Notre Dame de Rouen. The façade of the Gothic Church in France. Photographer: Hippo1947. Licence: SHUTTERSTOCK.

Monday, 17 August 2015

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 Füssen, Bavaria, Germany.

The Benedictine Abbey of Saint Mang was founded in the first half of the 9th-Century A.D., 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.



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)



Basilica of Saint Mang,
Fussen, Bavaria, Germany.
Photo: 15 June 2011.
Source: Own work.
Author: Taxiarchos228.
(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: Interior of 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)



English: Former Monastery (Left) and Castle (Right), Füssen, Bavaria, Germany.
Deutsch: Ehemaliges Kloster St. Mang (links) und Hohes Schloss (rechts) in Füssen.
Photo: 25 October 2009.
Source: Own work.
Author: Memorino.
(Wikimedia Commons)

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