Osterhofen

I had seen so many photos of the extraordinary interior of this church. It had to be on our itinerary in summer 2019. We duly set off from our hotel in Metten and once near Osterhofen tried to find it.

These monasteries are invariably large yet still I manage to miss them. This one turned out to be in a hamlet nearby. We were the only visitors.

Activity at Osterhofen in 1748 when the Abbey was occupied during te War of Austrian Succession, by JG Kaser.Add caption

We could have entered the church via a north door, but I like to make things difficult and insisted on entrering via the monastery via corridors cloistsers etc. At last, the magic door which launched us into this amazing church 

The Praemonstratensians took over an earlier foundation in 1138 Abbey and it remained with them until 1783 when it was dissolved by Papal decree. It is now owned by the Congregation of Jesus. The church became a parish church in 1818.

The medieval church was severely damaged by fire in 1701 and eventually a rebuild was organised under the direction of JM Fischer. All but the choir was demolished and  a new plan with interior curves and ovals was built.

The Asam brothters planned the lavish interioir stucco. The huge central fresco by CD Asam is based on the life of Praemonstratensian founder, St Norbert.

The great high altar by Egid Quirin Asam is one of the most important creations of Bavarian baroque. The influence of  Bernini's St Peter's Rome is obvious and Asam had been on a trip to Italy shortly before. Four rotated columns bear a canopy with the Lamb of God as the crowning glory. The  altarpiece by Cosmas Damian Asam (dated 1732) shows the decapitation of the patron saint Margareta.

CD Asam self portrait as a tax collector (why I don't know!)