Frauenchiemsee Abbey

The foundation of Frauenchiemsee Monastery is dated to the year 782, when it was, according to tradition, consecrated by Duke Tassilo III and Liutberga of Bavaria. Following Tassilo's deposition in 788, it was transformed into a Carolingian imperial monastery. In the 9th century, King Louis the German appointed his daughter Irmingard as abbess. A fire in the early 10th century, likely caused by Hungarian incursions, destroyed the original buildings. In the 11th century, the three-nave monastery church was rebuilt and largely remains in this state today. Pilgrimages to the tomb of the blessed Abbess Irmingard contributed to its funding. Over the centuries, the monastery's status shifted several times between an imperial monastery and belonging to the Archdiocese of Salzburg. Despite further fires in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries, as well as the turmoil of the Reformation and the Thirty Years' War, during which it served as a refuge, the monastery endured. Between 1721 and 1730, a comprehensive reconstruction of the monastery buildings took place, with only the church and the Carolingian gatehouse preserved.