Fahr Monastery, Würenlos, Switzerland

Fahr Monastery. Photo: Roland zh/Wikimedia Commons

Fahr Monastery, (Kloster Fahr) is a Benedictine monastery of nuns located in the Swiss municipality of Würenlos in the canton of Aargau. The monastery historically was located in an exclave of the canton of Aargau within the municipality of Unterengstringen in the canton of Zürich in the Limmat Valley.

The monastery is first mentioned in AD 1130 as Vare (an old term used for "ferry"). The lands were donated by the House of Regensberg. On 22 January 1130 Lütold II and his son Lütold III and his wife Judenta handed over lands and estates on the shore of the Limmat around Weiningen and Unterengstringen-Oberengstringen to the Einsiedeln Abbey to establish a Benedictine monastery for nuns. The Chapel of St. Nicholas already stood on the land. This may have been connected with the death of Lütold I in 1088 while engaged in battle against the forces of the Abbey of Einsiedeln.

Fahr Monastery. Photo: Adrian Michael /Wikimedia Commons

The monastery was dedicated to Our Lady. In addition to the medieval St. Nikolaus-Kapelle (Saint Nicholas chapel), built around 10th century AD and now called St. Anna-Kapelle, and the late medieval church of the monastery, the parish church of Weiningen were subordinated to the monastery.

Around 1530 the monastery was suppressed during the Reformation in Zürich, but it was reopened in 1576. From 1685 to 1696 the cloister and church tower were renovated; in 1703/04 a new refectory was designed by Johann Moosbrugger; and a house for the chaplain was erected in 1730/34. From 1743 to 1746 the monastery's church was decorated with frescoes by the Torricelli brothers.

Agricultural products made by the nunnery include wine, liquors and honey, and a variety of other products among them fruits, vegetables, herbs, etc. The monastic community sells its products in a shop (from Monday to Saturday) situated in the monastery and provides a restaurant (from Wednesday to Sunday) in the former pilgrim's hostel, built in 1678 AD.

For tourists, Fahr Monastery is a highlight in the Limmat Valley and a popular stop for hikers and bikers along the Limmat.

Source

• www.wikipedia.org

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