Bavaria / Bayern

Approaching the small, unimpressive village of Altenstadt the visitor will find a really impressing romanesque basilica. The church is way too big for the village. The original name of the village was "Scongoe". Founded on a hill over the river Lech, it controlled the old roman "highway" from Augsburg to Italy - and over the time got wealthy and proud. So they started to build this St.Michael-church between 1170 and 1220. Just after the church was completed, discussions started and the whole village moved (for strategic reasons) to a new place, just a few kilometres away and started the (still existing) "Schongau", naming the old place "Altenstadt" (= old town). As there were no people to care for the abandoned church, and over the many years (fortunately) no money, to change it into gothic, baroque or rococo style, purity has survived here. I have uploaded already many photos taken in Altenstadt during prior visits. So just a few "new" photos now. St. Christopher must have been even more gigantic before the gallery was installed.

Approaching the small, unimpressive village of Altenstadt the visitor will find a really impressing romanesque basilica. The church is way too big for the village. The original name of the village was "Scongoe". Founded on a hill over the river Lech, it controlled the old roman "highway" from Augsburg to Italy - and over the time got wealthy and proud. So they started to build this St.Michael-church between 1170 and 1220. Just after the church was completed, discussions started and the whole village moved (for strategic reasons) to a new place, just a few kilometres away and started the (still existing) "Schongau", naming the old place "Altenstadt" (= old town). As there were no people to care for the abandoned church, and over the many years (fortunately) no money, to change it into gothic, baroque or rococo style, purity has survived here. I have uploaded already many photos taken in Altenstadt during prior visits. So just a few "new" photos now. The baptismal font is so delicate, that some scholars reckon, that it may not have been carved (1200) for this church but for some more "important" place. It shows Mary and the child, John the Baptist, the baptism of Jesus (here) and St. Michael fighting Luzifer. Down below you can see the rivers of paradise, flowing out of the mouths of that strange heads.

Hohenfurch had a parish church under the patronage of the Benedictine monastery of St. Mang in Füssen from 1394 to 1785, when it changed to the monastery in Steingaden. The church was rebuilt and expanded several times, only the tower with a gable roof has been preserved from the old Gothic church. The church got its present form in the first half of the 18th century. During the baroque renovation (1738-1745) the nave got extended.

Hohenfurch had a parish church under the patronage of the Benedictine monastery of St. Mang in Füssen from 1394 to 1785, when it changed to the monastery in Steingaden. The church was rebuilt and expanded several times. It got its present form in the first half of the 18th century. During the baroque renovation (1738-1745) the nave got extended.

There may have existed a baptismal church during the time of the Christianization of the region. The first parish church probably had a wooden structure. Around 1140, Adalbert von Rott is the first name of a pastor. In 1226, the parish of Rott was incorporated into the Wessobrunn monastery and looked after by the monastery until secularization in 1803. I was lucky to meet archaeologists here, who were excavating the foundation. They had found, that the oldest part of the building is the west tower, which has Romanesque elements in its lower area, dated around 1200. From 1724 to 1727 the dilapidated church was enlarged and redesigned in the Baroque style.

There may have existed a baptismal church during the time of the Christianization of the region. The first parish church probably had a wooden structure. Around 1140, Adalbert von Rott is the first name of a pastor. In 1226, the parish of Rott was incorporated into the Wessobrunn monastery and looked after by the monastery until secularization in 1803. I was lucky to meet archaeologists here, who were excavating the foundation. They had found, that the oldest part of the building is the west tower, which has Romanesque elements in its lower area, dated around 1200. From 1724 to 1727 the dilapidated church was enlarged and redesigned in the Baroque style.

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Westerndorf is a hamlet, that is by now part of the much larger Rosenheim. A church existed here in 1315 and was in disrepair after the Thirty Years' War. It got demolished and the planning for the now existing church started. The church was completed in 1691. The floor plan is circular (diameter 20 m). The dome reaches a height of 20 m.

Westerndorf is a hamlet, that is by now part of the much larger Rosenheim. A church existed here in 1315 and was in disrepair after the Thirty Years' War. It got demolished and the planning for the now existing church started. The church was completed in 1691. The floor plan of the church is circular (diameter 20 m), while the interior has a cruciform.

The small hamlet Urschalling belongs to Prien am Chiemsee. Located in its centre is St. Jakobus, the parish church. It was built end of the 11th century and later integrated into a fortified castle, that is long gone. A Baroque onion spire was added to the sober structure in 1711. The church is known for the medieval murals, that were discovered under a thick coat of paint in the 19th century.

The small hamlet Urschalling belongs to Prien am Chiemsee. Located in its centre is St. Jakobus, the parish church. It was built end of the 11th century and later integrated into a fortified castle, that is long gone. Under a thick coat of paint frescoes from the 14th century were discovered. When these got renovated in the 1940s, another layer of frescoes was discovered below. These frescoes were even 200 years older.

The small hamlet Urschalling belongs to Prien am Chiemsee. Located in its centre is St. Jakobus, the parish church. It was built end of the 11th century and later integrated into a fortified castle, that is long gone. Under a thick coat of paint frescoes from the 14th century were discovered. When these got renovated in the 1940s, another layer of frescoes was discovered below. These frescoes were even 200 years older. Next to the Baroque statue of Saint Jakobus (James), dressed like a pilgrim, one of the Romanesque frescoes created 1160/1180.

The small hamlet of Urschalling belongs to Prien am Chiemsee. Located in its centre is St. Jakobus, the parish church. It was built end of the 11th century and later integrated into a fortified castle, that is long gone. Under a thick coat of paint frescoes from the 14th century were discovered. When these got renovated in the 1940s, another layer of frescoes was discovered below. These frescoes were even 200 years older. The "Harrowing of Hell". Christ releasing Adam, Eve and other righteous from the Hellmouth.

The small hamlet of Urschalling belongs to Prien am Chiemsee. Located in its centre is St. Jakobus, the parish church. It was built end of the 11th century and later integrated into a fortified castle, that is long gone. Under a thick coat of paint frescoes from the 14th century were discovered. When these got renovated in the 1940s, another layer of frescoes was discovered below. These frescoes were even 200 years older.

Reit im Winkl is located on the German/Austrian border. The village is well known as a ski resort and home of the Biathlon World Cup. in Summer the village is popular with mountain bikers and nordic walkers. More than 600.00 touristic overnight stays are handled by a population of about only 2600. Near the small suburb, Groissenbach is this tiny round chapel.

Landgasthof Zenz is located in the hamlet of Sondermoning, part of Nussdorf. For long it was probably the centre of social life as the inn had the only larger hall in the municipality. But Landgasthof Zenz closed down in May 2020. Only the bubblegum machines are in full service.

Traunreut is a very young town. In 1938 an ordnance factory was built on the outskirts of the village of St. Georgen, at the present location of Traunreut. After World War II, with the factory closed, ethnic German expellees from their settlements in Central and Eastern Europe settled in the abandoned grounds. The municipality of Traunreut was founded in 1950 and in 1960 Traunreut became a town. A very friendly coexistance.

The Raitenhaslach monastery was founded in 1143. The water-rich location was ideal for the specific cultivation by the Cistercians, including in the form of pond management. The Cistercians ate a meat-free diet as pescetarians, so a sufficient supply of water and the possibility of extensive fish farming were essential. The monastery´s property grew rapidly through donations. It owned a number of villages and even a winery in what is now Lower Austria. The House of Wittelsbach, residing in the nearby Burghausen castle, took on the role of sponsor and caretaker of the monastery in the mid 13th century. In the 15th century the monastery church served as a burial place for the ducal family from Burghausen, and at the beginning of the 16th century it was particularly Ludwig "the Rich" who supported the monastery in the fight against the Reformation. Over the centuries, the monastery has been rebuilt and expanded several times. Construction activity was very lively in the 18th century, when the monastery church was given its present form for the 600th anniversary of the order and was converted from a Romanesque basilica into a Baroque church. In 1803 the monastery was dissolved in the course of secularization, but only the lucrative parts of the monastery, such as the brewery, could be sold, the majority of the buildings were demolished. The immense inventory were sold to the highest bidder. Furniture and art objects to wealthy citizens and the nobility, and agricultural equipment to farmers in the area. The monastery church became a parish church in 1806. The remaining monastery buildings have since served as a parsonage, school, brewery, restaurant and as private apartments.