Lying in a protected historic zone, it had been left unoccupied by the Germans, although they manned some positions set into the slopes below the abbey's walls.

Praia do Cassino (Portuguese for Casino Beach) is the world's longest sea beach and is located in the southernmost of the Brazilian coast ( 3307 234 3S 5238 222 3W), on the South Atlantic Ocean, in the Rio Grande do Sul state.