St. Urban's Abbey

St. Urban's Abbey (German: Kloster Sankt Urban) is a former Cistercian monastery in the municipality of Pfaffnau in the canton of Lucerne in Switzerland. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.

The monastery was founded in 1194 on a land grant from the Freiherren of Langenstein and of Kapfenberg. The mother church was Lucelle Abbey. It was first mentioned in 1196 as sanctus Urbanus and in 1201 as cenobium sancti Urbani.

The first monastery was a single monk's cell in Kleinroth, which is now in the municipality of Langenthal. In 1195, the first monks moved about 3 km (1.9 mi) down the valley to establish a larger monastery building. During the 13th century, the monastery expanded with land grants from local nobles and became a major landowner in the Langeten and Rot valleys. Over the following centuries it continued to expand acquiring property and rights throughout the region. By 1266, the monastery had become an abbey with an abbot who was also responsible for several surrounding nunneries. In 1234, a small monastery was founded in Gottesgarten near the village of Kleinroth. This monastery may have been a daughter house to St. Urban's until 1237 when it transferred to Olsberg. In 1280, the Abbey acquired a small chapel at Fribach, which became a local Marian pilgrimage site until the Protestant Reformation.

Starting in the middle of the 13th century, the monks in the Abbey gained citizenship in several surrounding towns. The Abbey owned farms in many of the surrounding villages and even owned a vineyard on the shores of Lake Biel. Also, in the 13th century, they established a brick factory which produced elaborate decorated bricks for export. This medieval brick operation eventually grew into the Roggwil AG brick factory which is still in operation.

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