"History of the island of Wörth in the Lake Staffelsee

Fortification in the Roman period (4th / 5th century AD)

In late Roman times there was a refuge on the island of Wörth. There is no indication for the existence of a church or a monastery at this time. The Roman population could retreat here in times of war distress. The site was built and used by civilians and not by the Roman military. A wall with two towers in the southwest and southeast protected the area. The Roman southern wall existed until the 6/7 Century AD. Afterwards the Roman walls were used as foundations for the cemetery wall.

Manor with church from the 7th Century

At the latest since the 7th Century there was the estate of a distinguished Bavarian on the island of Wörth. The only stone building found next to wooden buildings on this farm was a small church. The church was built in the second Half of the 7th Century. Around the church dead were buried.

Carolingian monastery dating from the 8th Century

In the 1st half of the 8th Century a monastery was built, where the monks lived according to the rules of St. Benedict. They tore down the "old" small church and leveled the ground. The "new" big church offered more than enough space for 25 monks. The sanctuary can not be reconstructed anymore because of slope erosion, but a wall rest indicates a rectangular choir. The lateral extensions of the actual church served liturgical purposes. The northern extension where a bench seat and a water tank could be detected, fulfilled the functions of a chapter house as a meeting hall for the monks. The actual residential and commercial buildings of the monastery were in a different place on the island. Around 800 the monastery probably was the domicile of the only briefly existing diocese Neuburg / Staffelsee, but was incorporated into the diocese of Augsburg under Bishop Simpert. In the 11th Century, the monastery was abandoned. There are no traces of a violent destruction.

Gothic modifications of the 15th Century

In the 15th Century the church, which was now a mere parish church, was remodeled. A tower with a vestry in the basement and a new entrance on the south side with a charnel house was added. A footbridge connected the parish church to its community. After a lengthy dispute with Ettal Abbey, this church was demolished in 1773 and the material was used to build the new baroque church Seehausen on the mainland. Pictorial representations of the parish church on the island can be found on votive tablets in the parish churches of Murnau and Seehausen and, in copy, on the west side of the house Dorfstraße 8 in Seehausen.

Neo-Romanesque chapel of 1836

To commemorate the historic site,  the still existing chapel was donated by the former island owner Joseph Utzschneider. The six frescoes inside, out of the hands of Baron von Pechmann summarize what has been handed down in legends of the past of the island. Only some of it is confirmed by the excavations. There is no evidence of the destruction of the monastery by the Hungarians or for the presence of St. Boniface. The impressive lime tree, named after Boniface, which was situated west of the church, was destroyed in 1945 by lightning."