Noted Benedictine abbey and art school. Sigmaringen, Hohenzollern, Germany, founded, 777. It was destroyed in the l0th century; reestablished as an Augustinian monastery, 1077; and suppressed, 1802. The Benedictine Order was reestablished by Maurus and Placidus Wolter, 1863; erected into an abbey by Pius IX, 1868. Dispersed by Bismarck, 1875, the monks returned in 1887 and founded a flourishing school of varied art whose decorative work is especially celebrated. The present abbey houses over 160 religious.