Hirsau Monastery near Calw
Photo: Hirsau Monastery
Key Facts
- Hirsau Monastery (or the Hirsau Monastery Ruins) is located near Calw in the northern Black Forest
- The outdoor grounds are open to the public during the day
- For opening hours of the Abbey Museum, the Lady Chapel, and St. Aurelius Church, as well as information on guided tours, please see the link below
Description
The former Benedictine monastery of St. Peter and Paul was the most important reform monastery north of the Alps within the Cluniac movement during the 11th and 12th centuries; it was destroyed by French troops in 1692 during the War of the Palatine Succession. The ruins—of great significance to architectural history—comprise remnants from various architectural styles: the well-preserved Romanesque columned basilica (once the largest Romanesque church in Southwest Germany), the Gothic cloister, the Late Gothic Lady Chapel, and the ruins of a Renaissance palace, within whose walls stood the Hirsau elm—immortalized in verse by Ludwig Uhland—until 1989.
Photo: Hirsau Monastery
Hirsau Monastery Museum
The Monastery Museum was opened in 1991—marking the 900th anniversary of the consecration of the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul—through a collaboration between the City of Calw and the Badisches Landesmuseum. The museum building itself, originally attached to the north side of St. Aurelius' Church during the Romanesque period, stands as a significant testament to the monastery's history. Featuring numerous text and image panels alongside archaeological finds, the exhibition offers valuable insight into the monastic culture of Hirsau—which dates back over 1,100 years—as well as the lives of the monks and the local and social history of the spa town of Hirsau during the 19th and 20th centuries.
Calwer Klostersommer Festival
The 'Calwer Klostersommer' festival takes place annually during the summer within the monastery grounds. The impressive performance venues and the engagement of renowned artists attract thousands of visitors each year.