Reichenau

Monastic Island of Reichenau
UNESCO-World Heritage since 2000

The cultural landscape of the island of Reichenau on Lake Constance bears outstanding witness to the religious and cultural role of a great Benedictine monastery in the Middle Ages. The island's three Romanesque churches are outstanding examples of monastic architecture between the 9th and 11th centuries, and their wall paintings reveal that, during the 10th and 11th centuries, Reichenau was a cultural centre of major significance for the history of European art.

A Benedictine monastery was founded on the island in 724 by the itinerant bishop Pirmin. Under direct imperial control, it flourished from the 8th century to the 11th century and developed into one of the great intellectual centres of the western world.

The famous monastery school, where classes were given by highly respected teachers, produced brilliant theologians, politicians, scientists, writers and musicians. The monastery library, the Reichenau School of Painting (manuscript illumination and wall painting) and the art of gold work at Reichenau became extremely well known.

Route Suggestion
From the Wieskirche pilgrimage church in Pfaffenwinkel to the island of Reichenau