Hirsau Monastery

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Hirsau, located in a lovely Black Forest valley once was home to the largest and most important monastery in Germany.

The first monastery here - the Aurelius monastery - was created in the 9th century already. But after a short while this monastery became too small to accommodate all the incoming monks.

Therefore, between 1082 and 1091, St. Peter and Paul, the largest German monastery was constructed by Judit of Baden. Its basilica was almost 100 meters long! It became the largest romanesque ecclesiastical structure in Germany!

In 1556, after the Reformation in Germany, St. Peter and Paul monastery became a Protestant convent school.

Between 1586 and 1592 the Dukes of Wurttemberg commissioned the construction of a Renaissance castle.

But the whole complex was set on fire on 20 September 1692 by French general M?lac in the course of the War of the Succession in the Palatinate (Pfaelzischer Erbfolgekrieg), also called the "Nine Years War" or the "War of the League of Augsburg". Almost everything was destroyed, except the Late Gothic Chappel and the 'Owl Tower' (Eulenturm).

The ruins make for a great place to explore the history of monasteries in Germany. Walk around the cloister ruins, visit the chappel that survived the fire, and have a look at the castle ruins (see photo).

Though the huge basilica burned down its size can still be assessed by looking at its foundations.

Hirsau is the probably most interesting place in Baden-Wurttemberg to explore the very origins of the many many monasteries in the region. A good time to visit the monastic ruins is in the summer months, during the Monastic Festival (Klosterfestspiele) with works by Schiller, Haydn & Co. Not to be missed folks!

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