He is still widely known as the “Father of Mount Angel.” Most importantly, he was instrumental in bringing the Benedictine monks to Mount Angel. He was instrumental in the building the first church, a community store and the first railroad station.

With the coming of Mathias Butsch in the fall of 1878, the Catholic community of Mount Angel found their leader. They migrated from Rathenberg in the Kingdom of Bavaria. Robert Zollner were the first German settlers to come to this part of the valley in 1867.

The abbey welcomes pilgrims of all persuasions to visit this holy place of peace carrying on the great tradition of the early Native Americans. Tapalamaho remains to this day a holy place as the site of the Benedictine monks’ abbey and seminary. They called the spot “Tapalamaho,” the Mount of Communion or more descriptively the“dwelling place of the Heavenly Spirit.” Thus our first presentation is a noble Kalapuya Brave at prayer. The Indians told him that coming to this mount to pray had been a tradition of their ancestors. Davenport, the original surveyor of the Mount Angel noted that the Indians traveling through the valley climbed the butte to pray to the Great Spirit. The first floor of the tower above street level, displays six life-size hand-carved wooden figures crafted by the wood carvers who created the figures for the Salem Carousel and other members of the Capitol Carving Club. The appointed hours to watch the figures as they dance about and They become tourist destinations, with crowds gathering on TheĬlock is large and clearly visible the bells are sharp and The Glockenspiel plays at 11 a.m., 1, 4 and 7 p.m. Who came to this place to communicate with the Great Spirit,įollowed by figures depicting the founders of both the civilĪnd religious communities of Mount Angel and the frivolity The first figure represents the Native Americans Mount Angel's Glockenspiel celebrates the German-Swiss-īavarian heritage of the village and our 53 year old

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