Beinwil Monastery

The origins of the Benedictine Monastery of Mariastein trace back to Beinwil in the canton of Solothurn. Around the year 1100, Abbot Esso established a settlement there with monks from the reformed monastery of Hirsau in the Black Forest, located at the northern foot of the Passwang.

During the 16th century, only a few monks remained in the monastery, and in 1589, Einsiedeln Abbey, followed by Rheinau Abbey in 1622, took over its care. Due to the remote location of the valley, no new momentum for monastic life could be achieved, prompting preparations to relocate the abbey to Mariastein, a move that was completed in 1648. From Mariastein, at the end of the 17th century, Beinwil Abbey was revived with the construction of a Baroque abbey church and convent buildings. However, the monastery was dissolved by popular decision during the Kulturkampf in 1874.

Today, the building belongs to a foundation that offers it to a community “living in the spirit of the Gospel through silence, meditation, and prayer, working for the ecumenical understanding of all Christian denominations.” Since January 2019, Orthodox monks and nuns have resided in the former Catholic monastery, now known as the St. John of Capodistria Holy Orthodox Monastery. The church continues to be used by the Roman Catholic parish of Beinwil, and a small museum is located in the attic of an adjoining building.