Zwiefalten Abbey

Zwiefalten Abbey (in German Kloster Zwiefalten, Abtei Zwiefalten or after 1750, Reichsabtei Zwiefalten) was a Benedictine monastery situated at Zwiefalten near Reutlingen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.
== History ==
The monastery was founded in 1089 at the time of the Investiture Controversy by Counts Gero and Kuno of Achalm, advised by Bishop Adalbero of Würzburg and Abbot William of Hirsau. The first monks were also from Hirsau Abbey, home of the Hirsau Reforms (under the influence of the Cluniac reforms), which strongly influenced the new foundation.
Although Pope Urban VI granted special privileges to it, Zwiefalten Abbey was nevertheless the private monastery of the Counts of Achalm, later succeeded by the Counts of Württemberg.
The abbey was plundered in 1525 during the Peasants' War.
In 1750 the abbey was granted the status of "Reichsabtei", which meant that it had the status of an independent power subject only to the Imperial Crown and was free of the rule of Württemberg.
On 25 November 1802, however, it was secularised and dissolved and became a lunatic asylum and later psychiatric hospital, which it is today, as well as the site of the Württemberg Psychiatry Museum.
== Buildings ==
The present buildings were constructed in German Baroque style from 1739–47 under the direction of Johann Michael Fischer (1692–1766) of Munich, who began overseeing the work in 1741. The interior, considered a model of Baroque design, is filled with ornate chapels and gilded balustrades, dominated by the high altar, which combines a Gothic statue of the Virgin Mary dating from 1430 with Baroque additions (dating from about 1750) by Johann Joseph Christian (1706–77). The elaborate frescoes are by Franz Joseph Spiegler (1691–1757)Germany: A Phaidon Cultural Guide, pp. 775-6. Oxford: Phaidon, 1985. ISBN 0-7148-2354-6.
== References ==
== Gallery ==
Image:Zwiefalten_Abtei.jpg|Exterior of the abbey
Image:Germany Zwiefalten Münster Nebuchadnezzer and Zedekiah.jpg|Nebuchadnezzar battles King Zedekiah of Judah, who holds a plan of Jerusalem
Image:Zwiefalten_Muenster.jpg|Interior of the abbey
Image:Zwiefalten_Muenster_Deckengemaelde.jpg|Ceiling fresco in the abbey
Category:1802 disestablishments
Category:States and territories established in 1750
Category:Benedictine monasteries in Germany
Category:Hospitals in Germany
Category:Monasteries in Baden-Württemberg
Category:1089 establishments
Category:Christian monasteries established in the 11th century
Category:Hospitals with year of establishment missing
de:Kloster Zwiefalten
fr:Abbaye de Zwiefalten
it:Abbazia di Zwiefalten
nl:Abdij Zwiefalten