Abbey of Reichenau

The Abbey of Reichenau is the Benedictine monastic complex on Reichenau Island in Lake Constance, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, originally founded in the early 8th century and inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. The island contains an ensemble of medieval churches notable for early medieval architecture and wall paintings.

Visitors focus on the three principal churches - the Münster of St. Mary and St. Mark, St. George and St. Peter - which preserve architecture and fresco cycles from the 9th to 11th centuries. The island layout, surviving monastic precinct and vegetable gardens illustrate the island’s role as a medieval centre of learning, manuscript production and ecclesiastical power.

The abbey was founded in the early 8th century and grew into an important religious and cultural centre in the Carolingian and Ottonian periods, producing illuminated manuscripts and acting as a regional ecclesiastical hub. Many structures visible today date from the 9th to 11th centuries and were used continuously by the monastic community until secularisation.

Reichenau Island lies in the eastern part of Lake Constance (Bodensee) and is connected to the mainland by a causeway; the island is administered from the Baden-Württemberg side of the lake.

• Island size and UNESCO status: Reichenau Island is about 4.5 kilometres long and contains the monastic churches and medieval garden layouts that form the World Heritage property.

What to See #

• Münster (St. Mary and St. Mark): Church of St. Mary and St. Mark (Münster) - the principal abbey church with early medieval architectural phases and significant painted decoration.
• St. George church: Church of St. George - a small 9th-century church on the island preserving early stonework and medieval fresco fragments.
• St. Peter church: St. Peter's church - part of the monastic ensemble with Romanesque features and historic liturgical fittings dating from the 9th to 11th centuries.