Hirsau Abbey

Among the half-timbered houses of the Nagold valley, a single Romanesque tower rises above red sandstone walls, and behind it empty traceried arches open to the sky. That is all that stands of the Abbey of St Peter and Paul in Hirsau, yet it tells a lot: when its church was consecrated in 1091, it was the largest monastery in the German-speaking world. From here the Hirsau Reform spread, shaping abbeys from Zwiefalten to Comburg.

History: reform abbey, school, burnt-out ruin

Around 830, Bishop Noting of Vercelli brought the relics of St Aurelius from Milan to Hirsau. In 1049 Pope Leo IX ordered the decayed monastery to be rebuilt during a visit. Under Abbot William (from 1069) Hirsau adopted the strict rules of Cluny Abbey and soon attracted so many monks that a new complex was needed on the other bank of the Nagold. The new church of St Peter and Paul was consecrated in 1091 and, with its later forecourt, reached a length of about 100 m.

The Reformation dissolved the community in 1536, after which the buildings housed a Protestant monastery school. Between 1586 and 1592 the Dukes of Württemberg built a Renaissance hunting lodge next door. On 29 September 1692, during the Nine Years' War, French troops under General Mélac set fire to abbey and lodge. Locals then took the stones, among other things to rebuild Calw.

What to see

• Owl Tower (Eulenturm): The 37 m north-west tower of the church was finished around 1120. It survived because it was needed as the local jail, and takes its name from the owls nesting under its roof. A frieze of bearded male figures runs round the tower above the second storey and still puzzles historians.
• The church's outline: Only the foundations of the columned nave remain, but they show how huge the basilica was.
• The cloister: The walls of the late Gothic cloister (1474–1503) still stand, with tall window arches and a well house.
• St Mary's Chapel: The only building to survive the 1692 fire intact, it is now the Protestant parish church. The abbey library was once on its upper floor.
• The hunting lodge: The outer walls of the Renaissance building remain. In its east wing grew the elm to which the poet Ludwig Uhland dedicated a poem in 1829; it stood until 1989.
• St Aurelius and the museum: Across the Nagold stands what is left of the older church of St Aurelius, and next to it the abbey museum shows finds from the excavations.

Opening hours and prices (as of October 2026)

• Abbey ruins of St Peter and Paul: open during the day, free of charge.
• St Mary's Chapel: 1 April to 31 October daily 10:00–18:00, closed in winter.
• St Aurelius Church: open all year, with a lunch break on Tuesdays.
• Abbey museum: April to October Tue–Fri 13:00–16:00, Sat, Sun and holidays 12:00–17:00, admission €2.50. The combined ticket with a guided tour of the abbey costs €8.

Allow an hour for the ruins and chapel, or two hours with the museum and St Aurelius. In summer the cloister hosts the performances of the Calw Klostersommer festival.

Getting there

The address is Klosterhof, 75365 Calw-Hirsau. Take the Kulturbahn line Pforzheim–Horb–Tübingen to Hirsau station, then walk about ten minutes. There are around 50 paid parking spaces within walking distance.

Tripto tip

Walk all the way round the Owl Tower and look for the figures in the frieze: on the north side sits an old man with a long beard, on the south side a bearer props up the wall like Atlas. Afterwards, follow the Nagold on foot into nearby Calw, the hometown of Hermann Hesse.