Ettal Abbey
Sign up free — See who's going and message them.
Is this your place? Get the badge for your websiteAbout
More photos 11
1 / 11
Why go
- A twelve-sided Gothic church transformed by Baroque and Rococo design
- The monastery where Dietrich Bonhoeffer worked on Ethics
Opening hours
Today00:00 – 23:59Show all
Don't miss
- Pilgrimage MadonnaLudwig brought the marble Madonna and Child from Pisa. It became an object of pilgrimage and remains venerated as “Unsere Liebe Frau Stifterin”.At the original church site
- Basilica interiorLook for Johann Baptist Straub’s side altars and pulpit, and Johann Jakob Zeiller’s ceiling frescoes.Inside the basilica
- Brewery tourLearn how Ettaler beer is brewed using traditional craft methods, then sample it.Abbey brewery
Know before you go
- The basilica welcomes visitors during the day for prayer, quiet reflection and viewing its architecture. Sightseeing visits are not permitted during services.
Services and visiting hours
- Daily
- Services take place in the basilica.
Interesting facts5
-
The original foundation included a men’s Benedictine community, a women’s community and a house of the Teutonic Knights.
Ettal Abbey - Wikipedia -
1411
Wolfgang of Munich painted the Gothic ambulatory in 1411; it serves as the monks’ burial place.
Abbaye d'Ettal - Wikipedia -
The distillery’s yellow Ettaler Kloster Liqueur is sweeter, while the green variety is more herbal.
Ettal Abbey - Wikipedia -
The abbey maintains a Byzantine Institute.
Ettal Abbey - Wikipedia -
The abbey is known for its books and image reproductions.
Abbaye d'Ettal - Wikipedia
Shorts
History
Ettal’s position on a major route between Italy and Augsburg gave the foundation strategic importance. Pilgrimage flourished in the 17th and 18th centuries, when the monastery also developed as an educational centre.
- 1330Emperor Ludwig the Bavarian founded the abbey on 28 April. Its position on an important trade route also gave the site strategic importance.
- 1330–1370The Gothic church was built on a twelve-sided plan and consecrated in 1370.
- 1710Abbot Placidus Seitz founded the Knights’ Academy, beginning the abbey’s educational tradition.
- 1744A fire largely destroyed the abbey and church; rebuilding gave the complex its Baroque and Rococo character.
- 1803Secularization dissolved the abbey and expelled the monks, halting monastic life for almost a century.
Show all
- 1900Benedictine monks returned on 6 August with support from Theodor von Cramer-Klett.
- 1939–1945Rupert Mayer was held at the abbey to stop his anti-Nazi preaching.
- 1940–1941Dietrich Bonhoeffer stayed from November to February and worked on Ethics.
How to get there
- On footThe abbey stands in Ettal, near Oberammergau and about 10 km north of Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
Sources: Ettal Abbey - Wikipedia · Oberammergau - Wikivoyage (see) · Kloster Ettal · Geschichte | Kloster Ettal · Öffnungszeiten | Kloster Ettal · Kloster Ettal - Wikipedia · Abbaye d'Ettal - Wikipedia · checked 1 Oct 2026
- Website
- kloster-ettal.de/
- Phone
- +49 8822 740
Questions and answers
Do monks still live at Ettal Abbey?
Ettal is home to a community of 25 Benedictine monks.
Does Ettal Abbey still have a school?
Its secondary school continues teaching; the boarding school closed at the end of the 2023/24 school year.
Can I stay near Ettal Abbey?
The abbey’s Klosterhotel König Ludwig der Bayer stands directly opposite the monastery.
What is Ettal Abbey’s church dedicated to?
The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin.
What is the Winterkirche at Ettal Abbey?
The Gedächtniskapelle, also called Winterkirche, is a separate chapel built in 1998 to ease visitor pressure in the main church.
- See who's going — faces, not ticket counts.
- Write to someone who shares your interests — no swipes, no matches, no paywall.
- Pick the event or the place to meet at — and go together.