Marbach Abbey, founded in 1089 by the knight Burckard of Gueberschwihr. The first buildings were the chancel of the church and the St Augustine chapel. This square construction, with a single nave and a semi-circular apse, was the first to be consecrated, while the final addition, the ample Narthex was only completed between 1130 and 1140.
The abbey was burned down 4 times and was pillaged and vandalised more than 10 times. In 1506, the St Augustine chapel was rebuilt in the Gothic style of the period and consecrated in 1509. The peasants’ revolt that broke out in 1525, and the Thirty Years war, fatally weakened the abbey.
In 1791, the abbey was sold at auction. A change in ownership caused the demolition of the buildings and the sale of the stones as construction material. Between 1809 and 1830, the church, the cloister and both towers disappeared as well.
Today, of the original abbey, only the Narthex or “Paradise” remains, with its three wonderful Roman arcades dating from 1152 which were saved and partially restored in 1992. The porch from 1490 and the rampart wall finished in 1496 are also still visible. Today the former abbey is home to the Auguste Biecheler Medical-Educational Institute.
References:Linderhof is the smallest of the three palaces built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria and the only one which he lived to see completed.
Ludwig II, who was crowned king in 1864, began his building activities in 1867-1868 by redesigning his rooms in the Munich Residenz and laying the foundation stone of Neuschwanstein Castle. In 1868 he was already making his first plans for Linderhof. However, neither the palace modelled on Versailles that was to be sited on the floor of the valley nor the large Byzantine palace envisaged by Ludwig II were ever built.
Instead, the new building developed around the forester's house belonging to his father Maximilian II, which was located in the open space in front of the present palace and was used by the king when crown prince on hunting expeditions with his father.