At the end the 16th century the abbey was close to dissolution, which was however prevented for political and religious reasons by the Pope and the Tyrolean ruling order. An upswing occurred at the beginning of the 17th century under Abbot Matthias Lang from Weingarten in Germany: the abbey flourished and the number of monks increased significantly. In 1724 the abbey founded a humanistic high school in Meran: but, in 1807, it was dissolved by the Bavarian government, the monks banished and the valuable holdings of the monastery, church, archives and library all pillaged. The Meran school was for a time also forced to close its doors. But in 1816 the abbey was re-established and the high school in Meran re-opened, becoming a first-rate educational establishment in the course of the 19th century.