Abbey of Echternach

This Benedictine monastery was established in Echternach, in eastern Luxembourg, in the seventh century by St. Willibrord, who is also known as the patron saint of the country.

After Beornrad, the third abbot of Echternach, passed away, Charlemagne took control of the abbey. Willibrord's ancestry in Northumbria and Ireland had a significant impact on the works at the abbey.

In the Frankish empire, Echternach fostered well-known scriptoria. The manuscripts created here are known to have been both insular and Roman half-uncial scripts, and are best known for generating four gospels: the Augsburg Gospels, Maaseik Gospel, Trier Gospels, and the Freiburg Gospel book fragment.

Under the patronage of Pepin the Short and Charlemagne, it played a crucial part in the growth of the early Carolingian Renaissance. Alcuin combined the two designs during their rule to create the Carolingian minuscule, which ruled the succeeding centuries.

It provided entertainment during a period of intense joy and power - both spiritually and temporally. The Frankish nations were overthrown by the civil war, along with the abbey's authority.

The St. Willibrord Basilica and a secondary school are both included in the abbey museum, which is housed in the vaulted vaults of the ancient abbey. This was reestablished in modern times, in the middle of the 19th century, in a neo-roman style.