How The Architect Behind Minnesota's St. John's Abbey Church Inspired "The Brutalist"

By Nick Lunemann, CBS Minnesota

March 4, 2025 / 6:30 PM CST

Just off Interstate 94 in Collegeville, Minnesota, is a striking architectural wonder that was brought to life by renowned architect Marcel Breuer: Saint John's Abbey Church at Saint John's University.

"He was from Hungary, originally studied at the Bauhaus in Germany in the 1920s and 30s, and then when Hitler took over the Bauhaus, he moved to London," said Abbey Monk Brother Alan Reed. "Eventually, he moved to the United States."

The Oscar-winning film "The Brutalist" — a fictional story about a Holocaust survivor and immigrant architect — was inspired by the abbey's church, thanks to a book written by a monk who worked with Breuer.

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