Highlights in the 1,250-year history of the convent
According to legend, after his coronation as king of the Lombards, Charlemagne was caught in a snowstorm on the Umbrail Pass but escaped unscathed. In gratitude, he is said to have founded the monastery of St John, as evidenced by the stucco statue in the church.
2023
SAVAIR competence centre
Competence centre for mediaeval research, monument preservation and restoration, building culture and sustainability.
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2019
Sr Aloisia Steiner becomes prioress
The election of the prioress took place on 2 October 2019 under the direction of Abbot President Christian Meyer from Engelberg Abbey.
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2018
Inauguration and opening of the Chapel of the Holy Cross
On Friday, 14 September 2018 - on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross - the chapel was...
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2013
Prioress Sr Domenica Dethomas (2013-19)
Prioress Domenica was the 57th...
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2007
All the church frescoes presented in one illustrated book
Over 100 years after the discovery of the first Carolingian frescoes in the convent church, all the frescoes are published for the first...
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2003
Opening of the convent museum
The convent museum was originally housed in the Prince's Room in the west wing of the monastic complex.
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1983
Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site
In 1983, the Benedictine Convent of St John was added to the World Heritage List at the meeting of the World Heritage Committee of...
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1969
Establishment of the Stiftung Pro Kloster St. Johann in Müstair foundation
Establishment of the Stiftung Pro Kloster St. Johann in Müstair foundation
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1947 to 1951
Uncovering the wall paintings in the convent church
From 1947 to 1951, the convent church was restored under the direction of the architect Walther Sulser and accompanied by the then President of the...
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1894
Discovery of Carolingian frescoes
‘How astonished we were to see frescoes from the eighth century in the dark attic by lantern light’...
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1810
Müstair Abbey becomes a priory
Augustina Wolf, the last abbess of the Convent of St John at Müstair
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1799
The French occupy the convent
The French occupy the convent; the relic of the Holy Blood has been lost ever since...
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1758
Construction of the Chapel of Mercy
The Eucharistic miracle relic led to the construction of a chapel
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1751
The Hermanin Room
Abbess Maria Angela Katharina Hermanin zu Reichenfeldt has her abbess's apartment built outside the cloister...
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1676
The Albertis Room
After the death of Abbess Ursula Karl V. von Hohenbalken on 5 December 1666, the eight nuns of Convent of St John at Müstair elected Dorothea...
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1642
Construction of the Prince's Room
Baroque flat for the Prince-Bishop
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1512
Construction of Castelmur Abbey
Barbara von Castelmur built her residence in the north wing
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1492
Installation of the vault and the nuns' gallery
The Carolingian one-aisled church becomes a three-aisled church
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1394
Convent urbarium with portraits of Charlemagne and John the Baptist
Charlemagne with church model
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1035
Construction of the bishop's residence
Bishop Hartmann had his Müstair residence rebuilt in the monastery in 1035. The result was a...
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960
Planta Tower built
Oldest fortified residential tower in Europe
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800
Painting of the monastery church
For over 1,200 years, it has been the centre of monastic life: the church with its unique frescoes...
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785
Chapel of the Holy Cross
For a long time, the Chapel of the Holy Cross was considered a Romanesque building. Archaeological and dendrochronological...
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775
Foundation of the Abbey of St John at Müstair
As legend has it, the Abbey of St John at Müstair was founded by Charlemagne.
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