GAP - Baroque, religion, kitsch, palaces, high ar - IgoUgo Germany Journal

Garmisch-Partenkirchen

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Alpine villages are famous for being pretty. Not only are they prettily located but also the architecture usually is harmonious and ugliness often seems a world away. Unfortunately, the same does not necessarily go for Alpine towns. The outskirts of larger towns such as Innsbruck and Garmisch-Partenkirchen can be surprisingly ugly, especially if you enter town through the industrial areas. These are as ugly as any other in the country and impressive Alpine peaks in the background simply cannot hide the fact that industrial buildings are square and in this region need to be sturdy enough to withstand the pressure from packed snow. Having arrived in Garmisch-Partenkirchen from postcard-perfect Berchtesg...Read More

Alpine villages are famous for being pretty. Not only are they prettily located but also the architecture usually is harmonious and ugliness often seems a world away. Unfortunately, the same does not necessarily go for Alpine towns. The outskirts of larger towns such as Innsbruck and Garmisch-Partenkirchen can be surprisingly ugly, especially if you enter town through the industrial areas. These are as ugly as any other in the country and impressive Alpine peaks in the background simply cannot hide the fact that industrial buildings are square and in this region need to be sturdy enough to withstand the pressure from packed snow. Having arrived in Garmisch-Partenkirchen from postcard-perfect Berchtesgaden, this was particularly apparent but things rapidly improved once inside the center of town.

Garmisch and Partenkirchen developed as two separate communities on either side of the Partnach stream. Partenkirchen is the older with a history dating back to Roman times when it was an important station on the trade routes from Italy to Augsburg and beyond. Garmisch developed as a Germanic town during the 8th century and although its center is more modern this can hardly be blamed on history; Partenkirchen is not know for its Roman sights. The two towns united in the 1930s when Garmisch-Partenkirchen hosted the Winter Olympics in 1936. The town of 30,000 is within easy, 90-minute road and rail access from Munich and Germany’s premier ski resort.

The most beautiful street in town is the Historische Ludwigstraße. From the Hauptbahnhof (Main Station), Bahnhofstraße leads east into Partenkirchen and shortly after changing into Ludwigstraße, makes a sharp 90° turn. From here, it is known as Historic Ludwig Street because of the large historic buildings that line the street. Many of these have lovely painted tromp l'oeil facades (Luftmalerei), a typical feature of the region. (However, the best examples are the nearby towns Oberammergau and Mittenwald.)

The center of Garmisch can hardly be described as an old town. It is rather modern and reflects what the Schicki-Mickis (city slickers) expect when in town for ski vacations—obviously high-end shopping and numerous restaurants.

Inevitably, Garmisch-Partenkirchen has a few Baroque churches and the odd museum or two to see but the real appeal of this region is the lovely outdoors. Zugspitze, Germany’s highest mountain is nearby and easily, if expensively accessible, by rail or cable car. The more charismatically looking Alpspitze is Garmisch-Partenkirchen’s Hausberg (literally "Home Mountain") and can be seen from almost any spot in town. Germans enjoy hiking on the Wank while English-speaking tourists tend to concentrate photographic efforts on the shield with the town name.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen has the finest winter sports facilities in Germany with several indoor stadiums in addition to the bounty of nature. Although it is a year-round destination, visiting in late autumn, and just after visiting the incredibly beautiful Berchtesgaden on the same day, I kept feeling that a bit of snow would certainly smarten the look of this town in no uncertain way.
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Member Rating 5 out of 5 on May 28, 2007

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Kloster Ettal

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Ettal is a very small village around 16km (10 miles) to the north of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The main sight here is Kloster Ettal (Monastery) and being on the main road through town you cannot miss it.A Benedictine monastery was founded here in 1330 by Holy Roman Emperor Ludwig the Bavarian. For its first 400 years, the monastery remained relatively obscure and unimportant. However, by the early 18th century, the foundation of a school and an influx of pilgrims propelled it to prominence and riches. Like most monasteries in Bavaria, Ettal was damaged by Swedish and Protestant armies during the Thirty Years’ War and rebuilt in the Baroque style. A major fire in 1744 allowed the abbo...Read More

Ettal is a very small village around 16km (10 miles) to the north of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The main sight here is Kloster Ettal (Monastery) and being on the main road through town you cannot miss it.

A Benedictine monastery was founded here in 1330 by Holy Roman Emperor Ludwig the Bavarian. For its first 400 years, the monastery remained relatively obscure and unimportant. However, by the early 18th century, the foundation of a school and an influx of pilgrims propelled it to prominence and riches.

Like most monasteries in Bavaria, Ettal was damaged by Swedish and Protestant armies during the Thirty Years’ War and rebuilt in the Baroque style. A major fire in 1744 allowed the abbot to rebuild in grand style, especially the church. The original Gothic church, the only church in Germany with a figure-8 floor plan, was converted into a Bavarian Baroque masterpiece. Inevitably, the Baroque decorations are a bit busy but the church is beautiful, lit through large windows as well as by light streaming in from the lantern in the center of the huge cupola. Several Baroque masters were at work here with the cupola frescoes done by Johann Jakob Zeiller while some of the stucco work was sculpted by Johann Baptist Zimmermann.

Visiting early on a Sunday morning, we easily found parking directly in front of the monastery. The monastery buildings are large but the huge cupola of the church dominates it from every angle. The monastery is still in use, mostly as a school, and most of the building is not open to the public. We were fortunate to hear the choir practice in the church and the acoustics are marvelous.

Monuments and inscriptions reminds of the turbulent history of the monastery. During the Thirty Years’ War, the Swedish troops brutally murdered the abbot and other monks. Father Rupert Mayer, a Roman Catholic priest that spoke out against the Nazi, lived here from 1940 to 1945 before being moved to Dachau. He survived the war but died soon after and was declared a saint in 1987.

Across the road from the monastery is the huge Hotel Ludwig der Bayer, which is run by the monastery. The monastery also brews a good beer and distills a couple of outstanding liqueurs. Passing through town again later in the day, we had lunch here in one of the huge dining rooms. The place is very popular with bus parties; we only noticed after ordering that there are several further dining rooms packed to the rafters with day-trippers. Orders were taken swiftly and the drinks appeared fast, too. However, the wait for the food was really unacceptably long. On a future visit, I would double check on those bus parties or rather head to one of the smaller restaurants in the near vicinity.
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Member Rating 5 out of 5 on May 28, 2007

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Wieskirche

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Attraction | "Die Wieskirche"

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The Lutheran Reformation that started 1517, introduced a period of tremendous change in Germany. This was often violent, with numerous skirmishes and full-scale wars raging through the German-speaking world for the better part of the 16th century. These skirmishes were taken a step higher with the Thirty Years’ War (1618-48) when almost all European powers joined in a war mostly fought on German soil. It was the most destructive war in German history, killing up to a third of the population, mostly through hunger, and left huge areas of Germany depopulated and impoverished. Obviously not the most important consequence of these wars but nevertheless unmistakable, is that much of Germany misse...Read More

The Lutheran Reformation that started 1517, introduced a period of tremendous change in Germany. This was often violent, with numerous skirmishes and full-scale wars raging through the German-speaking world for the better part of the 16th century. These skirmishes were taken a step higher with the Thirty Years’ War (1618-48) when almost all European powers joined in a war mostly fought on German soil. It was the most destructive war in German history, killing up to a third of the population, mostly through hunger, and left huge areas of Germany depopulated and impoverished.

Obviously not the most important consequence of these wars but nevertheless unmistakable, is that much of Germany missed out on Renaissance architecture. Although there are some fine Renaissance buildings in parts of Germany, in others this style is completely absent. In Southern Bavaria, the Renaissance style is rare. In the first place, few buildings were erected during these periods of huge uncertainty and furthermore, many buildings were destroyed during the wars. In Southern Bavaria, monasteries were especially targeted for destruction by the Protestant Swedish troops in the Thirty Years’ War. Following the war, most areas were initially too poor to rebuild but by the late 17th and especially into the 18th century, things had changed and huge building projects were undertaken throughout Bavaria. Some of the most popular tourist attractions of the region date from this period. However, by now the Renaissance was firmly out of fashion and the new style Baroque. Although usually over the top, the Baroque was at first rather stark and formal. By the mid-18th century, the Baroque has developed into the more playful Rococo with Bavarian Rococo a highlight of the genre. The definitive work of the Bavarian Rococo is the Wieskirche, Dominikus Zimmermann’s undisputed masterpiece.

Die Wieskirche, officially the Wahlfahrtskirche “Zum gegeißelten Heiland auf der Wies” (Pilgrims’ Church of the Scourged Savior in the Meadow), is as the name suggest literally a church in the meadows. It is off a small country road in the meadows. The exterior is typical Bavarian Rococo with few decorations and serving predominantly to prevent the interior from falling apart. The well-lit interior is magnificent Bavarian Rococo—the lower parts of the walls representing earth rather bare with increasing decorations higher up as you approach heaven. It is a symphony of colors with the structural parts of the building masterfully integrated into the artwork. The huge oval cupola is perfectly suited for the painting of the second coming. In addition to Dominikus Zimmermann (architect and stucco artist), several further masters worked on this church including his brother Johann Baptist who did most of the paintings. Dominikus Zimmermann (1685-1766) spent his final ten years in the small house almost at its doorstep as he saw the church as his greatest accomplishment. Many critics go even further and consider this UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site the greatest accomplishment of the Bavarian Rococo.
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Member Rating 5 out of 5 on May 28, 2007

Wieskirche
Pfarramt Wieskirche
Steingaden, Germany 86989
+49 8862 93 2 93-0

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Oberammergau

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Oberammergau is a small village around 20km to the north of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. It is world famous for its Passion Play that is performed every ten years. In 1633, the plague was once again raging through southern Germany to add further misery to that already caused by the scorched earth policies followed during the Thirty Years’ War. As the plague approached the Ammergau area, the people of Oberammergau made a pledge to perform Christ’s Passion should the town be spared the plague. The first play was duly staged in 1634 and has been performed regularly ever since. Currently, the play is staged every decade, the next performance in 2010 with tickets going on sale in 2008. The passion i...Read More

Oberammergau is a small village around 20km to the north of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. It is world famous for its Passion Play that is performed every ten years.

In 1633, the plague was once again raging through southern Germany to add further misery to that already caused by the scorched earth policies followed during the Thirty Years’ War. As the plague approached the Ammergau area, the people of Oberammergau made a pledge to perform Christ’s Passion should the town be spared the plague. The first play was duly staged in 1634 and has been performed regularly ever since. Currently, the play is staged every decade, the next performance in 2010 with tickets going on sale in 2008. The passion is performed around a 100 times between May and September in a huge purposely-built open-air theater. Each performance lasts around six hours. All 2,000 actors are local amateurs who either were born in town or have lived here at least 20 years. In breach with tradition, a recent Virgin Mary was played by a mother of two. The passion play is clearly great business but not enough to sustain the village for the decade in between. In recent years, the theater has been used in summer for epic operas such as Nabucco and Aida.

The town itself is a popular year-round destination as it is near the Alps. It allows for fine hiking in summer and easy access to ski slopes in winter. Cross-country skiing is particularly popular in the area.

The town is also famous for two types of art originally pioneered in Mittenwald but nowadays more closely associated with Oberammergau. First and most impressive are the huge number of Luftmalerei (tromp l’oeil) façades. Numerous buildings are painted and although religious themes dominate, more secular themes are also popular and include fairy tales and beer hall scenes. Secondly, the town is also one of the foremost centers in Germany for woodcarvings. Once again, religious items are the most popular but by far not the only works created. Carvings of various artistic quality is on sale throughout the town but the best works are on display in the Pilatushaus.

Strolling through the center of town, we found Oberammergau pretty but not extraordinarily so. The longer we stayed the more we felt that this town is very commercial and being dominated by religious kitsch. For me, nearby Mittenwald is a far more pleasant town with the added advantage of actually being in the mountains rather than the plains.
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Member Rating 5 out of 5 on May 28, 2007

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Schloss Linderhof

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Schloss Linderhof Photo - Germany, Europe

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I first became aware of Schloss Linderhof as the picture on a rather difficult 500-piece puzzle of which the trees behind the palace were particularly challenging. The puzzle, and Linderhof for that matter, was long forgotten by the time I learned about Mad King Ludwig and his fantasy castles.Bavarian King Ludwig II is in English often known as the Mad King; the Germans generally prefer Märchenkönig (Fairy Tale King) as there is generally consensus that the King was a bit strange but probably not crazy. Ludwig II, who ruled from 1864-1886, is best remembered for the three fantasy castles that he erected. Contrary to popular believe, he bankrupted himself in the process and not the Bavarian s...Read More

I first became aware of Schloss Linderhof as the picture on a rather difficult 500-piece puzzle of which the trees behind the palace were particularly challenging. The puzzle, and Linderhof for that matter, was long forgotten by the time I learned about Mad King Ludwig and his fantasy castles.

Bavarian King Ludwig II is in English often known as the Mad King; the Germans generally prefer Märchenkönig (Fairy Tale King) as there is generally consensus that the King was a bit strange but probably not crazy. Ludwig II, who ruled from 1864-1886, is best remembered for the three fantasy castles that he erected. Contrary to popular believe, he bankrupted himself in the process and not the Bavarian state but the government of the time was worried amongst other things about the future of the monarchy when they had him declared insane on June 10, 1886. He died under mysterious circumstances three days later. He was succeeded by his brother Otto, who officially was “schwermütig” (melancholic) but everyone knew he was nuts. Their uncle, Luitpold, became prince regent and during his reign, which lasted until 1912, Bavaria and its capital Munich, in particular, developed into one of the cultural metropolises of Europe. Of this time, Nobel Laureate Thomas Mann wrote “München leuchtete!” (Munich shone!).

During the reign of Ludwig II, Bavaria became part of the new German Empire; it was the Bavarian king, egged on by Bismarck bearing several special concessions, who actually proposed that Prussian King Wilhelm should become German Emperor. The loss in sovereignty in addition to Bavaria being a constitutional monarchy meant that there was a lot that a Bavarian king could do but preciously little that he had to do. This situation left Ludwig free to pursue his other fantasies: art and architecture. He was a strong supporter of Wagner and loved his epic operas. He in part sponsored the Festival Hall in Bayreuth and themes from Wagnerian operas are frequently used in the decorations of the three fantasy castles that he did start: Neuschwanstein, Herrenchiemsee, and Linderhof.

Linderhof is the only of his castles that were actually completed. It was his first and is much smaller than the other two, which probably help to explain the conformity of style. Its interior is simpler than the other two but you will only notice that if you have actually seen the over-the-top style of the other two.

It is a short stroll through the English style landscape park to the palace. I was frankly quite taken aback by just how small this palace is. The façade was covered for restoration but the cover had a picture of the palace. The compulsory guided tour moved through the palace at a steady but not rushed pace. Decorations are opulent but less extreme than especially Herrenchiemsee. The hall of mirrors is much smaller but, again, Ludwig II insisted on a table that could be hoisted into his dining room so he could eat without servants being present.

In the garden are several romantic structures and grottoes that remind mostly of Wagner operas. Some were only added long after the king’s death but he no doubt would have approved. The park also has a number of huge fountains and water features but these were already switched off for the winter season.

During the high season, it is prudent to pay a little bit extra and make reservations by phone or internet. However, in mid-October there were no wait for either English or German tours even on a weekend morning.
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GAP - Baroque, religion, kitsch, palaces, high ar

Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Kloster Ettal

Wieskirche

Oberammergau

Schloss Linderhof

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