support of the

Papal Legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title ''legatus'') is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic ...

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

Nikolaus von Kues, it became a focus of the Reforms of

Melk Abbey Melk Abbey (german: Stift Melk) is a Benedictine abbey above the town of Melk, Lower Austria, 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 ...

, which opened Benedictine houses hitherto restricted to the nobility to a wider range of social classes. In 1455, monks of Tegernsee settled Andechs Abbey and were appointed abbots at

Benediktbeuern Benediktbeuern (Central Bavarian: ''Benediktbeiern'') is a municipality in the district of Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen in Bavaria, Germany, 2 kilometers, or 1.25 miles from Bichl. The village has 3,602 residents as of 31 December 2019. The medieval ...

, Oberalteich,

Wessobrunn Wessobrunn is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality in the district of Weilheim-Schongau in Bavaria in Germany. Paterzell airfield Paterzell airfield is located in Wessobrunn.

and others. In 1446, a Passion altar was dedicated. Johannes Keck (who was the Tegernsee delegate at the Council of Basle and died in 1450) wrote a work on music, and the Prior of Tegernsee, Bernhard von Waging (d. 1472) composed his mystical writings, including a defense of Cusanus' writings on "learned ignorance." The pilgrim and illustrator Anton Pelchinger taught music at Tegernsee. This second flowering continued into the Early Modern period. From 1573, the monastery had its own

printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in wh ...

, which thanks to Imperial privileges was allowed to print many books on theology, liturgy and the theory of music. The community survived the confusion of the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

(1618-1648), when the abbey was raided by Swedish soldiers. Tegernsee Abbey was also a prominent member of the

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 ...

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 secul ...

, established in 1684.

Architecture

The former Carolingian style abbey church built at the end of the 10th century had been converted in the 11th to a Romanesque

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

, which in its turn had been re-fashioned between 1455 and 1460 into a

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

church. The monastic buildings and the church were refurbished in the

Baroque style The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

between 1684 and 1688.

Secularisation

During the abbacy of Abbot Benedikt Schwarz (to 1787), the first signs began to show of the

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 ...

which eventually took place on 17 March 1803, thus bringing the abbey to an end. Gregor Rottenkolber, the last Abbot of Tegernsee, died on 13 February 1810. The greater part of the site was bought by Baron Drechsel for his brewery, but he later sold a small part back to an unofficial monastic community, which remained until 1861. The buildings of the monastery itself were acquired in 1817 by king

Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria Maximilian I Joseph (german: Maximilian I. Joseph; 27 May 1756 – 13 October 1825) was Duke of Zweibrücken from 1795 to 1799, prince-elector of Bavaria (as Maximilian IV Joseph) from 1799 to 1806, then King of Bavaria (as Maximilian I Joseph) ...

and later became a possession of the

Dukes in Bavaria Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...

(a side branch of the ruling

family, the kings of Bavaria), attracted by the unusually beautiful location, and turned it into their summer residence. Known since then as Schloss Tegernsee, it is still the property of that family, the present owner is their adopted son

Abbots of Tegernsee

* Adalbert (762-800) * Zaccho (800-804) * Maginhart (804-, 823) * Isker (826, 829) * 'gap''* Megilo (866, -880?) * 'gap''* Hartwic (978-982) * Gozpert (982-1001) * Godehard of Hildesheim (Saint Gotthard)(1001-1002) * Eberhard I (1002-1003) * Beringer (1003-1013) * Burchard (1013-1017) * Ellinger (1017-1026) * Albin (1026-1031) * Ellinger (2nd abbacy, 1031-1041) * Altmann (1041) * Udalrich I (1041/42-1042) * Herrand (1042-1046) * Egbert (1046-1048) * Siegfried (1048-1068) * Eberhard II of Eppenstein (1068-1091) * Odalschalk of Hohenburg (1092-1113) * Aribo of Neuburg-Falkenstein (1113-1126) * Konrad I (1126-1155) * Rupert of Neuburg-Falkenstein (1155-1186) * Alban (1186-1187) * Konrad II (1187-1189) * Manegold of Berg (also Abbot of

Kremsmünster Kremsmünster is a town in Kirchdorf an der Krems District, in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. Settled in 777, it is home to the Kremsmünster Abbey. The Abbey was founded 777 by Duke Tassilo III of Bavaria and is one of the oldest abbeys o ...

and Bishop of

Passau Passau (; bar, label=Central Bavarian, Båssa) is a city in Lower Bavaria, Germany, also known as the Dreiflüssestadt ("City of Three Rivers") as the river Danube is joined by the Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north. Passau's popu ...

) (1189-1206) * Berthold I (1206-1217) * Heinrich I (1217-1242) * Berthold II Schneck (1242-1248) * Ulrich II Portenhauser (1248-1261) * Rudolf (1261-1266) * Heinrich II (1266-1273) * Ludwig of Graisbach (1273-1286) * Heinrich III (1286-1287) * Marquard of Veringen (1287-1324) * Heinrich IV of Rain (1324-1339) * Sigibrand Geltinger (1339-1347) * Carl Hauzendorfer (1347-1349) * Konrad III Kazbeck (1349-1363) * Konrad IV Eglinger (1363-1372) * Gerhard of Taufkirchen (1372-1393) * Oswald Torer (1393-1418) * Georg Türndl (1418-1423) * Hildebrand Kastner (1424-1426) * Kaspar Ayndorffer (1426-1461) * Konrad V Ayrenschmalz (1461-1492) * Quirin I Regler (1492-1500) * Heinrich V Kintzner (1500-1512) * Maurus Leyrer (1512-1528) * Heinrich V Kintzner (2. Mal, 1528-1543) * Quirin II ( - ) * Paulus Widmann (1594-1624) * Quirin III Ponschab (1624-) * Bernhard Wenzl (1673-1700) * Quirin IV Millon (1700-1715) * Petrus von Guetrater (1715-1725) * Gregor I Plaichshirn (1726-1762) * Benedikt Schwarz (1762-1787) * Gregor II Rottenkolber (1787 to 1803; last abbot; d. 1810)

Burials

* Quirinus of Rome *

Maximilian Joseph, Duke in Bavaria Duke Maximilian Joseph of Bavaria (4 December 1808 – 15 November 1888), known informally as Max in Bayern, was a member of a junior branch of the royal House of Wittelsbach who were Kings of Bavaria, and a promoter of Bavarian folk-music. He i ...

Princess Ludovika of Bavaria Princess Ludovika of Bavaria (Marie Ludovika Wilhelmine; ''Mary Louise Wilhelmina''; 30 August 1808 – 25 January 1892) was the sixth child of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and his second wife, Karoline of Baden, and the mother of Empress El ...

Duke Karl-Theodor in Bavaria Karl-Theodor, Duke in Bavaria (9 August 1839 – 30 November 1909), was a member of the House of Wittelsbach and a professional oculist. He was the favorite brother of the Empress Elisabeth of Austria, and father of Queen Elisabeth of the Belgi ...

Infanta Maria Josepha of Portugal , house = Braganza , father = Miguel of Portugal , mother = Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg , birth_date =19 March 1857 , birth_place =Schloss Bronnbach , death_date = , death_place =Vienna, Austria , bu ...

* Ludwig Wilhelm, Duke in Bavaria

References

Sources

Hemmerle Hemmerle is a Munich-based jeweller founded in 1893 by brothers Joseph and Anton Hemmerle. Background Anton and Joseph Hemmerle established Hemmerle by taking over an established goldsmiths’ company specialising in medals and orders and in 1895 ...

, Josef, 1970. ''Die Benediktinerklöster in Bayern (= Germania Benedictina, Bd.2)'', pp. 297ff. Ottobeuren.

External links

Klöster in Bayern: Tegernsee
* {{Authority control Monasteries in Bavaria Benedictine monasteries in Germany Castles in Bavaria Christian monasteries established in the 8th century Baroque architecture in Bavaria Miesbach (district)