St. Trudpert

At the foot of Baden’s Belchen lies the wonderful countryside of the quiet Münstertal. Entering the upper valley from Staufen you are greeted by the majestic sight of the former Benedictine abbey of St Trudpert. The spiritual heart of this sacred place, however, lies hidden behind the Church: it is the source of the spring, in the ornate pump room, and the chapel built over it, that share St. Trudpert’s burial site. According to legend the saint, who was probably an Irish-Scottish missionary, settled here around 604AD. His life as a hermit was, however, soon ended by a blow from an axe. By the year 800 the first Benedictine monastery east of the Rhine had been established on his grave. A silver mine provided the basis of the economic importance of settlement. On the first Sunday following the 26th of April, the anniversary of the saints death, the Trudpert feast takes place. In a festive procession, full of local colour, the saints statue, dating from 1714, is carried alongside the famous 12th century Niello Cross around the Chapel, the monastery and the church.