Metten Abbey

Metten Abbey lies between the foothills of the Bavarian Forest and the Danube valley near Deggendorf and is still a living Benedictine community. It is best known for its Baroque library: powerful atlas figures support the vaults, crowned by fourteen ceiling frescoes. The abbey is one of Bavaria's earliest monasteries and played a central role in the return of the Benedictines after secularisation.

History

The abbey was founded around 766 by the nobleman Gamelbert; the first abbot was his relative Utto. Charlemagne placed it under royal protection in 792, and later legend even made him its founder. From the start the monks' task was to open up the Bavarian Forest. The abbey was dissolved in 1803, but from 1830 the revival of Bavaria's Benedictine monasteries began here.

From Metten, Scheyern (1838), Weltenburg (1842), Andechs (1846) and St Boniface in Munich (1850) were resettled. In 1846 Father Boniface Wimmer left Metten for North America and founded St Vincent, the first Benedictine monastery in the United States. The abbey has run a grammar school since 1847.

What to see

• Baroque library: in the 1720s Abbot Roman Märkl had the hall lavishly fitted out, with stucco by Franz Josef Ignaz Holzinger and frescoes by Innozenz Waräthi. The frescoes assert the primacy of faith over reason and relate to the books originally shelved beneath them. The abbey library today holds about 200,000 volumes.
• Abbey church of St Michael: remodelled in Baroque style 1712–1729 with stucco by Holzinger. The high-altar painting of Archangel Michael is by Cosmas Damian Asam, around 1715.
• Abbey courtyard: with the Charlemagne fountain, an 18th-century statue, and the Baroque hall building.
• Prelates' Garden: neat beds and a pavilion, with views of the church towers and abbey wings.

Tours and prices (as of October 2026)

• Baroque library: guided tour only, Tuesday to Saturday at 10:00 and 15:00, Sundays and holidays at 15:00.
• No tours: 24 December to 6 January, Ash Wednesday to the following Saturday, Holy Week to Easter Monday and on church feast days.
• Contribution: adults €5, children from 6, pupils, students and people with severe disabilities €3, groups of 25 or more €4 each by arrangement.
• Also available: tours of the parish and abbey church and regular concerts.

Tripto tips

Allow 1 to 1.5 hours for the library, church and garden. Arrive at the gatehouse a few minutes before the tour. The abbey nursery sells plants, and there is a restaurant on site. Metten combines well with a visit to nearby Deggendorf.