Augsburg monks have been preserving weather data for the future for 200 years!

Augsburg monks have been preserving weather data for the future for 200 years!

A look into the past and the future: The Benedictines in the St. Stephan Monastery in Augsburg have been documenting the weather for over 200 years. This tradition has its origins in 1813, when the clergyman and meteorologist Augustin Stark began the first recordings. He gave his valuable data to the monks with the request that they continue this important science. Today, June 18, 2025, the monks read the current values ​​every morning from a mercury thermometer in the weather house and write them down by hand. Inside the house there is also a thermo-hygrometer that continuously records the temperature and humidity and documents it on a rotating strip of paper.

As Father Gregor explains in a recent broadcast, this strip of paper is exchanged every seven days and stored in the monastery's archives. Records from 1816, for example, contain documented dates of a year without summer caused by the eruption of the Tambora volcano in Indonesia. This historical data not only gives us insight into the weather over the past centuries, it also reflects climate change, which shows an increasing average temperature over the last 20 years.

Valuable data treasure for science and society

The weather station, which is continued to be operated privately by the monks, was also important for the German Weather Service until the 1970s. Meteorologist Klaus Hager describes the monks' recordings as an indispensable treasure trove of data. Despite the fact that official uses are lacking today, scientific interest in precise long-term weather data remains high. Father Gregor emphasizes that the continuation of these records is not only a private pleasure, but also a social responsibility.

Over the last 13 years, an electronic measuring device has also been installed in the monastery garden that records a variety of weather parameters: from temperature and humidity to the amount of rain and duration of sunshine. Interested citizens can view the results of this modern system on the monastery's website. However, the monk notes that the traditional weather station will eventually need to be upgraded and there are currently difficulties in obtaining the necessary spare parts.

Past meets future

In order to make the data between the old and new measuring systems comparable, an overlap period between the two systems is essential, which poses additional challenges for monastery meteorologists. It remains exciting to see how developments in climate and weather research will continue to unfold, while at the same time the monks continue to carry out their valuable task. The monastery is committed not only to science, but also to the public, which underlines the importance of its centuries-old records.

In addition, the data collected by the monks is integrated by various institutions, such as the German Weather Service, into extensive historical and current meteorological databases, which help us to gain a better understanding of climate and weather phenomena. The DWD weather data provides an indispensable context for classifying these records and analyzing the development of the regional climate.

Information on data protection that Meteostat covers also shows how sensitively and responsibly data is handled. Meteostat's privacy policy provides information about the use and handling of data in connection with weather measurements. It is therefore clear that even in the digital age, dealing with information about weather and climate is of utmost importance.

The weather station in the St. Stephan Monastery not only remains an interesting relic of the past, but it is also a living part of our future - connected by tradition, science and the monks' tireless research spirit.