Gutenzell Abbey

The foundation of Gutenzell Abbey, originally known as Cella Dei, took place in 1238. Pope Gregory IX placed the monastery under his protection and formally incorporated it into the Cistercian order. At this time, a convent led by an abbess and its own church already existed, whose patronage of Saints Cosmas and Damian suggests a possible older use. The name later changed to Bona Cella or Gutenzell. Throughout its history, the monastery experienced several setbacks due to fires, including one in 1369 caused by lightning and another in 1522, as well as looting during the Peasants' War in 1525. Particularly severe were the destructions during the Thirty Years' War, when Swedish troops devastated the monastery in 1632 and completely burned down the church in 1647. The subsequent reconstruction lasted for decades. In the 18th century, the abbey experienced a final resurgence, manifested in the Baroque redesign of the church between 1755 and 1756 by Dominikus Zimmermann. In the course of secularization, the imperial abbey was dissolved in 1803 and passed into the possession of the noble house of Toerring.

The former monastery is situated in the Upper Swabia region, near Biberach in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The complex lies at an elevation of approximately 556 meters above sea level.

After secularization, a large part of the convent buildings was demolished in 1864. However, the former abbey church of Saints Cosmas and Damian has been preserved and now serves as the parish church for the ecclesiastical community of Gutenzell, which belongs to the pastoral unit of St. Scholastika in the Biberach deanery.

• Gutenzell Castle (Castle, approx. 164 m away)
• Edelbeuren Castle (Castle, approx. 2767 m away)
• Hürbel Castle (Castle, approx. 2789 m away)
• Sommershausen Castle (Castle, approx. 6046 m away)