Reitenhaslach Monastery

The monastery was founded in 1143 by Count Wolfker de Tegervac and his wife Hemma; from its original location in the modern community of Marktl , the monastery was moved to Reitenhaslach in 1146, which was referred to as the property of the Diocese of Salzburg in 788. The first monks and Abbot Gero, who led the young monastery during the first 30 years of its existence, came from Zalem Abbey - later on, the abbots of Zalem regularly visited their branch monastery.

The rich river resources of Raitenhaslach were well suited by Cistercians specializing in fish farming , since they avoided eating meat: even today, several fish ponds created in those years were preserved in the immediate vicinity of the former monastery. In addition to expanding through the cultivation of the surrounding lands, the monastery grew through donations and the acquisition of property: the monastery had several taxable villages in the Burghausen area, and in addition, it owned a winery in modern Lower Austria . The parishes of several churches, including a number of passages in Altötting , were controlled by the monastery.

With the strengthening of the Dukes of Wittelsbach , who lived in the neighboring castle of Burghausen , the influence of Salzburg on the life of the monastery slowly but steadily decreased starting from about the middle of the XIII century. Wittelsbachs gradually took on the role of patron of the monastery, which was located in the border zone between their possessions and the territory of the Archdiocese of Salzburg. In 1258, the monastery became associated with the Wittelsbach family, and in the XV century the monastery church served as the burial place of the ducal family. At the end of the XV and the beginning of the XVI century, during the Reformation , Ludwig IX the Rich supported the monastery in its struggle against Protestant doctrines.

Over the many centuries of its existence, the monastery has been rebuilt several times: it was especially active in the first half of the 18th century - at that time the monastery church acquired its current form, being rebuilt from a Romanesque basilica into a baroque church . The new facade was built in 1751-1752 by the architect (foreman), Franz Alois Mayr (1723-1771) from Trostberg . The “ideal form” characteristic of the complex of buildings of the Cistercian monasteries, built according to the unified architectural canons, remained until the beginning of the 19th century, despite numerous extensions and rebuildings.

In 1803, the monastery was dissolved during secularization in Bavaria. Unapproachable for private use, the monastery buildings could not find a buyer for a long time: after several price reductions, only the "profitable" parts of the monastery - such as the brewery - were transferred to private ownership, and most of the buildings were demolished, including the new library building (completed only in 1785) and refectory . The former monastery church became a parish in 1806. Since then, the remaining monastery buildings have served as a school, a brewery, a restaurant and houses with private apartments. In 1978, parts of the municipality of Reitenhaslach, including the former monastery, were included in the cities of Burghausen as a district.

• Fürstenfeld Monastery ( Upper Bavaria )
• Fürstenzell Monastery
• Gotteszell Monastery ( Lower Bavaria )
• Langheim Monastery

• Bauer, Hermann und Anna: Klöster in Bayern. Eine Kunst- und Kulturgeschichte der Klöster in Oberbayern, Niederbayern und der Oberpfalz, Manchen 1985, S. 101-105;
• Krausen, Edgar: Die Klöster des Zisterzienserordens in Bayern (Bayerische Heimatforschung Heft 7), Munchen 1953, S. 81-84;
  • Krausen, Edgar: Die Zisterzienserabtei Raitenhaslach (Germania Sacra Neue Folge 11: Die Bistümer der Kirchenprovinz Salzburg, Das Erzbistum Salzburg, Bd. 1,) Berlin / New York 1977.

• Stephanie Haberer. Raitenhaslach - Das älteste Zisterzienserkloster in Oberbayern? (German) . hdbg.eu. Klöster in Bayern, Haus der Bayerischen Geschichte . Date of treatment April 22, 2019.