Discover Wessobrunn: Monastery History, Art and Nature

Monastery and Visitor Information

Wessobrunn Monastery is a significant former Benedictine monastery in Old Bavaria. Its preserved interiors feature Baroque stucco work and room decorations. Tours of the Prelate’s Wing include visits to the Magdalene Hall and Tassilo Hall. Check the current tour schedule before your trip so you can plan this part of your visit accordingly.

A visitor information center is located in the old town hall, formerly Wessobrunn’s schoolhouse. It presents the monastery’s history and the importance of the Wessobrunn artists. As seasonal opening hours may affect your visit, it is advisable to check the latest information in advance. This will help you decide whether to focus your stay on a guided tour, the visitor information center or other cultural sites.

The Fountain Hall and the Three Springs

The open, three-arched Fountain Hall at the Three Springs was built in 1735 to plans by Joseph Schmuzer. Inside are a painting depicting the founding legend and a view of the monastery based on Johann Schmuzer’s ideal plan. The Three Springs converge in the shape of a cross and have been revered for many centuries. The architecture, imagery and springs form a connected cultural site, whose individual elements offer different ways to explore Wessobrunn’s history.

The Marian Grotto also brings together architectural history and religious art. It was built in 2009 from tufa stones taken from the former monastery church and consecrated on October 11 of the same year by the Bishop of Augsburg. The grotto contains a copy of the statue “Mother of Holy Hope,” created around 1235–1250. If you are interested in works of art and when they were made, these details add to your understanding of the much later grotto.

Church Art and Historical Traces

The stucco decoration and altars in the parish church of St. John the Baptist were created by Thassilo Zöpf. Johann Baptist Baader painted the church’s frescoes in 1758 and 1759. The church is also home to the late Romanesque Wessobrunn Cross, created by an unknown artist around 1250. The works bring together different periods, and their creation cannot be reduced to a single phase of construction.

Further historical evidence can be found at other religious sites. Matthäus Günther painted the ceiling fresco in the Kreuzberg Chapel in 1771. A stone slab on the east side of its tower commemorates its construction in 1595; it records the date remembered for the building, not necessarily the precise age of the chapel that survives today. The chapel also commemorates the monks murdered by the Hungarians in 955. The ground floor of the medieval bell tower, also called the Roman Tower or “Grey Duke,” contains a Lapidarium with medieval stone fragments from demolished parts of the monastery and monastery church. From April to October, it is accessible free of charge as far as the entrance gate; check this seasonal access before your visit.

The Tassilo Linden and Paterzell Yew Forest

As a counterpart to the historic buildings, the Tassilo Linden represents Wessobrunn’s natural history. The large-leaved lime (Tilia platyphyllos) is about 17 meters tall and has a trunk circumference of approximately 14 meters. Its age is estimated at 700 to 900 years. It has been protected as a natural monument since 1980 and was declared a National Heritage Tree in October 2023. Its height and trunk circumference give an idea of its size, while its age range remains explicitly an estimate.

The Paterzell Yew Forest is a semi-natural, mixed, multilayered forest with many old yew trees. The Yew Nature Trail, established in 1995, passes the forest’s most distinctive spots in the municipality. The Tassilo Linden and the yew forest therefore offer a different focus from the monastery, churches and Fountain Hall. When planning your visit, you can decide whether to focus mainly on art and architectural history or on the natural sites described here.

Plan Your Visits

Check guided tours and seasonal access in advance: the current tour schedule is important for the Prelate’s Wing, the visitor information center has seasonal opening hours, and the Lapidarium is accessible free of charge only as far as the entrance gate from April to October. The Fountain Hall, grotto, church art and natural landmarks each offer their own highlights. This lets you organize your stay around the themes that interest you most without having to fit every site into a fixed itinerary.

Discover more destinations: Seeshaupt, Huglfing, Schongau, Peißenberg, Altenstadt, Bernbeuren, Hohenpeißenberg, Habach.

Go to the regional travel overview: Weilheim-Schongau.