The War of the Spanish Succession not being yet over at the time, Abbot Rupert arranged to meet Emperor Charles VI who still occupied Bavaria, as well as Prince Eugene and the Duke of Marlborough who were operating in the area. Abbot Rupert ushered in the most flourishing period in the history of Ottobeuren which lasted until its secularization in 1802. In the zenith of its glory, Ottobeuren fell victim to the German mediatization along with all the other imperial abbeys of the Holy Roman Empire. On 1 December 1802 Ottobeuren was secularized and its territory annexed to Bavaria. At the time, the territory of the imperial abbey covered 266 square kilometers and had about 10,000 inhabitants. The abbey From 1711–1725 Abbot Rupert erected the present monastery, the architectural grandeur of which has merited for it the name of "the Swabian Escorial", attesting to the economic significance of the abbey. It was famous for its book illuminations. The abbey library features stucco ceilings by Johann Baptist Zimmermann and ceiling paintings by Elias Zobel. In 1737 Rupert also began the building of the present church, completed by his successor, Anselm Erb, in 1766. Monks of Ottobeuren Noteworthy among monks of Ottobeuren are: Nicolas Ellenbog, humanist, d. 1543 Jacob Molitor, the learned and saintly prior, d. 1675 Albert Krey, the hagiographer, d. 1713 Fr. Schmier, canonist, d. 1728 Augustine Bayrhamer, d. 1782, historian Maurus Feyerabend, d. 1818, historian Abbot Honoratus Goehl (1767–1802), a promoter of true church music, and founder of two schools Ulric Schiegg, the mathematician and astronomer, d. 1810. Second foundation In 1834 King Ludwig I of Bavaria restored it as a Benedictine priory, dependent on St. Stephen's Abbey, Augsburg. The priory had care of a large parish and an industrial school of sixty or seventy orphans whom the lay brothers instructed in various trades. It was granted the status of an independent abbey in 1918. As of 1910, the community consisted of five fathers, sixteen lay brothers, and one lay novice, who had under their charge the parish of Ottobeuren, a district school, and the industrial school for poor boys. Ottobeuren has been a member of the Bavarian Congregation of the Benedictine Confederation since 1893. Music Ottobeuren Abbey has one of the richest music programs in Bavaria, with concerts every Saturday. Most concerts feature one or more of the abbey's famous organs. The old organ, the masterpiece of French