Steingaden, Romantic Road

The former monastery village of Steingaden has a long history tied to Steingaden Abbey. A 12th-century monastery, it was originally built in a Romanesque style. Sadly, the monastery suffered throughout the centuries when it was looted and burnt during the Peasants’ War in 1525, then nearly fully destroyed during the Thirty Years’ Wars. Rebuilt in a Baroque style in the 17th century, the monastery came to an end as part of the secularisation in 1803. Except for the cloisters and the abbey church, the rest of the buildings were auctioned off and demolished.

The abbey church survived by converting it into a parish church. The magnificent interior of the church is decorated in a rich Rococo style, with highly detailed stucco on the walls and large, colourful frescoes on the ceiling. On the north wall of the church is a genealogical painting of the Welf family, of which Welf VI was Duke of Bavaria and founder of the monastery. A monument of Welf VI is located in front of the abbey church. The memorial depicts Welf VI on his knees, holding a replica of the church’s twin towers. Both Welf VI and his son were buried here in an elaborate tomb that was destroyed in the 16th century, leaving only a carved sandstone panel dating back to the 1200s, considered one of the “oldest surviving heraldic representations in Germany”.

Less than 3mi (5km) southeast of the abbey is the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Wies Church.  An oval Rococo church from the 1740s, Wies Church is a pilgrimage site on the monastery circuit. It is said that in 1738, during prayers, tears were seen on an old wooden statue of “Scourged Saviour”. As news spread, more and more people arrived to pray to the statue. To accommodate the large numbers of visitors, a new building was needed. Local architects, the Zimmermann brothers, were hired to build the new church. Popular throughout Europe for their work, their style was a mix of gilt, stucco and art. The church, fortunately, escaped destruction during secularisation, when the state authority requested that it be spared and remain a pilgrimage site.