Birnau will always be a special place for me. The photo above by Hardo Muller on Flickr brings it all back to me. In September 1969 I was camping at Nussdorf right beside the Bodensee. Keith and I were doing a trip around Bavaria with car and caravan. Being by the lake seemed a good idea and the church on the hill looked interesting : very different from the medieval stone churches of Lincolnshire from whence we came. So we toddled up to the church "and I shall never forget the sight which met my eyes when I opened the church door. Photos do not do it justice. The splendour and excellence of the craftsmanship is incredible" I wrote in my journal of the trip.
I continued "Baroque is a style that appeals to me and one day I should like to tour the Baroque churches of South Germany". I was still at University then, reading history. Little did I know then that Baroque churches would become an obsession , and since those Anglican days I have become Roman Catholic! And of course it is a masterpiece of the rococo. Doubtless I shall have to return to this as I've read a fair bit on this topic....It is the three dimensional quality of an interior like this that defies photography and makes seeing the real thing so exciting. Clearly I was unprepared for such a sight in 1969!
Birnau was built 1746-50 and is on the north bank of the Bodensee - a stunning position. It was and is a Pilgrimage church managed by the Cistercians. This resonates with me as a resident of St Albans and Abbey guide.They do tours at Birnau just like we do lasting an hour! Wish I could do a swop,: except that my German would not cope!!!!Birnau is the masterpiece of Peter Thumb. I shall not go into great detail in this first post as it may put you all off.I would rather post some pictures and some suitable music which I think helps to bring it to life. Now I could have selected a little movie but they seem to all have dreadful modern or inappropriate sound tracks. So here is another one of my interests ; organs! And you can see down into the church from the gallery. Pity its a small screen.
And indeed I did return to Birnau in the summer of 2018 with my wife Paula. We arrived by bus, went to Mass and walked back to Meersburg. Therefore I heard the organ and experienced the acoustic integrated with the sublime art .
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