Schlehdorf Abbey, Dominican convent in Schlehdorf, Bavaria, Germany
Schlehdorf Abbey is a former Benedictine and Augustinian monastery on the eastern edge of Schlehdorf, near the Kochelsee. The Baroque three-wing complex, rebuilt 1717–1725, has a white facade, a steep red tiled roof with two rows of small dormer windows, and two towers with dark onion domes at the right end. A lower red-roofed wing with a small belfry adjoins it on the left.
Founded in 763/772 by the Huosi, a local noble family, as successor to Scharnitz Abbey, with Arbeo as first abbot. It was Benedictine until the 10th century, then a collegiate foundation, and from 1140 an Augustinian Canons' house. Rebuilt 1717–1725 as a Baroque three-wing complex; dissolved in 1803 during secularisation. Since 1904 it has belonged to the Missionary Dominican Sisters of King William's Town.
The monastery church is dedicated to Saints Dionysius and Tertullinus, whose relics the first abbot Atto brought from Scharnitz. In the Heilig-Kreuz-Kapelle the Schlehdorfer Kreuz, a life-size figure of Christ carved around 970, is kept. Since 1904 the site has belonged to the Missionary Dominican Sisters of King William's Town, and the KlosterGut Schlehdorf cooperative now runs a farm shop and farm café on the grounds.
The abbey church and the Realschule remained with the Diocese of Munich and Freising when the convent buildings were sold in 2019 and 2020. The KlosterGut Schlehdorf cooperative now runs a hostel, seminar house, workshops, farm shop and farm café on the grounds. The site lies at the eastern edge of Schlehdorf, close to the Kochelsee.
In the Heilig-Kreuz-Kapelle hangs the Schlehdorf Cross, a life-sized figure of Christ carved around 970, among the oldest monumental crucifixes in Christendom. Visitors often walk past the chapel without knowing it holds this early medieval work.
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