The founding history of Lambach Abbey

A bloody beginning

Screams penetrate the ancient walls of Lambach Castle. Intruders have made it into the castle. They kill anyone who stands in their way. The safe castle transforms into a slaughterhouse.

The 11th century is a dangerous era. Whether nobles, servants or peasants, you could fall victim to an attack at any time. Castles offer relative protection. But in 1050, warriors managed to infiltrate Lambach Castle. A large part of the noble Wels-Lambach family, a Bavarian dynasty of counts, fell victim to them. Arnold II's wife, their two sons Arnold and Gottfried, and Arnold's wife are murdered. Only Arnold II and his son Adalbero, Bishop of Würzburg since 1045, survive.

Arnold II then housed secular canons and twelve clergymen in the castle. After his death, his son Adalbero converted the secular foundation into a monastery in 1056, founded the abbey and had the collegiate church built. Adalbero calls in monks from the Benedictine monastery of Münsterschwarzach in Franconia to run and administer the monastery. In the investiture dispute, Adalbero takes the side of Pope Gregory the Great. The issue at stake was whether the emperor or the pope should appoint the bishops in the empire. Emperor Henry IV relieves Adalbero of his office as bishop and expels him from Würzburg. In 1090, Adalbero dies at an advanced age and is buried in Lambach. However, the monastery still exists today and is home to unique works of art. Some of them, such as the Romanesque frescoes, are almost 1000 years old.

The history of this area stretches far back into the past. After the Celts and Roman rule, Slavic ethnic groups colonised the Salzkammergut. The Frankish Empire, the great power in Europe in the 7th century, wanted to expand its power both politically and economically.

Together with the Bavarians, forerunners of the Bavarian duchy, the Franks conquered what is now the Salzkammergut region and thus gained control of the salt trade. Militarily, the Bavarian allies secure the border with the Avars - an equestrian people from Inner Asia who had settled along the Danube and in areas of present-day Hungary since the 6th century.

It was not only the Bavarians but also the Romans who enslaved the Slavic ethnic groups. This can even be recognised by the name itself. In Latin, a Slav is a Slavus and the Latin word for slave is servus. Over the centuries, the name Slav changed into the word slave in the various languages.

The Bavarian colonisation from the 7th to the 11th century is particularly evident in place names with the ending -ing, which can be attributed to the Germanic and not the Slavic language. The place Hörsching was originally called Herigisingon and means something like: the people of Herigis. The places with the ending -ing, such as Laizing, Nöstling or Wirling, were newly founded by the Bavarian internal colonisation after the expulsion or subjugation of the Slavs.

After colonisation, however, there was no peace in the area. From the 13th century in particular, the Bavarian duchy repeatedly invaded the Salzkammergut. The Babenbergs, as lords of this economically important and productive region, are just as belligerent and assert themselves against the Bavarian dukes.