Buxheim

This was the big surprise of our 2020 Baroque Church crawl. Carthusian monasteries are rare

and this is the best kept one in Germany. There are few examples in England. Here they are known as a Charterhouse. Perhaps the best known are the Charterhouse in Smithfield, London and Mount Grace in North Yorkshire. To be able to see quads surrounded with cells, to go in a recreated cell, to see unique choir stalls and a late small masterpiece- the Anna Kapella - by JB Zimmermann, was really great! As they say in guide books“highly recommended” and we had the place virtually to ourselves.

The priory at Buxheim was transferred to the Carthusians in 1402 and the buildings developed over the 15th century and converted to the Baroque style in the 18th century by the Zimmermann brothers.

Carthusians were like hermits living in a community. 

They lived in individual cells around cloisters with a central church. 

The fundamentals of their life were daily prayer, reading the scriptures or religious books 

and physical work. They came together daily for midnight prayer, Mass in the morning 

and vespers.Otherwise they were in their cells.

This was the cloister : their perambulation experience and their lavatorium or water fountain.. What a contrast with the famous medieval Gloucester example  below. The Buxheim cloister is almost 400 metres long with water fountains at three of the corners.

(Flickr Damian Entwistle)

We then saw the interesting museum containing documents, furniture and old pictures which chart the history of this special place.

The library hall shown below contains stucco and frescos by JB Zimmermann from 1709-12. It is a

beautiful light space, perfect for a lecture. The example below shows Christ after the Resurrection.

We then progressed through the small cloister, eventually arriving in the church. In the  usual Carthusian practice this was divided into two parts ; the back part for the friars separated by a screen known as a Lettner from the priests' section with its choir stalls. The friars' part has notable stucco work by D Zimmermann and frescos by JB Zimmermann. The unique screen and  choir stalls are by the Tyrolean master, Ignaz Waibl, dating from 1687-91. This inner part of the church was originally built in the 14th century. The high altar by Sigmund and David Heschler from Ulm, dates from 1631 and shows the transition from Renaissance to Baroque.

The stalls are quite remarkable and it is quite beyond the scope of this little blog post to describe them in detail.After the suppression of monasteries in 1803, the stalls  were owned by the Count of Ostein

and then Count Waldbutt of Bassenheim. He sold them off in 1883 and they found their way across to England, by now varnished with black lacquer. Housed in St Saviour's Hospital Osnaburgh Street London they were used by a community of Anglican nuns there until the their removal to a convent in Hythe Kent in 1960.Fortunately the Abbess Cathleen Buch helped their removal back to Buxheim and they were bought for 2 million DM. The photos below contrast their appearance before and after their restoration. 

It was a great day for Buxheim and Baroque art when they were solemnly instituted in 1994.

The sacristy is now used for a fascinating museum of sacreed art, including explanations of how stucco is done.

Next came the real jewel of Buxhein : the Annakapelle (St Anne's Chapel) by D Zimmermann. (1738-1740). It was his last work before the Wies church. It is a quadratic building really yet appears to be round. It is very very difficult to photograph.

Finally there is a reconstructed cell of  a priest monk. Notice the furniture, stove, cupboard and wash stand. Each cell had an attached garden as shown below, The monk would follow a strict daily routine living here in solitude and silence. This cell, the cloister , the church and the  garden was where he spent his time. His food (veggie) was put into a serving hatch by the door. Food was eaten in the refectory only on Sundays. They did get a 4 hour walk during which they could converse. The friars followed the same rule with simpler cells and went out into the world 

 

 I cannot overrecommend this fascinating Monsatery to you!