Foundation church & crypt
Mass and prayers
Info’s for our visitors
The word crypt means hidden room, tomb, a half-underground room where relics were kept and the founders of churches and monasteries were buried. The crypt of Marienberg was dedicated in 1160 by His Holiness Adalgott, Bishop of Chur, and the monks first assembled here for their canonical hours and to celebrate the holy mass.
In 1643 the crypt was restructured and used as a burial place for the monks. In 1980 the tombs were removed and the frescoes, hidden for centuries, were revealed in all their glory.
They are among the most important testimonies of Romanesque art in the Alps, not only for the quality of the art, but also for the uniqueness of their spiritual expression.
On 11 August 1992 Pope Benedict XVI, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, visited the Benedictine Abbey of Marienberg and celebrated mass in the crypt.
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