"Weltenburg Abbey" a Weltenburg Travel Page by bianchis

The most interesting things in this area are the Benedictine abbey, the oldes monastery in Barvaria and the countryside at the Donaudurchbruch which has always fascinated people since the early days of mankind. The skeleton of a cave man who lived 50.000 years ago now lies only a little way from the Donaudurchbruch in old mill valley. Also found was one of the oldest works of art of Germany: A piece of ivory into which a mammoth is carved as large as the palm of one's hand.

Weltenburg suffered a lot of damage and destruction, especially in the Thirty Years´ War. In the 18th century, Abbot Maurus Bachl had the old church pulled down and ordered the construction of a new church and new convent buildings.
On June 29th, 1716, the foundation-stone of the new church.was laid. Abbot Maurus, who had before been the prior of Ensdorf monastery, knew two young men who had done an excellent job in Ensdorf. And so he engaged the brothers, Cosmas Darnian Asam as architect and Egid Quinn Asam as painter and stucco-worker. They were inspired by the baroque Italian architect Lorenzo Bernini.
Brickwork was finished after two years, the frescoed ceiling and high altar three years later. The interior decorations and fittings were not completed before 1735. An astounding ensemble of baroque architecture and fresco painting adorned the land.

In 1803 the catastrophe befell the abbey. In connection with the Napoleonic Wars, the abbey - and most other abbeys in Bavaria - was secularized and bereft of its money and landed property. More than 1100 years of monastic life ended abruptly. For about 40 years the abbey was empty and in serious danger of suffering irreparable damages.
In 1842, King Ludwig I of Bavaria, arranged the new establishment of the abbey.