Martin M. Miles' photos

On the back of the building still stands a small part of the former cloister.

Steingaden Abbey was founded 1147 by Welf VI. son of "Henry the Black" and brother of "Henry the Proud". Welf VI was already a member of the "Younger House of Welf", as the "Older House of Welf" ended (malewise) with Welf III in 1055. Welf III´s sister married into the italian d´Este family - and so started the "Younger House of Welf". The Welfs have been powerful counterparts to the Staufers - and the Welfs still exist - all over the place. One branch leads to George I of England, whose grandgrand....daughter is Queen Elizabeth II. Other branches take you to the late Frederica, Queen of Greeks and mother of Queen Sofia of Spain - and of course one line leads to Ernst August of Hanover married to the Princess of Hanover, aka Caroline of Monaco (daughter of Grace Kelly). That is the thread leading from Steingaden - to London, Monaco and elsewhere. The abbey itself had a kind of volatile history. Over the first centuries the buildings were altered from romanesque to gothic style - before they were burnt down and looted 1525 during the Peasant´s War. A couple of years later, it was rebuilt in the style of the Renaissance, to get burnt down again 1646 during the Thirty Year´s War. After a new start - now in baroque and rococo - it got secularized in 1803. Then most buildings got demolished, before the main church (the "Welfenmuenster") was turned into the parish church of the village Steingaden. Please note the little round roof on the left. We will see that again later.

John the Baptist, prophet and preacher. He looks a little "hippiesque" here, with the beard, the long (rastalike) hair and wearing strange clothes from camel´s hair. He lives in the desert, but near the Jordan. Lots of birds around. John points to the dove on the left. Right - next to the flying sparrow sits a snipe. Or is it a small heron? John seems to walk through the reed to the river led by the Holy Spirit (dove) to Christ (lamb).

The baptismal font is so delicate, that some historians say, that it was not carved (1200) for this church. It shows Mary and the child, John the baptist, the baptism of Jesus (here) and St. Michael fighting Luzifer. Down below you can see the rivers of paradise, flowing out of the mouths of that strange heads.

This is "bigger than life". A height of 3,18m. Majestic. Well known all over Bavaria under the name "Der grosse Gott von Altenstadt" (The Great God from Altenstadt). Carved around 1215. A "Rex Gloriae". The two adjoining sculptures (Mary and John) are copies. The originals were sold to the Bavarian National Museum, where they found a new home.

Approaching the small, unimpressing village of Altenstadt the visitor will find a really impressing romanesque basilica. The church is way too big for the village. - The original name of the village was "Scongoe". Founded on a hill over the river Lech, it controlled an old roman "highway" from Augsburg to Italy - and over the time got wealthy and proud. So they started to built this St.Michael-church between 1170 and 1220. Just after the church was built, discussions started and the whole village moved (for strategic reasons) to a new place, just a few kilometers away and started the (still existing) "Schongau", naming the old place "Altenstadt" (= old town). As there were no people to care for the abandoned church, and over the many years (fortunately) no money, to change it into gothic, baroque or rococo style, purity has survived here. Luckily. It looks probably better without that scaffolding but - after all the time, it needs constant care.

Entering the church, there is a striking surprise. It is white, wide, vast - and then there is that gigantic crucifix. Actually the church is 38m long and 16,5m wide - but is seems to be bigger. It is just white stones and light (lot´s of light for a romanesque church)....And then there is this crucifix....

The church is built on a small hill, so there is an old stair leading upto the main portal. It has a very interesting tympanon. See the more detailed photo for this.

The baptismal font is romanesque in a very clear and easy style. The hood and John the Baptist are later addons. The coppertank in front is filled with blessed (holy) water. Visitors may fill a bottle and take it home.

Inside the church you´ll find this great cruzifix. Probably carved around 1250.

..seeen from the springs, where now big trouts live in now. The Grey Duke to the left and the pinkish apse of the baroque church right. All under a light blue bavarian winter-sky.

The Wessobrunn abbey was founded by bavarian count Tassilo III in 753, after he had seen a crosslike spring in a dream. A couple of days later he found this spring here. Charlemagne supported the young abbey. Around 950 Hungarian troops burnt in down. It had a comeback, after "The Battle of Lechfeld" (955), that stopped the incursions of the Hungarians into Western Europe. Over the next centuries most existing buildings were replaced in the glittering bavarian baroque style. Only this big steeple (called "the grey" duke) survived. Wessobrunn is as well known for the "Wessobrunn Prayer", that was found here. This is the oldest religious poem in (old-)german language, now stored in the Munich archives.

An early evening inside the Barholomew Chapel, built by the "greacos operarios" for Bishop Meinwerk.

In 1033 Bishop Meinwerk ordered Abbot Wino von Helmarshausen to travel to Jerusalem to take the measurements of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Wino returned with the blueprint from his long journey to Paderborn - and Meinwerk started to build the Busdorf-Church (named after a former village). The church was octogonal with added rectangular apses. Only one original apse, flanked by the steeples, has survived. The bigger part of the Busdorf-Church of today was erected after a fire within the 14th centrury. Maybe the builders of the Drüggelte-chappel, that is about 50kms west, used the blueprint from Jerusalem..

There is still a "complete" cloister at the Busdorf-Church, which was an abbey upto 1803/06. Actually today it is a shortcut for pedestrians to reach the city.

The Busdorf-Church overlooks the neighbouring houses, but there is not much left from that "Holy Sepulchre", that is was here around 1150. Bishop Meinwerk planned to built five churches in Paderborn. These churches should form a cross (seen from the sky), the cathedral in the crossing if the axes. Four of these churches still exist.

Some of the capitels show abtract patterns. Maybe a tree in the forground. Or a a cup. or the Holy Grail? A sun on the left, an owl-mask on the left? This is just to start some new theories about the chapel!!

It is understandable, that the author who wrote about the chapel 1654 saw the three faces of the heathenly god Triglaw. This round face, with the strange beard, has no equivalent in the great numbers of saints, the writer knew.