St. Maximin's Abbey, Trier

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St. Maximin's Abbey (Abtei or Reichsabtei St. Maximin) was a Benedictine monastery in Trier in the Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

[edit] History

The abbey, one of the oldest monasteries in western Europe, was traditionally founded by, and named after, Saint Maximin of Trier in the 4th century. It was destroyed by the Normans in 882 and re-built from 942 to 952. In the 13th century it was destroyed by a fire and re-built again on the plan of the previous buildings.

The question of the abbey's "Reichsunmittelbarkeit" was for centuries a matter of conflict, contested by the Archbishops of Trier, to whom in 1669 the abbot formally renounced all claim to the status and made submission to the Archbishop in his capacity as Prince-elector.

In 1674 the abbey was completely destroyed by French troops. It was rebuilt between 1680 and 1684 but, unusually for the period, still in a Gothic form.

The abbey was secularised in 1802. The monastic buildings were put to various secular uses - barracks, prison, school - and were totally destroyed in World War II.

The church of St. Maximin survived, but was de-consecrated, and between 1979 to 1995 converted to secular uses. In 1995 it opened as a concert hall, now well-known for its exceptional acoustics.