Wurmsbach Abbey is a monastery of Cistercian nuns located in Bollingen, a locality of Rapperswil-Jona. Count Rudolf of Rapperswil gave his castle of Wurmsbach together with a considerable area of land in 1259 for the foundation of a religious house and the abbey was established. It was initially a dependency of the Cistercian monks of Abbey of St. Urban in Wettingen. The abbey church was dedicated in 1281. Bollinger Sandstein was used for the construction of the abbey by dedicated quarries.

During the first Battle of Villmergen in 1656 and again during the occupation of the region by the French Revolutionary Army in 1799, the nuns were obliged to flee. On both occasions the abbey was completely pillaged, with the consequence that there are few treasures left.

The abbey is renowned for its location at the lake side. It overlooks uper Lake Zürich and the church is listed as a building of historical significance. The nuns run a secondary boarding school for girls. The gardens are known for the herbal remedies grown.

References:

Comments

Your name



Details

Founded: 1281
Category: Religious sites in Switzerland

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.2/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

G ourmet_T23 (2 months ago)
Disappointing. Car ban. No walking. Load too. There was no good energy here at all (as is usually the case with such spiritual institutions). We quickly disappeared again.
David Brunner (10 months ago)
The sisters are always very friendly and the food in the restaurant is usually good. But the sauces could have a little more taste. The nature is very beautiful and for bathing there is a bathhouse where you can also lie down.
Karl-Heinz Armbruster (10 months ago)
Very quiet and idyllic place directly on Lake Zurich. The abbess is a surprise
M. Weingartner (13 months ago)
We spent study days for our master's thesis here and were well looked after. Beautiful place of power with dear sisters. Great, large rooms in a wonderful location! Great library with WiFi and coffee machine. Highly recommended for a break, for studying or simply as a "normal" guest. Also great destination. Should one support. Thanks very much.
S E (2 years ago)
The incredibly picturesque monastery of Mariazell Wurmsbach, located directly on the Obersee (Lake Zurich), is a Cistercian monastery that has existed since 1259 and is therefore older than Switzerland. It has been inhabited continuously since then and consists of the monastery church with cloister, the monastery buildings, the guest house, the walled monastery garden, the cemetery, a farm and the former girls' boarding school. Most of the historic buildings date from the 17th century. Today's monastery church was built in the years around 1600-1620. The cloister was built between 1615 and 1620 by the abbess Maria Dumeisen. In 1767 the church was redesigned in baroque style with a rococo ceiling. A last major redesign took place in 1866, when the church had become too small due to the opening of the boarding school. From 1836 to 2022 the monastery had a school for girls, from 1842 a girls' boarding school. This was closed in 2022 due to a lack of students.
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Trencín Castle

Trenčín Castle is relatively large renovated castle, towering on a steep limestone cliff directly above the city of Trenčín. It is a dominant feature not only of Trenčín, but also of the entire Považie region. The castle is a national monument.

History of the castle cliff dates back to the Roman Empire, what is proved by the inscription on the castle cliff proclaiming the victory of Roman legion against Germans in the year 179.

Today’s castle was probably built on the hill-fort. The first proven building on the hill was the Great Moravian rotunda from the 9th century and later there was a stone residential tower, which served to protect the Kingdom of Hungary and the western border. In the late 13th century the castle became a property of Palatine Matúš Csák, who became Mr. of Váh and Tatras.

Matúš Csák of Trenčín built a tower, still known as Matthew’s, which is a dominant determinant of the whole building.