Rheinau - Kloster Rheinau

Kloster Rheinau (= Rheinau Abbey) was founded on an island in a sheltered bend of the River Rhine about 778. In 1114 a Romanesque basilica was dedicated here. The adjoining settlement of Rheinau, today the village, was founded by Rudolf von Lenzburg in 1126.

When in 1529 the Reformation came from Zurich, the abbey was abandoned for a short while. It was re-established in 1532, and became a centre of the Counter-reformation.

In the 18th century Kloster Rheinau enjoyed a late resurgence. The abbey church and the monastic complex got rebuilt in Baroque style.

The convent existed here upto 1862. In 1867 a hospital was set up and later the building hosted a very large psychiatric clinic that was finally closed in 2000.

The massive towers probably date back to teh Romanesque basilica.