Archaeological research supports legendary tradition
Legend has it that the Convent of St John at Müstair was founded by Charlemagne. He vowed to found an abbey after his coronation as king of the Lombards when he was caught in a snowstorm on the Umbrail Pass between Bormio and Santa Maria but escaped unscathed. Archaeological research supports the core message of the legend: The timbers in the original masonry of the church were felled in 775, one year after Charlemagne’s coronation as King of the Lombards.
Müstair as a strategic strongpoint and centre of faith
Müstair was an important base for the Frankish ruler’s expansionist policy. But Charlemagne founded the abbey not only for strategic reasons; he also wanted to revive art, culture and religious life in his empire.
The Convent of St John was a centre of faith and a model of monastic life according to the Rule of St Benedict. It also accommodated travellers passing through on their way to the Valtellina, Tyrol and Engadine. It served as a second residence for the Bishop of Chur, south of the Alps, and as an administrative centre of his secular dominion.
For over 1,200 years, the convent walls have breathed the Benedictine spirit.
According to a manuscript from St Gallen, the abbey had 45 monks in the mid-9th century. However, the number of monks soon declined and the abbey was taken over by nuns in the mid-12th century. It is possible that the monks had moved to the nearby Marienberg monastery in the neighbouring Vinschgau region (South Tyrol). Since then, the convent in Müstair has been inhabited by Benedictine nuns. The Benedictine motto ‘ora et labora e lege’ (prayer and work and culture) has been practised daily at convent for over 1,200 years.
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