A place of pilgrimage on a hill east of the Ammersee, the Abbey is famed for its flamboyant Baroque church and its brewery, Klosterbrauerei Andechs, the proceeds from which help fund the monks' mission of help.

[1] The first documented pilgrimages to Andechs were in 1138, when Count Berthold ordered his subjects to make the journey to venerate the relics in the chapel of St Nicholas at the Schloss.

In 1458 it was raised to the status of an abbey, and thenceforth enjoyed a period of uninterrupted prosperity as a popular pilgrimage site.

[4] In 1669 lightning struck the top of the tower causing a fire which burned down everything but the Chapel and the guest wing.

Klosterbrauerei Andechs is a monastic brewery at the Abbey run by its monks, well known for its Andechser beers.

[7] A portion of the beer is served on-site at a restaurant and Biergarten at the abbey, Klostergasthof Andechs; the remainder is exported throughout Germany and worldwide.

The Andechs monks finance their many activities, such as help for the homeless in Munich, with proceeds from brewery - without the aid of any church tax funds.