Saint Mang monastery

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Panoramic view of the church of the Sankt Mang monastery from the north (December 2010)
View of the southwestern part of the monastery, seen from the southeast with the Lech in the foreground (October 2008)
St. Mang Monastery Church, view of the left side altar

The St. Mang's Abbey is a former convent of Benedictine in Fussen in Bavaria in the diocese of Augsburg .

history

The Benedictine monastery of St. Mang was built in the first half of the 9th century as the monastery of the bishops of Augsburg . The founding process goes back to the work of the hermit Magnus , who built a cell and an oratory here and died there on September 6th . The year of death itself is not known. The miraculous elevation of the unharmed body of Magnus, which proved his holiness, formed the spiritual basis of the monastery.

The founding of the abbey was not only religiously motivated, there were also tangible power-political interests in the background. Located on the Roman Via Claudia Augusta from Augsburg over the Alps to Northern Italy and on the Füssener Enge, the breakthrough of the Lech from the Alps , the monastery occupied a key geographical position. The Augsburg bishops and imperial politics endeavored to occupy this strategic point .

The history of the abbey in the Middle Ages was shaped by the efforts of the conventuals in the ups and downs of social developments to live a faithful life according to the rules of St. Benedict . Over the centuries, the monastic community has repeatedly joined reform movements aimed at returning to the roots of Benedictine life. Most of the reforms triggered a spiritual, personal and economic upswing , which was then also reflected in new building measures and art orders.

The counter-Reformation energy found its lasting expression in the construction of a mighty baroque monastery , which was built between 1696 and 1726. The St. Mang monastery complex, together with the High Castle, has a significant impact on the cityscape of Füssen today .

The aim of the building owner, Abbot Gerhard Oberleitner (r. 1696–1714) and his convent, who intended to “arouse the envy of all art lovers” with the new building was also to create extraordinary things.

The architect Johann Jakob Herkomer (1652–1717) succeeded in designing a representative, symmetrically arranged building complex from the irregularly grown medieval monastery. The transformation of the medieval basilica into a baroque church based on Venetian models was intended to become an architectural symbol of the veneration of St. Become Magnus. The church building represents a monumental reliquary of the saint. For the first time in the southern German baroque building, the life description of the local saint provides the pictorial program for the fresco cycle of the entire church here in St. Mang .

In the second half of the 18th century, however, the convent increasingly turned to social tasks: pastoral care, science, music and education. Although the abbey was never able to achieve the imperial immediacy it was striving for , it shaped Füssen and the entire region as a center of power and economy, as a cultural focal point and as the center of religious life.

On December 11, 1802, in the course of the Napoleonic Wars and the Peace of Lunéville, the Princely House of Oettingen-Wallerstein took possession of the St. Mang monastery and its lands, as well as the Maihingen monastery . On January 15, 1803, Princess Wilhelmine ordered Abbot Aemilian Hafner to dissolve the convent and to vacate the monastery by March 1, 1803. In 1819, Franz Xaver Seelos, who was beatified in 2000, was baptized in the monastery church. In 1821 Prince Ludwig von Oettingen-Wallerstein also bought the nearby Hohenschwangau Castle in order to save it from the impending demolition, but sold it again in 1823; It was not restored until 1832 by Crown Prince Maximilian , for whom the Hohe Schloss Füssen , located above the St. Mang Monastery and the former summer residence of the Augsburg prince-bishops, was originally intended as a summer residence.

In 1839, the royal Bavarian treasurer Christoph Friedrich Freiherr von Ponickau bought the rule of St. Mang. But first, in 1837, was the former monastery church in an endowment to the "cult" of the parish feet transmitted. Since then, the former Benedictine abbey has been divided between two owners.

In 1909 the city of Füssen acquired the ponickausche estate of St. Mang and with it the former monastery building. She set up her town hall here in the north wing . In the south wing there is now the museum of the city of Füssen, in which the baroque representative rooms of the monastery can also be visited.

The main organ from the 18th century by Andreas Jäger in the St. Mang monastery church

The organ was built in 1753 by organ builder Andreas Jäger . In 1877 the instrument was almost completely rebuilt by organ builder Balthasar Pröbstl . In 1958 and 1978 the organ was rebuilt and restored by the Zeilhuber Orgelbau company. The instrument has 37 stops (cone chests) on three manual works and a pedal . The playing and stop actions are electric.

I Hauptwerk C – g 3
1. Bourdon 16 ′
2. Principal 08th'
3. Covered 08th'
4th Pointed flute 08th'
5. Octave 04 ′
6th flute 04 ′
7th Nasard 00 02 2 ⁄ 3  ′
8th. Supercotav 02 ′
9. Cornet III 02 2 ⁄ 3  ′
10. Mixture IV 01 1 ⁄ 3  ′
11. Trumpet 08th'
12. Field trumpet 04 ′
II. Manuals C – g 3
13. Covered 08th'
14th Quintad 08th'
15th Prefix 04 ′
16. flute 04 ′
17th remain silent 02 ′
18th Fifth 01 1 ⁄ 3  ′
19th Zimbel III 01'
20th Krummhorn 08th'
III Swell C – g 3
21st Salicional 08th'
22nd Principal 08th'
23. Night horn 04 ′
24. Forest flute 02 ′
25th Sif flute 01 1 ⁄ 3  ′
26th Scharff IV 01'
27. bassoon 16 ′
28. Krummhorn 08th'
29 Krummhorn 04 ′
Pedal C – f 1
30th Principal 16 ′
31. double bass 16 ′
32. Octave bass 08th'
33. Large school 05 1 ⁄ 3  ′
34. Choral bass 04 ′
35. Flute bass 02 ′
36. Mixture IV 00 02 2 ⁄ 3  ′
37. trombone 16 ′

St. Anne's Chapel

Annakapelle Füssen

The original chapel was built in the 9th century as the first monastery church of the St. Mang Abbey and later served primarily as a burial place for the Knights Freyberg-Eisenberg . Today it is part of the city museum in the monastery building and can be visited.

In 1602 Jakob Hiebeler created the famous monumental Füssen dance of death on behalf of Abbot Matthias Schober for the St. Anna Chapel , which is one of the most important representations of its kind in the German-speaking world. Under the motto “Says Yes, Says No, Danced Muess Sein”, various social role models of early modern society follow on twenty individual pictures (on ten wooden panels), led by Pope and Emperor Death. The depiction of the witch as one of four female figures is famous. In addition to numerous epitaphs and death shields from the 16th and 17th centuries, the late Gothic sculpture of " Anna selbdritt " can be admired.

Baroque building

Imperial Hall

  • Architect: Carlo Andrea Maini
  • Fresco: Franz Georg Hermann (1692–1768)
  • Completion: 1721–1723

The ballroom of the abbey was designed by master builder Johann Jakob Herkomer (1652–1717) as the center of the entire monastery complex. At the same time, the hall lies on the central axis of the monastery church and the monastery entrance. The architecture and artistic furnishings as a colonnade hall had the political function of demonstrating the grandeur of the abbey.

The polarity of church and world is also the theme of the magnificent ceiling frescoes created by the later court painter Franz Georg Hermann (1692–1768) from Kempten . The building owner Abbot Dominikus Dierling entrusted the planning of the interior architecture to the architect Carlo Andrea Maini from Arogno , who also designed the Kaisersaal in Ottobeuren . With the architectural concept of Maini, the Abbey of St. Mang joined the monastery and palace buildings that imitated the "imperial style of Charles VI." With this splendid rectangular hall, the monastery demonstrated its endeavors to achieve the status of imperial immediacy.

At the same time, the ceiling paintings illustrate the outstanding role of the Benedictine order in church history. The entire concept of the equipment of the ballroom is subject to a sophisticated number symbolism . The series of numbers 2 - 4 - 8 - 16 - 32 pervades this entire structure, with the number 4 already dominating as a symbol for "world" given by the rectangular floor plan. In the ceiling painting, "Church" and "World" face each other. The church is symbolized by 4 stucco figures, which represent the cardinal virtues and each have an attribute with them: Cleverness has a mirror, bravery the sword, justice the scales and temperance the unicorn. The world is also symbolized by 4 stucco figures, which stand for the four continents Africa, Europe, Asia and America; Australia and the Antarctic were still unknown at the time. Eight presented columns and 16 pilasters structure the wall development and a 32-point compass rose centers the ceiling painting.

The Imperial Hall, which is also known as the Prince's Hall, can be viewed today as part of the Füssen City Museum and serves as a chamber music hall for the “Prince's Hall Concerts”, which have been held every year between June and September since 1951.

Library and refectory

The library building in St. Mang is considered the most original in Bavarian Swabia .

View from the Lech Bridge to the monastery
Canopy room of the Magnus Crypt

The unusual oval structure of the library forms the center of the southern front of the baroque complex, the castle-like face of the monastery. The interior is surprising both because of its high overhang and especially because of the large oval opening in the middle of the room, which allows a view down into the refectory , the monks' dining room.

This architectural concept is to be understood as a symbolic sign and symbolizes the unity of mind and body, of mental and physical nourishment. Travelers reported that music was played from above the library at banquets. Towards the end of the 18th century there was even a jukebox in the library.

In winter, the breakthrough could be closed with a lid made of an oil painting because of the extreme cold. The painting was created by Franz Anton Zeiler in 1781 and shows the triumphal chariot of the founder of the order, Benedict , being pulled from the four continents.

In summer the monks had a high view from the refectory up to the dome fresco by Francesco Bernardini from 1719, which shows four female figures as allegories of divine wisdom , prudence , truth and knowledge . The putti by sculptor Anton Sturm on the library gallery ask how the other frescoed ceilings, the various liberal arts shows.

The sculpture, St. Depicting Magnus standing on the fountain in the refectory.

In the course of secularization after 1803, the entire book inventory was delivered to the new lords, the Princely House of Oettingen-Wallerstein, packed in boxes and barrels on rafts.

Today, most of the library holdings of the former St. Mang monastery, as part of the Oettingen-Wallerstein library, are located in the Augsburg University Library . A small, valuable part of the manuscripts was donated to the Augsburg Diocesan Archives.

Abbots of St. Mang

Up to the year 919 there is no documented mention of an abbot of the St. Mang monastery. According to the monastery tradition, St. Magnus was revered as the founding abbot, followed by Blessed Conrad.

St. Mang Crypt: The Tombs of the Abbots 1
St. Mang Crypt: The Tombs of the Abbots 2
St. Mang Crypt: Abbots List St Mang Crypt 1
St. Mang Crypt: Abbots List St Mang Crypt 2
Dept Regency date of death
1. S. Magnus † September 6th
2. Konrad I.
3. Wolpoto 9th century? † 26th of April
4. Bernold 9th century?
5. Leutolph 9th century?
6. Gisilo urk. 919
7. Ortolf † April 5
8. Henry I.
9. Gotebold
10. Berthold † August 23
11. Adalbert
12. Wilhelm c. 1030-1040
13. Eberhard c. 1060-1061 † May 11, 1091
14. Swidker
15. Adalhalm 1086 † August 25, 1094
16. Alberich † January 23
17. Conrad II. urk. 1160-c.1175
18. Heinrich II. urk. 1178 - 1191 † 19th of February
19. Conrad III. urk. 1206 & 1218 † July 14th c. 1218
20. Dieto (Theodo) urk. 1219 & 1222 † March 1225
21. Rugger urk. 1227
22. Rudolf von Thalhofen urk. 1235, 1251 † May 22
23. Albert urk. 1255 † March 13, 1256
24. Hermann I. urk. 1257, 1262
25. Hiltebold urk. 1263, 1283 † October 19, 1284
26. Conrad IV. urk. 1284, 1285
27. Hermann II. urk. 1287, 1295, 1311
28. Goswin urk. 1313, 1317 † July 8, around 1318
29. Henry III, urk. 1319, 1335 † December around 1336
30. Ulrich Denklinger urk. 1336, 1339 † January 18, 1347
31. John I. Hochschlitz c. 1347 † August 11
32. Luiprand urk. 1374
33. Friedrich urk. 1390 † April 28
34. John II Lauginger urk. 1392, 1396 † March 21, 1403
35. Georg I. Sandauer 1397-1410 † February 15, 1410
36. Yban von Rotenstein 1410-1426 † May 19, 1439
37. John III. Loaf 1426-1431 † May 16, 1431
38. Konrad V. Klammer 1431-1433 † March 13, 1433
39. John IV. Fischer urk. 1436-res. 1458 † March 30, 1460
40. Johannes V. Hess 1458-res. 1480 † 1481
41. Benedict I. Furtenbach 1480-res. 1524 † March 1531
42. John Baptist VI. Benzinger 1524-1533 † April 8, 1537
43. Gregor Gerhoch 1537-1554 † October 4, 1554
44. Sympert Lechler 1554-res. 1556 † November 21, 1560
45. George II Albrecht 1556-1560 † February 2, 1560
46. ​​John VII Kessler 1560-1567 † June 8, 1567
47. Hieronymus Alber 1567-1573 † August 17, 1573
48. Matthias Schober 1579-1604 † August 15, 1604
49. Henry IV. Amman 1604-1611 † July 30, 1615
50. Martin Stempfle 1614-res. 1661 † February 26, 1665
51. Benedict II Bauer 1661-res. 1696 † July 26, 1696
52. Gerhard I. Oberleitner 1696-1714 † March 20, 1714
53. Dominikus Dierling 1714-1738 † September 4, 1738
54. Benedict III. Pautner 1738-1745 † January 18, 1745
55. Leopold Freiherr von Rost 1745-1750 † November 7, 1750
56. Gallus Zeiler 1750-1755 † January 7, 1755
57. Placidus Zerle 1755-res. 1763 † June 24, 1770
58. Gerhard II. Ott 1763-1778 † March 1, 1778
59. Aemilian Hafner 1778-1803 † May 19, 1823

museum

Today, the monastery houses the museum of the city of Füssen with the following focuses:

  • History of the St. Mang Monastery
  • History of lute and violin making in Füssen
  • City history

literature

  • Joseph Maria Helmschrott: Directory of old print monuments in the library of the ancient Benedictine monastery at H. Mang in Füeßen . Ulm 1790 ( digitized version )
  • Pirmin Lindner: Monasticon Episcopatus Augustani antiqui . Bregenz 1913
  • Rudibert Ettelt: History of the City of Füssen . Fuessen 1971
  • David Leistle: The Aebte of St. Magnus in Füssen . In: Studies and communications on the history of the Benedictine order and its branches . 1918-1920
  • Wolfgang Wüst: Spiritual state and old empire: Early modern forms of rule, administration and court keeping in the Augsburg prince diocese (studies on the Bavarian constitutional and social history XIX / 1 and XIX / 2) ed. vd Commission for Bavarian State History, Munich 2001, there on St. Mang in particular pp. 124–127. ISBN 3-7696-9709-X
  • Thomas Riedmiller: The former Benedictine monastery Sankt Mang in Füssen . In: Werner Schiedermair (Ed.): Klosterland Bavarian Swabia. Lindenberg 2003, ISBN 3-89870-127-1
  • Franz Matsche: The ballroom in the St. Mang monastery in Füssen as an imperial and imperial hall . In: Alt Füssen. Yearbook of the historical association Alt Füssen 2005 . Füssen 2006. ISSN  0939-2467 .
  • Petra Hauke: Domus sapientiae. A contribution to the iconology of library interior design of the 17th / 18th centuries. Century with special consideration of the monastery St. Mang, Füssen . Bad Honnef 2007. ISBN 978-3-88347-258-4 .
  • Klaus Wankmiller: Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini (1675-1741). A Venetian painted altar leaves for Füssen and Pfronten , in: Alt Füssen - Yearbook of the Historical Association of Alt Füssen (2011), pp. 18–55.
  • Wolfgang Wüst: Füssen. In: Michael Kaufmann / Helmut Flachenecker / Wolfgang Wüst / Manfred Heim (eds.): The Benedictine monastery and nunnery in Bavaria (Germania Benedictina). Sankt Ottilien 2014, Vol. 1, ISBN 978-3-8306-7657-7 , pp. 681–708, exclusively regarding St. Mang.
  • Thomas Riedmiller on behalf of the city of Füssen, Füssener Totentanz. Kempten 2014.
  • Klaus Wankmiller: The confessional reliefs in the former Benedictine monastery church St. Mang in Füssen , in: Alt Füssen - Yearbook of the Historical Association of Alt Füssen (2015), pp. 5–23.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Information on the organ

Web links

Commons : Kloster Sankt Mang  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 47 ° 33 '59.7 "  N , 10 ° 41' 58.2"  E