The (Former) Premonstratenian Abbey Church of St. Magnus in Bad Schussenried, Germany

Until the Imperial Abbey of Schussenried was dissolved in 1803 during the Napoleonic era, the church of St. Magnus was an abbey church. Originally the church was a Romanesque construction, having been built toward the end of twelfth century, but as the abbey grew in its prominence and stature, so too would it undergo renovations during the Renaissance and Baroque periods. 

It is, of course, the baroque era church, with its splendid sculptural works, altarpieces and frescoes that we can mainly see and admire still today. It was during this period that new altars and altarpieces were installed, as well as a new pulpit, sculptural reliefs of the apostles, frescoes and choir stalls. 

The frescoes found on the ceiling of the main nave of the abbey church were done in the 1700's and depict scenes from the life of St. Norbert, founder of the Premonstratensian Order, while the side aisles contain frescoes depicting the life of the church's patron saint, St. Magnus of Füssen, as well as scenes of the life of St. Augustine of Hippo.

Scenes of the life of St. Norbert

Scenes of the life of St. Magnus

Scenes of the life of St. Augustine

The impressive high altar of the church dates from 1717-1718 with an altarpiece showing the Coronation of the Virgin by Johann Kaspar Sing (+1729). 

The Coronation of the Virgin by Johann Kaspar Sing

St. Augustine

St. Norbert

Leading up in dramatic fashion to the high altar are the ornate baroque choir stalls. These were carved from walnut and date to the same general period as the high altar, being executed by the workshop of Georg Anton Machein (1+1739). The stalls include reliefs taken from the life of Christ and the Virgin Mary as well as sculpted figures of various saints with a particular emphasis on the founders of the religious orders and saints from the Premonstratensian Order.

The baroque era pulpit hails from the middle of the 18th century and was done by Joachim Früholz (+1770). It features symbols of the four evangelists as well as various angels and cherubs.

Located along the length of the nave above the capitals are relief figures of the twelve apostles by Johannes Zick which have been done in stucco. Each of the apostles holds symbols of their respective attributes. These are quite unique in my estimation as they sit halfway between a full-fledged scuplture and a more typical relief.  

St. Matthew

St. Bartholomew

The abbey church also boasts six side altars dedicated to various saints. We won't go through them all individually; instead we will simply show you a sampling of some of these altars and their altarpieces, as well as two of the painted antependia found on two of these altars.

St. Valentine antependium, 1716

St. Vincentius antependium, 1716

Finally, as we mentioned at the beginning of this article, while the abbey church is now substantially a case study in baroque art, its bones are of a much earlier vintage and the church does still retain some earlier pieces of art, including this beautiful wood-carving of the Virgin Mary, shown holding Christ in one hand and an apple in her other -- a reference to the Virgin Mary as the "new Eve." 

Madonna and Child by Hans Strigel the Elder, 1440

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