Weltenburg Abbey

The founding of Weltenburg Abbey is believed to have occurred around 617 by Irish-Scottish monks who followed the rules of Saint Columbanus. In the 8th century, the monks adopted the Benedictine rules. After an interruption due to the Hungarian invasions in the 10th century, the monastery was re-settled in 932 from the Diocese of Regensburg. Looting during the Schmalkaldic War and the Thirty Years' War characterized the following centuries. In the 18th century, Weltenburg experienced a flourishing period under Abbot Maurus I. Bächl, during which the current Baroque monastery church was built by the Asam brothers. In the course of secularization, the monastery was dissolved in 1803, but re-established as a priory by King Ludwig I in 1842 and again elevated to an abbey in 1913.