Notre Dame de Rouen. The façade of the Gothic Church in France. Photographer: Hippo1947. Licence: SHUTTERSTOCK.
Showing posts with label Bavaria. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bavaria. Show all posts

Tuesday 6 January 2015

Würzburg Cathedral, Bavaria, Germany.


Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.



Deutsch: Würzburg, Dom St. Kilian,
hochbarocker Chorromanisches Langhaus.
English: Würzburg Cathedral.
Baroque Choir.
Photo: June 2011.
Source: Own work.
Author: Bbb.
Attribution: Attribution: Bbb at wikivoyage shared
(Wikimedia Commons)


Würzburg Cathedral (German: Würzburger Dom) is a Roman Catholic Cathedral, in Würzburg, Bavaria, Germany, dedicated to Saint Kilian. It is the Seat of the Bishop of Würzburg. With an overall length of 105 metres it is the fourth largest Romanesque Church in Germany, and a masterpiece of German architecture from the Salian period.

The present Cathedral, built from 1040, onwards, by Bishop Bruno of Würzburg, is the third Church on the site: The previous two Churches, built about 787 A.D., and 855 A.D., were destroyed and severely damaged by fire. After Bishop Bruno's accidental death, in 1045, his successor, Adalbero, completed the building in 1075.

The Side Aisles were re-modelled, about 1500, in the Late Gothic Style. The Stuccoist, Pietro Magno, decorated the Cathedral in Baroque Stucco Work in 1701.



Deutsch: Der Dom von Würzburg vor der Renovierung im Sommer 2011.
English: Würzburg Dom. Closed for renovation, Summer 2011. No Pews.
Photo: 15 July 2011.
Source: Own work.
Author: CSvBibra.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The greater part of the building collapsed in the Winter of 1946, in consequence of the bombing of Würzburg on 16 March 1945. Reconstruction was completed in 1967, in the course of which the Baroque components were removed in favour of a Re-Romanisation.

The new interpretation emphasises the contrast between the surviving historical parts of the structure, resulting in a sometimes controversial combination of predominantly Romanesque, with Modern and Baroque elements. The Neo-Romanesque West Front, with a Rose Window, the Tripartite Gallery, and the opening for the Clock, were combined during the reconstruction with a plain pumice stone wall, and revealed again during renovation work up to November 2006. In 1988, the Choir was redesigned by Hubert Elsässer.



Deutsch: Würzburger Dom, Chor.
English: Würzburg Cathedral, Germany.
This File: 8 January 2009.
User: Southgeist.
(Wikimedia Commons)



The Cathedral of Würzburg (Dom St. Kilian),
as seen from Festung Marienberg.
Photo: 12 January 2014.
Source: Own work.
Author: DXR.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The Cathedral has twenty Bells, with a total combined weight of 26 tons. The "Lobdeburg Bell", by Cunradus Citewar, of Würzburg, the most prominent Bell-Founder of his time, dates from 1257, and, because it was taken down in 1933 and stored in the Crypt, is the only Ancient Bell of the Cathedral to have survived the firestorm caused by the bombing of 16 March 1945. It now hangs in the South-West Tower and is rung every Friday, at 3.00 p.m., to mark the Hour of the Death of Jesus Christ.

Between 1971 and 1975, the Würzburg Synod convened in the Cathedral, at the wish of Cardinal Döpfner, to determine the application of The Second Vatican Council to Germany.



Deutsch: Seitenaltar im Würzburger Dom.
English: Side Altar in Würzburger Cathedral.
Photo: 28 September 2014.
Source: Own work.
Author: Hajotthu.
(Wikimedia Commons)

Thursday 14 August 2014

Benedictine Abbey Of Saint Mang, Füssen, Bavaria, Germany.


Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.




English: Saint Mang Basilica, Füssen, Bavaria, Germany.
Deutsch: Füssen: Ehemalige Klosterkirche St. Mang.
Photo: 15 June 2011.
Source: Own work.
Author: Taxiarchos228.
(Wikimedia Commons)





English: Saint Mang Basilica, Füssen, Bavaria, Germany.
Deutsch: Kloster Sankt Mang, Füssen.
Photo: 23 February 2008 (original upload date).
Source: Transferred from en.wikipedia;
transferred to Commons by User:Kurpfalzbilder.de using CommonsHelper.
Author: Myke Rosenthal-English Rosenthalenglish.
(Wikimedia Commons)



Saint Mang's Abbey, Füssen, or Füssen Abbey (German: Kloster Sankt Mang Füssen) is a former Benedictine Monastery in FüssenBavaria, Germany.

The Benedictine Abbey of Saint Mang was founded in the first half of the 9th-Century as a proprietary Monastery of the Prince-Bishops of Augsburg. The reason for its Foundation goes back to the Hermit, Magnus of Füssen (otherwise known as Saint Mang), who built a Cell and an Oratory, here, where he died on 6 September, although there is no record of which year.

The Saint's body, amid Miracles, was discovered incorrupt, a proof of his Sanctity, and the Veneration of Saint Mang was the Spiritual basis of the Monastery.




English: Abbey and Basilica Church of Saint Mang, Füssen, Bavaria, Germany.
Deutsch: Kloster und Basilika Sankt Mang von der Lechbrücke.
Date: 2008-01-20 (original upload date).
Source: Transferred from en.wikipedia; transferred to Commons
Attribution: Rosenthalenglish at the wikipedia project.
Author: Original uploader was Rosenthalenglish at en.wikipedia
(Wikimedia Commons)





English: The South-Western part of Saint Mang's Abbey, Füssen, Bavaria, Germany..
Deutsch: Der südwestliche Teil des Benediktinerklosters Sankt Mang, Füssen.
Photo: 2 January 2011.
Source: Own work.
Author: Felix König.
(Wikimedia Commons)



The Foundation was not, however, solely Spiritually motivated; there were practical political reasons underlying it, as well. The Monastery's key position, not only on the important Mediaeval road from Augsburg across the Alps to Upper Italy, but also in the Füssen Gap ("Füssener Enge", the point where the Lech River breaks out of the Alps), gave it an immense strategic value, which made it of political concern, both to the Bishops of Augsburg and to the Holy Roman Emperors.

The history of the Abbey, in the Middle Ages, is principally marked by the efforts of the Religious Community to maintain a life true to the Rule of Saint Benedict, amidst the various pressures caused by external social developments. Over time, therefore, the Monks repeatedly embraced various reforms and reforming movements, intended to bring about a return to the essentials of the Benedictine life. These reforms mostly resulted in Spiritual and economic growth and an increase in the head count, which, in turn, brought more building and commissions of artwork.

The energy of the Counter-Reformation found lasting expression in the construction of an enormous Baroque Abbey complex between 1696 and 1726, commissioned by Abbot Gerhard Oberleitner (1696-1714), which still, today, along with the High Castle (Hohe Schloss), characterises the Town of Füssen.


File:Stifterbild zur Legende des heiligen Magnus Füssen c1570.jpg


English: Picture of the Legend of Saint Magnus (Saint Mang), in Füssen, Bavaria, Germany.
Deutsch: Stifterbild zur Folge der Darstellungen aus der Legende des heiligen Magnus. Wappenschild mit Wappen von Wohltätern des Benediktinerklosters St. Mang in Füssen, darunter Ansicht von Füssen mit dem Kloster und dem Hohen Schloss. Links ist der hl. Magnus mit dem Drachen, rechts der fränkische König Pippin d. J., rechts unten der Stifter, Abt Hieronymus Alber (Schild mit Konventswappen und Abtswappen).
Aus dem Kloster St. Mang in Füssen. Öl auf Holz, 115,3 x 119,5 cm
Staatsgalerie Füssen,- Inv.-Nr. 9858.
Date: Circa 1570.
Author: Allgäuer Meister (Stephan Mair?).
(Wikimedia Commons)





Deutsch: Ehemalige Benediktinerklosterkirche Sankt Mang,
Füssen, Landkreis Ostallgäu, Bayerisch-Schwaben.
Der Hochaltar. Eigene Aufnahme, Sept. 2006.
English: The High Altar,
former Benedictine Monastery
Church of Saint Mang,
Füssen, Bavaria, Germany.
Photo: September 2006.
Source: Own work.
Author: Dark Avenger.
(Wikimedia Commons)



The architect Johann Jakob Herkomer (1652-1717) succeeded in turning the irregular Mediaeval Abbey into a symmetrically organised complex of buildings. The transformation of the Mediaeval Basilica into a Baroque Church, based on Venetian models, was intended to be an architectural symbol of the Veneration of Saint Magnus.

The entire Church represents an enormous Reliquary. For the first time in South German Baroque construction, the legend of the local Saint inspires the suite of frescoes throughout the entire Church. The Community of Monks, at the time, also set out to make the new Church the envy of connoisseurs, for the quality of its artworks. Among the artists, who contributed various forms of decoration for the building, were Anton Sturm, Franz Georg Hermann, Jakob Hiebeler and Paul Zeiller, whose only extant oil paintings are in the Chapter Hall.

Although the Abbey was never able to obtain the coveted Reichsunmittelbarkeit (Independent of all Lords, except for the Holy Roman Emperor), it had a decisive influence as a centre of Lordship and economy, cultural and Faith life, on Füssen and the whole region.




English: Pulpit, by the Sculptor, Anton Sturm,
Deutsch: Kanzel von Anton Sturm in der Stadtpfarrkirche in Füssen.
Date: 30 March 2007.
Author: Sculptor: Anton Sturm (1690–1757).
Photographer: Herbert Wittmann.
(Wikimedia Commons)





English: The High Altar,
by the Sculptor, Anton Sturm,
Deutsch: Hochaltar von Anton Sturm in der
Stadtpfarrkirche St. Mang in Füssen.
Date: 26 April 2007.
Source: Own work.
Author: Sculptor: Anton Sturm (1690–1757).
Photographer: Herbert Wittmann.
(Wikimedia Commons)



On 11 December 1802, during the Secularisation that followed the Napoleonic Wars and the Peace of Lunéville, the Princes of Oettingen-Wallerstein were awarded possession of Saint Mang. On 15 January 1803, Princess Wilhelmine ordered Abbot Aemilian Hafner to Dissolve the Abbey and vacate the premises by 1 March of that year.

The contents of the Library were shipped off to the new owners, down the River Lech, on rafts. Most of the items are now in the Library of the University of Augsburg, except for a small collection of especially valuable manuscripts, which are in the Augsburg Diocesan Archives.




English: The Organ,
Saint Mang Basilica, Füssen, Bavaria, Germany.
Deutsch: Füssen: Ehemalige Klosterkirche St. Mang.
Date: 15 June 2011.
Source: Own work.
Author: Taxiarchos228.
(Wikimedia Commons)



In 1837, the former Abbey Church was transferred, as a gift, to the Parish of Füssen. In 1839, the Royal Bavarian Chamberlain, Christoph Friedrich von Ponickau, bought the remaining Lordship of Saint Mang. In 1909, the Town of Füssen acquired the Ponickau Estate, including the former Abbey buildings (apart from the Church).

The North Wing was used as the Town Hall. In the South Wing, the Füssen Town Museum is now located, with displays on the history of the Abbey and of the Town, particularly of the traditional manufacture of lutes and violins, in Füssen. It is also possible to view the Baroque Reception Rooms of the Abbey, in the Museum.




English: The Organ, Saint Mang Basilica,
Füssen, Bavaria, Germany.
Deutsch: Füssen: Ehemalige Klosterkirche St. Mang.
Date: 15 June 2011.
Source: Own work.
Author: Taxiarchos228.
(Wikimedia Commons)





English: Saint Mang Basilica, Füssen, Bavaria, Germany.
Deutsch: Füssen: Ehemalige Klosterkirche St. Mang.
Date: 15 June 2011.
Source: Own work.
Author: Taxiarchos228.
(Wikimedia Commons)




English: Confessional Box,
by Thomas Seitz,
Saint Mang Basilica, Füssen, Bavaria, Germany.
Deutsch: Beichtstuhl in der Stadtpfarrkirche
St. Mang in Füssen von Thomas Seitz.
Date: 2010. (17 December 2010 (original upload date)).
Transferred from de.wikipedia; transferred to Commons
(Original text : selbst fotografiert).
Author: Herbert Wittmann.
Original uploader was Herzemann at de.wikipedia
(Wikimedia Commons)


Tuesday 12 August 2014

Ettal Abbey, Bavaria, Germany.


Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.




English: Ettal Abbey, Bavaria, Germany.

Español: Monasterio de Ettal, Baviera, Alemania.
Photo: 22 March 2014.
Source: Own work.
Author: Diego Delso.
(Wikimedia Commons)



Ettal Abbey (Kloster Ettal) is a Benedictine Monastery in the village of Ettal, close to Oberammergau and Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in Bavaria, Germany. With a Community (as of 2005) of more than fifty Monks, with another five Monks at Wechselburg, Saxony, the Abbey is one of the largest Benedictine Houses and is a major attraction for visitors.

Ettal Abbey was founded on 28 April 1330, Saint Vitalis of Milan's Feast Day, by Emperor Ludwig the Bavarian, in the Graswang Valley, in fulfilment of an oath on his return from Italy, on a site of strategic importance on the primary trade route between Italy and Augsburg.

The Foundation legend is that Ludwig's horse genuflected three times on the site of the original Church, where a statuette of The Virgin Mary ("Frau Stifterin" or the "Ettal Madonna"), of the Pisano School, now stands, a gift from Ludwig to his new Foundation. This statue soon became an object of Pilgrimage. The Church is dedicated to the Assumption of The Blessed Virgin.



English: Wechselburg Priory, formerly Wechselburg Abbey (Kloster Wechselburg) is a Benedictine Priory, in Wechselburg, Saxony, Germany, dissolved in the 16th-Century

and re-founded in 1993. Five Monks from Ettal Abbey are located here.
Deutsch: Klosteranlage Wechselburg mit romanischer Basilika.
Photo: 24 July 2007.
Source: Own work.
Author: User:Kolossos.
(Wikimedia Commons)



The Foundation originally consisted of a Benedictine Double Monastery – a Community for men and another for women – and also a House of The Teutonic Knights.

The original Gothic Abbey Church, built between 1330 and 1370, was a modest structure in comparison to the great Churches of Mediaeval Bavaria.

The Abbey suffered great damage during the Reformation at the hands of the troops of Maurice of Saxony, but survived the troubles of The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648).



Ettal Abbey Side-Altars,

Bavaria, Germany.
Photo: 31 December 2007.
Source: Own work.
Author: Mattana.
(Wikimedia Commons)



In 1709, under Abbot Placidus II Seiz, the golden age of Ettal Abbey began with the establishment of the "Knights' Academy" ("Ritterakademie"), which developed into a highly successful School and began the educational tradition of the Abbey. In 1744, the Abbey and the Abbey Church were largely destroyed in a fire. The subsequent spectacular re-building in the Baroque Style, with a double-shelled Dome, was to the plans of Enrico Zuccalli, a Swiss-Italian architect working in Munich, who had studied with Bernini. The decoration was primarily carried out by Josef Schmutzer, of the Wessobrunn School of Stucco-ists, and Johann Baptist Straub, who was responsible for the Altars and the Chancel.

Ettal Abbey's importance, as a place of Pilgrimage, grew with the new buildings and it became one of the most important Monasteries in the Alpine Region.

The Abbey was Dissolved in 1803, during the Secularisation of Church property in Bavaria. The site was acquired, in 1809, by Josef von Elbing and sold by his descendants in 1856 to Count Pappenheim. Some small building works were completed during the 19th-Century, principally the renovation of the façade and the twin Bell-Towers.



Ettal Abbey in Winter.

Photo: 31 December 2007.
Source: Own work.
Author: Mattana.
(Wikimedia Commons)



In 1898, the buildings were acquired by Baron Theodor von Cramer-Klett and, in 1900, given to the Benedictines of Scheyern Abbey, who re-founded the Monastery. It had been a member of the Bavarian Congregation of the Benedictine Confederation since 1900. The Abbey Church was declared a Minor Basilica in 1920.

During the Winter of 1940 – 1941, the German Pastor and Theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945), spent some months at the Monastery as the friend and guest of the Abbot. Like Bonhoeffer, a number of those in the Ettal Community were involved in the Conspiracy against Hitler. While at Ettal Abbey, Bonhoeffer also worked on his book "Ethics". Catholic Priest, Rupert Mayer, was kept at the Abbey, from 1939 to 1945, by the Nazis, to prevent him from further Anti-Nazi Preaching.

In 1993, Ettal Abbey re-Founded the former Wechselburg Abbey, in Saxony, an old Monastery of the Augustinian Canons, as a Benedictine Priory.



Interior of the Dome,

Ettal Abbey.
Photo: 31 December 2007.
Source: Own work.
Author: Mattana.
(Wikimedia Commons)




The Organ,

Ettal Abbey.
Photo: 31 December 2007.
Source: Own work.
Author: Mattana.
(Wikimedia Commons)



Ettal Abbey maintains a Byzantine Institute. The Abbot of Ettal Abbey, Joannes Hoeck, made a significant contribution, on the role of Patriarchs in Church government, at the Second Vatican Council.

The Monastery runs a brewery, a distillery, a bookstore, an Art Publishing House, an hotel, a cheese factory joint venture, and several smaller companies. The distillery produces Ettaler Kloster Liqueur, a herbal liqueur which, like that of the Carthusian Monks, comes in sweeter yellow, and more herbal green, varieties.


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