Ochsenhausen Abbey, Benedictine abbey in Ochsenhausen, Germany.
Ochsenhausen Abbey is a former Benedictine monastery in Ochsenhausen, Baden-Württemberg, whose buildings were extensively refurbished in the Baroque style, earning it the nickname "Himmelreich des Barocks". The former abbey church, now the parish church of St. George, stands at the centre of the complex, which also houses the Baden-Württemberg State Youth Music Academy.
Around 1090 the lords of Wolfertschwenden founded a Benedictine monastery at Ochsenhausen and gave it to St. Blaise's Abbey; the church was dedicated to St. George in 1093. The monks broke with St. Blaise in 1391 during the Western Schism, and Nikolaus Faber became the first abbot in 1392. In 1495 the abbey became a free imperial abbey, and it was secularised in 1803.
The abbey church, dedicated to St. George, now serves as the parish church. The name Ochsenhausen is linked to the legend of an ox that uncovered a buried treasure, which led to the monastery's founding. Since 1803 the complex has been secular, and part of it houses the Baden-Württemberg State Youth Music Academy.
The former abbey church now serves as the parish church of St. George, and the monastery buildings stand in the centre of Ochsenhausen, around 40 km south of Ulm in the Biberach district. The complex is used today by the Baden-Württemberg State Youth Music Academy, so some wings are not open to visitors.
A plowing ox is said to have discovered a buried treasure from an abandoned nunnery, which led to the monastery's founding at this location. This unusual tale connects the place's name directly to its spiritual origins.
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