Michaelsberg Abbey (Siegburg)

The Benedictine abbey was founded in 1064 by Archbishop Anno II of Cologne. It developed into a center of the Siegburg Reform, an expression of the Cluniac reform movement. After Anno's death in 1075, he was buried in the abbey, and his canonization in 1183 led to the transfer of his remains to the Anno Shrine. The abbey experienced periods including conflicts with the Counts of Berg and occupation by Swedish troops during the Thirty Years' War. As part of the secularization, the monastery was dissolved in 1803. The buildings subsequently served various purposes, including as an asylum and a penitentiary. In 1914, it was re-settled by Dutch Benedictines, a presence that lasted until 2011.