9 September 2009: Andechs Monastery

Almost as soon as we arrived in Munich, the Boschies went on a side trip to Andechs Monastery. The site is very picturesque.


Andechs houses a bunch of religious relics, so it has long been a destination for pilgrims. I've lost track of who was fighting with whom, but some duke or king or prince was fighting another duke or king or prince, and hoped to steal the relics. When the dust settled, however, the relics were nowhere to be found. They had been stashed for safekeeping, but no one knew were. The chapel lost its significance because there were no relics to seek.

Then one day, during mass, they notice a mouse near the alter with a piece of parchment in its mouth. This was the missing clue: the relics had been stashed in a chest below the altar. This is the chest:


Now that Andechs had its religious relics again, it was once again a destination for pilgrims. The relics were kept safely under lock and key. And when I say lock, I mean lock:


Here are the relics today:


The church is structurally gothic, but redecorated in the baroque style.

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