The history of the Convent of St John extends back to the time of Charlemagne, over 1200 years ago. The Frankish king was crowned emperor by Pope Leo III in 800, thus becoming the first medieval ruler of the Western world. Local folklore, according to which the religious community was founded by Charlemagne himself between 780-90, has been confirmed by recent archaeological research and the dendrochronogical date 775. St John’s was founded as a monastery and converted into a convent in the 12th century. Benedictine nuns still live in the convent today. At the 1983 meeting of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, the Convent of St John was elevated to a World Heritage Site. It is the most important church building in Switzerland from the period before the turn of the millennium, with the largest preserved cycle of frescoes from the Early Middle Ages.