The abbey church and surrounding buildings have been continually transformed throughout the ages. Identifying the architectural styles and their characteristic features requires some detective work. A cycle of construction, demolition, renovation and restoration work has been ongoing here since the dawn of the Christian era.
The site of the former monastery, including all the buildings around the abbey church, is now included in the Federal Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites of National Importance (ISOS). Yet there was a time, not so long ago, when you would have seen cars parked within the precinct!
The abbey church, like St. George’s Tower, the Tithe Barn and the Gatehouse, where we are now, are classed as historic monuments of national importance.
Let's go in search of hidden traces and clues that shed light on the site and its architectural history.