Famous Cistercian AbbeySalem Monastery and Castle
On the northern shore of Lake Constance stands what was once the most powerful abbey in the region, Salem Abbey and Castle, built from 1134. In 1802, the Margraves of Baden took over the property - since 2009, Salem has been owned by the state of Baden-Württemberg.
Walking through the great hall, admiring the baroque tiled stove in the former dining hall or looking at Bernhard Strigel's famous night painting for the altar of the Virgin Mary, it is hard to imagine Salem as an austere Cistercian monastery immersed in work and prayer. “Because on a cold March night in 1697, a gigantic catastrophe occurred in this place,” explains Birgit Rückert, the castle's caretaker. A stove overheated and exploded, and everything except the farm buildings and the church quickly burned down. Reconstruction began immediately, but was not taken as seriously because of the monastery's modesty and because the abbots of Salem had become important men. The abbey owned large estates, cultivated fruit and grapes for wine, managed forests and created fish ponds. All of this still characterizes the surrounding landscape today.
Even if monks no longer live here, at least one tradition remains. Monasteries have always been committed to education, and part of the baroque ensemble has been home to the Salem boarding school since 1920. Young people from all over the world study here.
