When you follow the road from Tubre, the most western municipality of South Tyrol, 2 km further towards west, you are already in Switzerland, more precisely in Müstair. This village is famous for the St. John Benedictine Abbey (Kloster St. Johann in Müstair). The monastery was founded in 775 AD by Charles the Great, King of the Langobards, after he escaped a blizzard. In the middle of the 12th century, St. John became a nunnery. In 1528 the Convent Church, dedicated to John the Baptist, was made the Müstair Parish Church. In this Convent Church, the Swiss scientists Robert Durrer and Joseph Zemp discovered in 1894 gorgeous Carolingian frescoes from the first half of the 9th century, under myriad layers of other paintings. The frescoes conduced educated monks to delve into the message of salvation.

Above the vault, scenes from the life of King David (Old Testament) can be seen, furthermore numerous scenes from the New Testament can be found. The life of Jesus is shown starting at his childhood until his return at the Last Judgment. One scene sequence was brought to the Swiss State Museum in Zürich in 1908/09, the other frescoes were exposed with help of the nuns between 1947 and 1951. The Church of the Holy Cross, a Carolingian jewel, however, was restored in 2018, and is now open to the public again (on certain dates).

In 1969, the Pro St. John Abbey Foundation was founded to save the frescoes from ruin. Still today, nuns live in the complex - in the meantime declared a World Heritage site - and offer a spot of ease and reflection in their guest house. Some of the Romanesque pictures from 1200 can be seen in the Convent Museum in the Planta Tower, a more than 1,000 years old fortified residential tower. And how to reach the Saint John Abbey? Is is located along the state road, a parking space can be found on the opposite side of the road. The PostBus Switzerland (Zernes - Malles) stops across from the building. Also the bike tour to the Engadine via the Forno Pass leads past it.