The Bavarians are a smart people. They enjoy life to the fullest and then go to confession. Smaller sins are forgiven, bigger ones may require the building of a monastery. This was the case in Fürstenfeldbruck:

Franticly jealous Duke Ludwig II. thought he had been betrayed by his wife Maria von Brabant and had her beheaded. As she quickly turned out to be innocent he had to apologize. The Pope let him choose: either go to Jerusalem as a crusader or found a Kartäuser monastery, which should atone for the cruel murder. Obvious that Ludwig II. voted for the foundation of a monastery in 1263, since it seemed a little cozier. In Donauwörth they perform the tragic deed once a year on the open air stage "Freilichtbühne am Mangoldfelsen".

Also quite close to the city of Munich and therefore ideal for a trip by S-Bahn or by bike is Kloster Schäftlarn which was founded in 762. The new building of the minster St. Dionys was the work of many well-known artists of the 18th century: F. Cuvilliés and J. Fischer designed the rococo gem, J. Zimmermann and J. Straub accounted for the interior design. Far beyond Munich echoes the reputation of the Schäftlarner Concerts. Who doesn't feel like enjoying the arts, can rest in the brewery snuggery with the romantic beergarden.

Also Munich's north has mountains, although smaller ones. Dome, diocesan museum and the former prince-bishop residence are densely located on a hill above the city of Freising. Already around 715 you would find the first Maria's church here. On the occassion of the 1000 years anniversary the Asam brothers renovated the dome in a great rococo style. Another gem is the Bestiensäule ("beast column", 12th century) in the crypt, the only one of its kind in Germany. Here you find knights fighting in a mattrer of life and death, whose worst case ends in the mouth of a dragon.

Also in Rott am Inn the building of the monastery is closely related to death. In remembrance of his fallen son Count Palatine Kuno donated a monastery to the Benedictines in 1083. Today only the church is left, one of the most precious and lightest rococo buildings, which bears a comparison with Wieskirche.

Take a boat tour around Tegernsee and keep the monastery always in sight. In the 19th century King Max I. Joseph bought the facility and had it reconstructed to a summer residence by Leo von Klenze, where he would also receive Kaiser Franz von Österreich. The minster St. Quirinus catches with early baroque stucco of Italian masters and frescoes by H. Asam. Bräustüberl and the ducal  brewery provide the the tourists' physical well-being, who started conquering Tegernsee Valley during the time of Max I. Joseph.

A great finish of a trip into Chiemgau is the former monastery Seeon, which rests picturesquely on an island at Klostersee. The Romanic towers remind of Freisinger Dom and possess Welsh caps like Munich Frauenkirche. Haydn and Mozart, who wrote two offertories for the monastery, were guests here. Today concerts, exhibitions and workshops take place here.

by Karin Nagl

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