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22-509: According to the report of a monk from Reichenau Abbey the founder was believed to be Count Hunfried of Chur - Rhaetia , who was said to have promised Charlemagne to make the foundation for the worthy safekeeping of a precious reliquary cross containing a fragments of the True Cross , as well as an onyx vessel containing some of the Blood of Christ . Such evidence as is available does indicate that

44-507: A while Pirmin was invited by count Rohingus to stay at his villa in Thommen, near Sankt Vith in the Ardennes . Pirmin gained the favour of Charles Martel , mayor of the palace of Francia. He was sent to help rebuild Disentis Abbey in what is today Switzerland. In 724, he was appointed abbot of Mittelzell Abbey on Reichenau Island , which had earlier founded. Later, for political reasons, he

66-465: The Carolingian dynasty , under Abbot Waldo of Reichenau (740–814), by educating the clerks who staffed Imperial and ducal chanceries. Abbot Reginbert of Reichenau (died 846) built up the important book collection. Abbot Walahfrid Strabo (842–849), who was educated at Reichenau, was renowned as a poet and Latin scholar. Reichenau was greatly fostered by its position on the highway to Italy, which

88-591: The Moorish invaders, with patronage that included Charles Martel , and, more locally, Count Berthold of the Ahalolfinger and the Alemannian Duke Santfrid I (Nebi) . Pirmin's conflict with Santfrid resulted in his leaving Reichenau in 727. Reichenau quickly developed into an influential religious, cultural, and intellectual center. Under Abbot Haito the monastery began to flourish. It gained influence in

110-646: The Old Swiss Confederacy . Although the German Kaiser confirmed the abbey's rights in 1442, the connection to the Holy Roman Empire was broken; Glarus and Schwyz considered themselves from that point onwards as successors to the royal Vögte . Nevertheless, the abbess continued to bear the title of Princess of the Holy Roman Empire. Despite further attempts to reform the abbey's monastic life, there

132-652: The Rhine valley. The Vögte generally came from the greater aristocracy of the region. By inheritance from the Lenzburgs the Vogtei passed first to the counts of Kyburg , then later to the Habsburgs and the Counts of Toggenburg . By the transfer of the lordship of Windegg to the cantons of Glarus and Schwyz in 1438 the abbey passed, as part of the common overlordship of Windegg, to

154-477: The abbey was briefly suspended in 1529, but reinstated in 1531 after the re-Catholicisation of the Linthgebiet . In 1585 and again in 1610 it burnt down, with the destruction of all the ancient deeds and privileges. At the same time there were increasing conflicts with the protecting powers, Glarus and Schwyz, who felt the foundation to be an alien body and treated it accordingly. In 1782 the community buildings and

176-491: The abbey was founded at about that time, possibly as a daughter foundation of St. Stephan's Abbey in Strasbourg , but the foundation at Schänis soon fell into obscurity. After many years Ulrich I, Count of Lenzburg , restored the abbey to prosperity and a sound economic footing by numerous gifts of property. Also, by exchanges of land and rights of patronage he created a stable and unified ecclesiastical and parochial structure in

198-620: The church were refurbished in the Rococo style. After the end of the Old Swiss Confederacy in 1798 Schänis Abbey, by the operation of the Act of Mediation of 1803, lost all its feudal rights and was gradually forced to dispose of all possessions outside the canton of St. Gallen . In 1811 the Great Council of the canton dissolved the abbey. The community buildings were sold at auction and the church

220-589: The foundation of Niederaltaich Abbey , Werner I of what became the Salian dynasty endowed the new abbey at Hornbach . The most important of Pirmin's books is Dicta Abbatis Pirminii, de Singulis Libris Canonicis Scarapsus ("Words of Abbot Pirminius, extracts from the Single Canonical Books"). The book collects quotations from Church Fathers and scriptures, presumably for use by missionaries, or reading during monastic meals. Written between 710-724, it contains

242-463: The foundation's immediate vicinity. It was presumably at this time that the dedication was altered from the "Holy Cross" to Saint Sebastian . In 1045 Emperor Henry III granted Schänis Abbey royal immunity and free election of its abbesses. Despite several attempts at reform Schänis remained a free secular canonry with relatively relaxed rules. In the 14th century it lost its estates in Vorarlberg and

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264-628: The island) was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2000. In 2024, Deutsche Post issued stamp series and envelope commemorating 1300 years of Reichenau Monastery. 47°41′56″N 9°03′45″E  /  47.6989°N 9.0624°E  / 47.6989; 9.0624 Saint Pirmin Saint Pirmin (latinized Pirminius , born before 700 ( c.  670 according to many sources ), died November 3, 753 in Hornbach ),

286-673: The late 10th and early 11th centuries, often known as the Reichenau School . An example of the scriptorium's production is the Pericopes of Henry II , made for the Emperor, now in Munich . Walafrid Strabo was educated at Reichenau. Bishop Egino of Verona resided in Reichenau, and built (799) the parish church of St. Peter at Niederzell, a small Roman basilica with two towers, whither he retired to lead

308-634: The life of a hermit, dying in 802. The patronage of the Carolingians resulted in the rapid growth of the monastery in importance, being granted successively immunity from secular authority, jurisdictio fori the status of a principality of the empire, and complete exemption from episcopal jurisdiction. Reichenau has preserved its precious relics, which include the pitcher from the wedding at Cana . The Abbey reached its apex under Abbot Berno of Reichenau (1008–48). During his time, important scholars, such as Hermannus Contractus , lived and worked in Reichenau. In

330-563: The monks disbanded under Napoleon , part of Reichenau's famed library was preserved in the state library ( Landesbibliothek ) at Karlsruhe . The Geographus Bavarus and several other important documents may be found in the Bavarian State Library in Munich . Since 2001 a small community of Benedictines has been re-established at Niederzell ( Sts. Peter and Paul ). Because of its historical importance and exceptional art and architecture, Reichenau Abbey (along with other monuments on

352-562: The second half of the 11th century, the cultural importance of the Abbey started to wane owing to the restrictive reforms of Pope Gregory VII , and also to rivalry with the nearby St. Gall ; in 1540, the Bishop of Constance, an old rival of the Reichenau abbots, became lord of Reichenau, and, under the control of the succeeding bishops, the abbey's significance dwindled. When the abbey lands were secularized (initially in 1757 and permanently in 1803) and

374-673: Was a Merovingian-era monk and missionary. He founded or restored numerous monasteries in Alemannia ( Swabia ), especially in the Alsace , along the Upper Rhine and in the Lake Constance region. Pirmin was probably from the area of Narbonne , possibly of Visigothic origin. Many Visigoths fled to Francia after the Arab conquest of Spain at the beginning of the 8th century. From 718 onwards, he

396-452: Was abbot of the monastery Quortolodora in Antwerp ( Austrasia ) and, together with its pupils, served the church inside the broch , Het Steen . (In the 12th century, this church was dedicated to Saint Walpurga .) According to legend, Pirmin blessed a spring that wells up near Kaundorf . The spring’s water is said to have healing properties. A chapel on the site is dedicated to him. After

418-534: Was banished to Alsace . In 753, he died in the abbey at Hornbach , where his body is entombed. Pirmin's missionary work mainly took place in the Alsace and the upper area of the Rhine and the Danube . Besides actively preaching and converting, he also founded or reformed many monasteries, such as those at Amorbach , Gengenbach , Murbach , Wissembourg , Marmoutier , Neuweiler , and Reichenau . Pirmin secured endowments from area nobility: Odilo of Bavaria financed

440-496: Was frequented by Greek and Italian, and even Irish and Icelandic pilgrims and wayfarers. The Abbey stood along a main north–south highway between Germany and Italy , where the lake passage eased the arduous route. The Abbey of Reichenau housed a school, and a scriptorium and artists' workshop, that has a claim to having been the largest and artistically most influential centre for producing lavishly illuminated manuscripts in Europe during

462-463: Was no compulsion to take vows and only women of the aristocracy were accepted as community members. Applicants were initially obliged to prove descent from four grandparents of the higher aristocracy, but later from 16 great-great-grandparents of the same rank. In this way Schänis became a place of care for the unmarried female offspring of the higher nobility of southern Germany. During the Reformation

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484-446: Was taken over for the use of the parish. 47°09′36″N 9°02′42″E  /  47.159873°N 9.045081°E  / 47.159873; 9.045081 Reichenau Abbey Reichenau Abbey was a Benedictine monastery on Reichenau Island (known in Latin as Augia Dives ). It was founded in 724 by the itinerant Saint Pirmin , who is said to have fled Visigothic Spain ahead of

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