The Abbey of St Michael sits atop the hill in Siegburg. It was founded in 1060 and some of the buildings from the 1400s and 1650s still stand on the site.
It was founded as a Benedictine Abbey, however, the Benedictine Order there dissolved in 2011. In 2013, a group of Discalced Carmelites from Kerala moved into the residential building. They celebrate masses in the abbey church, take confessions in the crypt and are involved in the local Catholic community.
The buildings now also function as a conference centre for the Diocese of Cologne and are only accessible to those attending conferences.
The church and crypt are open to the public.
They were renovated in 2021 and 2022 and the plain coloured walls help make the coloured stained glass windows stand out.
A small chapel at the entrance to the abbey church commemorates St Anno. He was the Archbishop of Cologne from 1056 to 1075. He crowned the then 12-year-old King Heinrich IV in 1062 and was the regent of the Holy Roman Empire and Arch Chancellor of Italy (ruling Italy from Cologne!) from 1063 to 1065. He founded the Benedictine Order and Abbey on the Michalesberg and is buried in Siegburg. In April 1183 Pope Lucius III canonised Anno a saint.
The shrine is made of words stamped in metal and tells the story of Anno’s life. Suspended in its centre is a gilded metal capsule containing the saint’s relics.
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