Maria Laach Abbey

The abbey church is one of the finest surviving examples of German Romanesque architecture, distinguished by its symmetrical six-towered façade and its compact, harmonious proportions. The east end terminates in a distinctive apse that mirrors the westwork, a hallmark of the imperial Romanesque style of the Rhineland.

Yes, Maria Laach remains an active Benedictine monastery staffed by monks of the Beuronese Congregation. The community was re-established at the site in 1892 after the monastery had been secularized during the Napoleonic era, and it operates a publishing house, a farm, and various artisanal workshops.

The abbey sits on the southwestern shore of the Laacher See, a large volcanic crater lake that last erupted approximately 13,000 years ago. The lake and the surrounding landscape are part of the Eifel volcanic region in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

The abbey was founded in 1093 by Heinrich II of Laach, Count Palatine of the Rhine, and his wife Adelheid. The foundation was originally an Augustinian canonry before being converted to a Benedictine community in 1112.