Tegernsee (Abbey)

Tegernsee Abbey is located on the shore of Lake Tegernsee in Bavaria.  It was founded in the middle of the 8th century by Otkar and Adalbert, members of the Bavarian nobility, and settled by monks from the monastery of St. Gall.  It was dedicated to St. Quirinus of Rome, whose remains were transferred to the abbey from that city.  The abbey suffered major depredations during the Hungarian invasions of the 10th century but it was refounded as an imperial abbey in 978 and became a major centre of learning and culture during the 11th and 12th centuries.  Its scriptorium produced many fine manuscripts.

The community declined in importance during the 13th and 14th centuries when it was tightly controlled by a small group of Bavarian nobility.  However in 1426 there was a visitation from the Vicar General, Johannes Grünwalder and the consequent reforms marked the beginning of a period of renewed vigour and importance for the Abbey.  There had been a long tradition of wood engraving at Tegernsee and in 1573 a printing press was established which became renowned for the high quality of its output.  In the later 16th century and 17th centuries, Tegernsee also developed a tradition of fine polyphonic music.  Abbot Paul Widmann (1594-1624) was particularly known for his musical taste and knowledge.

Along with many other German monasteries, the abbey at Tegernsee was secularised in 1803 and the buildings and land were sold.  The monastic buildings were subsequently acquired in 1817 by the Bavarian royal family, for whom it became a summer residence known as Schloss Tegernsee.  The extensive library (containing more than 60,000 volumes, including over 6,000 incunabula and 2,000 manuscripts) was absorbed into the Bavarian State Library.