Kreuzberg Monastery

The history of Kreuzberg stretches back, possibly to pre-Christian times with a pagan cult site. Pilgrimages to a cross are documented as early as the 14th century, which was later destroyed during the German Peasants' War. In 1582, Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn had three stone crosses erected. An initial pilgrimage chapel was completed in 1598, and in 1627, Franciscans took over pastoral care. The foundation charter for the construction of a church and a monastery was issued in 1677. The monastery, dedicated to the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, was built starting in 1685 and consecrated in 1692. Between 1699 and 1706, the Fürstenbau was constructed as a guest wing. Permission to establish a monastery brewery was granted in 1731. Unlike many other monasteries in Bavaria, Kloster Kreuzberg was not secularized in 1803; only pilgrimages were temporarily prohibited. King Ludwig I later lifted this restriction, and the monastery's continued existence was secured in 1826. Expansions of the monastery complex occurred in the 1950s with the Marienbau and Antoniusbau. Since 2010, the monastery has belonged to the German Franciscan Province Germania.