Furstenfeld Abbey

The  first full day in our Bavarian Baroque Crawl (or my Holiday of a Lifetime) began on 23 August 2019 by contemplating the massive abbey complex of Furstenfeld. On a hill it is immediately massive and imposing. Even so at first we missed it, thinking it was in the centre of the town of Furstenfeldbruck! Of course it is a Cistercian foundation and is on the perimeter! 

Dating from c.1263, dedicated to the Assumption, it was sacked in the Thirty Years war in the mid 17th century. This explains the huge new Baroque abbey started in 1691. It was designed by the Italian Bavarian court architect Giovanni Antonio Viscardi.Work was held up by the War of the Spanish Succession in 1705 and then completed 1718-36 under  the supervision of Johann Georg Ettenhofer and others.






A new monumental western facade  was added to the church in 1747. In 1803 it was secularised and the church is now a parish church. Today the complex contains restaurants and a museum.
Alas we were at the wrong time of day, missed the museum and could not get beyond the iron gates at the back of the church below the organ gallery. (just like my first visit to Diessen - corrected this year).



Nevertheless I shall attempt to describe the interior. it has a long 5 bay wall pillar nave and long absidal choir. There are no transepts and there is one flanking tower. The impression down the nave is grand and stately - white, gold browns and brilliant greens. 







The full programme of interior decoration likely took over 60 years and the result despite changing fashions, is a splendid blend of Italian and South German Baroque, The Asam brothers worked here  : ceilings by them in  1730s and high altar by EQ Asam c1750. The latter recalls Bernini's altar in St Peter's Rome. Choir stalls are by Froedrich Schwertfirhrer. The famous organ (unheard...) is by J. Fuchs, with a jolly case full of happy putti by by \JG Greiff

I am pleased with my photos but if you really want the best then go to this remarkable web site by Raoul Kieffer. There are 158 photos! It's almost better than being there! 

Finally above is a short excerpt from a television programme for SBS TV in Australia, on 12 April 2009.by SBS Radio & Television Youth Orchestra from Fürstenfeld Abbey. in Upper Bavaria, Germany.
Features the organ and captures the interior atmosphere with the Bach/Gounod Ave Maria.