Michaelsberg Abbey, Siegburg

Michaelsberg Abbey is a former monastery of the Benedictine Order, belonging to the Subiaco Congregation . The monastery is situated on the Michaelsberg, about 40 metres above the town of Siegburg. For this reason it is also often known as Siegburg Abbey.HistoryFoundationThe hill called the Michaelsberg, formerly known as the Siegberg, was first inhabited about 800 by the Counts of Auelgau, who built a castle there. In 1064 the Archbishop of Cologne, Anno II of Cologne, founded a monastery there, dedicated to the Archangel Michael, from whom both the mountain and the abbey henceforward took their names. He appointed the monk Erpho (died 1076) as the first abbot. Anno himself died at the abbey in 1075 and was buried there.Archbishop Anno was canonized in the abbey church on 29 April 1183 by Cardinal Giovanni Conti da Anagni and Bishop Pietro of Luni, acting as papal legates of Pope Lucius III. At this time his remains were translated to the Chapel of St. Anno, which can still be seen in the abbey church. By this time, however, the early spirit of these founders was beginning to dim among the monks. The community had developed a luxurious lifestyle, one which was so open that they were publicly criticized by a nearby Cistercian abbey.