Thierhaupten Abbey

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Thierhaupten Abbey (Kloster Thierhaupten) was a Benedictine monastery in Thierhaupten in Bavaria, Germany.

[edit] History

The monastery, dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul, was founded in the 8th century by Tassilo III, Duke of Bavaria, last of the Agilolfings. The name Thierhaupten, which means "beasts' heads" in German, is supposed to refer to a heathen shrine formerly on the site.

The abbey was looted by the Hungarians in 955. It was destroyed by the Swabian League in 1504 but re-built, although it was always a small community. Finally it was dissolved in 1803 in the secularisation of Bavaria.

[edit] Buildings

The buildings were sold off to a local businessman. The last abbot, Edmund Schmid, remained in Thierhaupten as the parish priest, and succeeded in 1812 in acquiring the former abbey church for use as the parish church. The remaining buildings gradually fell into disrepair, but were bought by the Thierhaupten market town administration in 1983 and renovated.