Fürstenzell Abbey

The Fürstenzell Monastery was founded in 1274 by Magister Hartwig, a canon of Passau, with the support of Duke Heinrich XIII of Lower Bavaria, whose title is reflected in the name “Fürstenzell”. The first Cistercian monks moved here from Aldersbach in the same year. Initially dedicated to Saint Lawrence, the patronage later shifted to Saint Mary. In the 18th century, under the abbots Abundus II, Stephan III, and Otto II, the monastery experienced a golden age during which the current church was newly constructed. The monastery was dissolved in 1803 as part of the secularization.