Neresheim Abbey stands above the town of Neresheim in Baden-Württemberg. It was founded in 1095 as an Augustinian canon house and became Benedictine in 1106. The present abbey was erected between 1747 and 1792. Abbot Aurelius Braisch commissioned the new church, and Balthasar Neumann planned it, though architects after his death in 1753 altered or abandoned parts of his design, especially the domes.
The church is described as a masterpiece of European Baroque. Its nave, crossing and choir are built as oval bays under shallow domes. Martin Knoller painted the dome frescoes between 1770 and 1775 with seven scenes from the life of Christ. The Holzhey organ, built from 1792 to 1797, is among the last great South German Baroque organs.
The abbey was suppressed in 1802 and refounded in 1919. It now has 13 monks and a boys' choir.
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