Scheyern Abbey

Where Benedictine monks pray today once stood the ancestral castle of one of Europe's most powerful families: the Counts of Scheyern later called themselves the Wittelsbachs and ruled Bavaria until 1918. When they moved to their new castle at Wittelsbach, they gave the old one to the monks. Scheyern Abbey, between Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm and Dachau, is therefore the dynasty's family monastery and oldest burial place, a pilgrimage site of the Holy Cross and a monastery brewery with a beer garden.

History: from the mountains to the castle

The story begins far to the south. In 1077 Countess Haziga helped found a monks' cell in today's Bayrischzell, settled from Hirsau in the Black Forest. The community moved to Fischbachau, then to the Petersberg near Dachau, and in 1119 finally to Scheyern, when Count Otto gave it his vacant castle. In the 13th century the abbey was known for its painting school and scriptorium. Dissolved and sold during secularisation in 1803, it was restored by King Ludwig I in 1838 and became an abbey again in 1842. During the Second World War the library and archive of the Thesaurus Linguae Latinae, the great dictionary of Latin, were kept here.

What to see

• Basilica: Consecrated on 9 October 1215, Romanesque at its core, with a Baroque high altar and painting by Christian Wink (1771) and two Rococo figures from Ignaz Günther's workshop.
• Chapel of the Holy Cross: Home of the Scheyern Cross, a relic of the True Cross from Jerusalem kept here since 1180, in a double-barred patriarchal cross.
• St John's Church: The former castle chapel holds the oldest Wittelsbach tombs, including Otto I, the first Wittelsbach Duke of Bavaria, and a large crucifixion relief from 1514.
• The bells: Since 2009 a 14-bell peal weighing about 24 tonnes, one of the deepest-sounding in Germany. Beside the church stands Bavaria's largest cast-steel bell, 2.38 metres across.

Tours

On Sundays and public holidays at 15:00 a monk guides individual visitors through the basilica, cloister area, sacristy and St John's Church, no booking needed. The tour lasts about an hour and costs €5; meet at the main church entrance. Groups of 12 or more can book through the abbey office.

Monastery beer

Beer has been brewed at Scheyern since at least 1119, and since 2006 again in the old brewhouse. You can drink it in the Klosterschenke on Schyrenplatz, with a beer hall, parlours and a beer garden. The abbey shop sells beer, cheese and spirits from the monastery's own businesses.

Getting there

Scheyern lies about 50 km north of Munich. By car take the A9 to the Pfaffenhofen exit. The nearest station is Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm on the Munich–Ingolstadt line.

Tripto tip

Come on a Sunday: join the 15:00 tour, then have a snack and a monastery beer in the beer garden. Allow one to one and a half hours for church and tour, half a day with a meal.