Springiersbach Abbey

The foundation of Springiersbach Monastery took place in 1102 by Archbishop Bruno von Lauffen of Trier, in the presence of Count Palatine Siegfried I of Ballenstedt. It was named after the surrounding stream and valley. The first abbot was Richard I, whose mother Benigna von Daun bequeathed her estate, Thermunt, as the first cell of the monastery. The community adopted the Rule of Saint Augustine and experienced economic growth through the donations of noble members who contributed all their possessions. By around 1140, the monastery already owned vineyards on the Moselle. King Konrad III and later Emperor Heinrich VI confirmed the monastery's rights and possessions. In 1135, the three-aisled Romanesque basilica, the monastery's first stone church, was consecrated. Despite growth, moral decay set in, leading to its transformation into a secular aristocratic foundation in 1791.