Today, St. Emmeram is the residence of the princes of Thurn und Taxis. Until 1810, however, it was a monastery. The basic structure of the old imperial ecclesiastical foundation has been preserved. Impressive ceremonial architecture combines with monastic asceticism in the cloister of this great Benedictine abbey.

The monastery was founded at the turn of the 7th to the 8th century, at the tomb of the Frankish bishop, Emmeram. For centuries it counted as one of the most important cultural institutions in Europe. As in the other large Benedictine monasteries along the Danube, Christian faith as well as art and science were cultivated here for 1200 years. With secularization of the imperial monastery in 1810, this splendid monastic tradition came to an abrupt end.