The Abbey on the Isar

About 15 KM south of Munich’s center is a stunning Benedictine Cloister, Schaftlarn, that has roots all the way back to 762. The Benedictine monks had a strong presence in Bavaria as several monasteries and Cloisters were founded around Munich at this time. In fact, the first priests to Schaftlarn came from Freising, where they formed the world’s first brewery at Weinstephan. For a long period between 1140 and 1803, as Germany was reduced to an array of small independent states, the abbey was passed to the Premonstratensian Order – a young order founded only 20 years earlier. By the middle of the 14th century, this order included 1300 monasteries for men and 400 for women across Europe. The Premonstratensian order actually built the current structure (pictured here) in 1707. But then in 1866, King Ludwig I restored possession to the Benedictines. Today, and for the past 100 years, the Monastery has become well known for its school.