Ottobeuren Abbey was founded in 764 by Toto. Abbot Rupert Ness had the present monastery built, and it was erected from 1711 to 1725. Construction of the church began in 1737 and was completed in 1766 by Anselm Erb. A page summary credits Johann Michael Fischer with the basilica facade, though the main text does not name him. The article calls the facade a pinnacle of Bavarian Baroque and nicknames the monastery the Swabian Escorial.
Fires destroyed the abbey in 1153 and 1217. It became an imperial abbey in 1299 and regained that status in 1710. It was secularized on December 1, 1802, when its territory covered 103 square miles (266 km²) with about 10,000 inhabitants.
King Ludwig I restored it as a priory in 1834, and it became an abbey again in 1918. Pope Pius XI named the church a minor basilica in 1926. Concerts are held every Saturday.
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