Weihenstephan Abbey

The origins of Weihenstephan Monastery can be traced back to approximately 720, when a church already existed on Weihenstephan Hill. Around 830, Bishop Hitto of Freising founded the monastery, initially dedicated to Saints Vitus and Stephen, with Saint Michael added as a patron saint from 1114. Until about 1020, the monastery housed secular canons, who were then replaced by Benedictine monks from Moosburg. In the 12th century, Weihenstephan experienced its first cultural flourishing, followed by a decline due to fires and looting. In the 15th century, the monastery recovered and joined the Kastl reform movement. Between 1674 and 1705, the monastery buildings were largely rebuilt, and the abbey church was modernized after 1750. In the course of secularization in Bavaria, the monastery was dissolved in 1803.

The former Weihenstephan Monastery is situated in Freising, a city in Bavaria, Germany, at an approximate elevation of 502 meters above sea level.

Today, parts of the western wing and the southwestern monastery building, along with some of the western outbuildings, are preserved and utilized by the Technical University of Munich. The southwestern wing houses a banquet hall featuring stucco work from the early 18th century. In the courtyard garden, the reconstructed footprint of the demolished monastery church is visible. The baroque garden house, known as the “Salettl,” and the 18th-century Magdalen Chapel are also preserved. The former monastery brewery has been state-owned since 1921 as the Bavarian State Brewery.

• St. Veit (Monastery, approx. 757 m away)
• Franciscan Tertiary Monastery Freising (Monastery, approx. 997 m away)
• Collegiate Church of St. Andrä, Freising (Monastery, approx. 1237 m away)
• Residence Palace (Palace, approx. 1291 m away)