The abbey of Ettal
Description

THE EXTERIOR

The monastery grounds are positioned on an east-west axis. In front of the church, the focal point of the complex, there is a nearly 100 by 100 meter large, representational courtyard. The plaster works of the facade are done in white, the moldings and the windows in ocher- with the roofed segments which are typical of Zucalli. Going from the west gate towards the church entrance one passes the so-called Swedish Column which is a reminder of the Swedish invasion (1632) during the Thirty Years' War. Over a sligthly uphill-graded courtyard the facade of the church with its dome is now visible. The two-storied facade is held together vertically by half columns. The protruding facade encases the body of the church structure and is connected to the towers which are also encompassed by the facade. Between the pillars or pilasters we see the windows, feigned windows or niches whidh hold statues of the twelve apostles. Only through the middle of the three portal niches can one actually enter the church; the two flanking niches lead into a wall. The originally planned break-through to the interior of the church was not possible due to structural reasons. The halfbridked up round windows and the missing, crowning end of the facade demonstrate that the facade was not completed according to the original intentions of the architects. This fact is also seen in the two towers, built in different styles in 1853 and 1907, whose completion in no way resemble the plans of Zucalli. The tower from the Middle Ages to the right of the dome, which since the fire in 1744 has had a tentshaped roof, was to have been torn down in the baroque period after the other two towers had been completed. This tower is certainly an honorable witness to the past, but has a certain disturbing effect on the whole structure nowadays. The almost 71 meter high, double-shelled dome covers the main room of the church, which is hardly recognizable when seen from outside. The dome is supported by flying buttresses, which come from the Gothic period, but were changed to swinging contours in the baroque period. On the copper roof these countours correspond to the ribs of the flying buttresses and in the room in between them there are two skylights. The actual dome ends in a lantern arranged in a detailed fashion and surrounded by a railing. The obelisklike crown of the lantern has a capital and cross on it. Going up a few stairs one enters the vestibule through a wooden door, which has been provisional since the baroque period. One's focus is now directed towards the inner portal of the Gothic porch. This portal dates from the first period of construction of the church. By way of a richy detailed doorcasing which peaks in a pointed arch we see on top of the portal, in the tympanum, the crucifixion scene in the middle flanked by the founding couple, Emperor Louis the Bavarian and his wife Margaret. On the one hand they direct our attention to the crucified Lord and on the other hand they invite us to contemphtively enter the church.

THE INTERIOR

Due to the brightness of the light coming from above one's first glance goes upwards to the dome rather than forward to the high altar. The Gothic structure was determined by the number twelve: twelve sides and twelve edges. The twelfth east side cannot support a window because, as in the Gothik period, it is used as an opening for the choir. The edges in the main story and in the window story have in front of them column-like pilasters which makes the church appear to be round. In its elevated expansion the room is divided into four parts. Over a high base in very large expansion of height the main story, which serves as a background for the furnishings of the altars, appears. Separated by a wide transverse band and strongly protruding joints the window zone appears which contains a fresco in the east panel. On top of this zone we have the dome which is marked by a strong horizontal line. In the lower area of the dome there appears a painted, storylike architectural zone. In a graded fashion we see here walls and stucco merging into painting. Through the idea of a painted heaven in the dome the effect of having no ceiling is supposed to come about. Reality thus blends with the unreal. The baroque intention becomes quite dear though this effect: to let the heavenly break into earthly reality. The baroque period, still full of imagery and descriptiveness, dares to place this heaven over us, although this heaven is a spiritual reality. Under the dome we find something firm - the shell of the room with its dear contours - and in contrast to this something moving. The stucco decorations with their flickering and twitching forms as well as the altars, whose frames are thought to be constantly swinging, give the impression of continuing motion: only in the moment of being viewed do they stand still. The statues of the saints on the altars seem to be engaged in a holy conversation with eadh other or are loudly singing the praises of God. They too only stand still for a moment. From the two middle altars large draperies hang down held badk toward the top of the altar, in order to give the viewer a glance at the scene of the altar painting. The typical rococo patterns of the broken, shell-like forms (in the terminology of art we call this "rocaille") veil the main molding, penetrate the arches of the windows and with a golden background adorn the arched panels. All over we see constant movement before a stable background. The cherubs on the galleries and on Straub's altars are a further element of movement.

The three side altars on either side of the basilica are in themselves asymmetrical, but as a triad they form a dosed and symmetrical whole. To the left between the two front side altars we see the pulpit, full of life and motion. The pulpit is surrounded by the symbols of the four evangelists and crowned with the Archangel Michael, the warrior against evil. Bound between the two altars the pulpit nonetheless has its own importance. Six of the eleven wall panels are occupied by side altars, three others by the choir loft which protrudes into the church and rests on four marble columns. The choir loft with the baroque organ is flanked on either side by two smaller choir lofts whidh have no other function than to give structure to the architecture and serve as decoration. In the badk part of the dhurch we have the four confessionals which are fixed into the walls and through their warm, brown finish, crowned with white and gold decorations, give the room their own emphasis. The decorations and the furnishings of the main room are designed and are sensed to be an organic whole; side altars and confessionals seem to grow out of the architectural structure and are in no way simply set pieces. The baptismal font with its popular woodcarving on the cover depicting the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist has the appearance of being accidently place into the room. The baroque period did not give such central importance to the baptismal font as was the case in the Middle Ages or today. The basic colors of the room are a courtly white and gold, only the pilasters are done in old pink and green. The altars counter this effect with their more subdued old pink and grey-green. The retables of these altars have a marble-like setting, the statues of the saints are done in whitish-gray like alabaster. The effect of this beautiful semblance, which forwent "real" materials, is very deliberately formed, in order to make the passing-over of this "holy theater" very receptive for the eyes and the others senses. For the people of the eighteenth century, for the farmers and woodcutters of the victiniy, who hardly ever travelled very far away, the thus furnished church was to be a very evident and inspiring experience in their religious lives.

That which is so vividly visible also has a didactic dharacter: The community gathered together to celebrate the liturgy sits in the pews. In front of this communiy we have on the right hand side the physical family represented on the Holy Family altar and on the left hand side the Altar of the Apostels (The resurrected Christ with his disciples). We also see the spiritual and intellectual representives of the history of the Church: the Saints. On the left middle altar we have the leaders of the church, the bishops - and as to be expected in a Benedictine church- we have representatives of this order on the right middle altar (The Death of Saint Benedict). Finally we see the male (right altar) and female (left altar) martyrs, who gave their lives for their faith and convictions. And surrounding and covering everything we have the heaven in the dome fresco, in which the glory of the Benedictine Order is portrayed: hundreds of Benedictines and related orders and personalities, all of whom are engaged in the worship of the Holy Trinity. Over the choir arch we see the figures of the father of the Benedictine Order, Saint Benedict of Nursia, who looks toward the most Holy Triniy. Of course the miraculous statue of Our Lady with the Child Jesus cannot be missing. Also to be nohced, approximately at ninety degrees to the right is Saint Scholastica, the twin sister of Saint Benedict and foundress of the Benedictine Nuns. All in all there are 431 figures in this dome painting whidh J. J. Zeiller completed in four summers with perhaps five or six helpers. The origin of the monastery and of the church is to be seen over the choir arch, where the legend of the foundahon is portrayed: An angel in the robes of a Benedichne monk presents to the Emperor the marble Madonna and commissions him to found the monastery. This, too, is portrayed with a great, theatrical gesture. The whole of this is framed in powerful, moving stucco. Also included here is the panel for the coats of arms which is to be seen at the top of the choir arch. Here we see the coats of arms of the monastery and of Abbot Benedict Pacher the Third (reigned 1739-1759). Abbot Benedict was responsible for the furnishings of the basilica. In the coat of arms we see a unicorn (symbol for Jesus Christ) bowing down in front of the image of the Ettal Madonna.

Below the choir arch we have the main altar of the church (since 1968). It complies with the wishes of the Second Vatican Council in regard to the renewal of the liturgy and permits a close tie with the community assembled for the liturgy and the priest. The altar with the coat of arms of Abbot Karl Gross (reigned 1961-1973) is of modern date, made though to resemble the side altars. Note should also be taken of the magnificently situated organ, an orginal work from the year 1753.

Compared to the large main room of the church the rather narrow choir archway leads us into the oval of the monks' part of the church arround the high altar'. Here we experience a totally new atmosphere and a different character through the furnishings which belong to another style, namely that of the early classicism. We no longer have moving, vital forms, but rather a cold and genteel strictness, somewhat dry and without much phantasy. The walls of this choir-room, which basically uses the forms of the main dhurch, give an appearance of a palace-facade which has been turned inwards. The open heaven of the dome painting though does bring a certain lightness into the room. The base course of this room consists of real marble: the high altar with black Italian marble and the rest with Ettal marble which could still be gotten from the vicinity of Ettal and Oberammergau until into the nineteenth century. The upper zones, of the room are done in feigned stucco-marble, a polished plaster. Between the windows Knoller's portrayals of the virtues in painting are very deceiving and appear to be statues. Especially vital in its colors is the painting in the dome: Christ surrounded by figures from the Old Testament rushes to greet his mother Mary who is being assumed into eternal glory. The high altar painting showing Mary's Assumption and the dome painting form a unity whereby the reality of the room seems to be broken through. The altar painting in its somewhat reserved gesture and attitude seems to fall short of expectations compared to the colorfulness of the dome painting. The high altar was originally planned with sculptures which probably would have given the whole scene much more life and temperament. (We have sketches of this panned altar from Ignaz Guenther). The construction of the high altar out of massive marble was developed as a kind of arch of triumph and was to help to divide the choir area. The altar appears to grow out of the walls. Not the way it was carried out, but at least the main idea comes from Henrico Zucalli. On top of the mensa of the high altar we have the tabernacle for the Blessed Scrament and over this the niche for the small, but monumental miracilous statue, the Ettal Madonna, whidh is hardly perceived from the back of the church. This "Emperor's Madonna", which represented for the Middle Ages the divine right of the emperor's power, has been the focal point of Ettal from the beginning. Originally the statue was painted, but since the baroque period it has been clothed. From the artistic point of view the statue of Mary with the Child Jesus witnesses to the fact that the artists of the late thirteenth century had begun to reorientale their works on the forms of classical anhquity. Completed in a workshop in Pisa shortly after 1300 the statue was probably a gift of the loyal city of Pisa to the Emperor Louis the Bavarian.

Embedded in the monastery grounds the Ettal Church is, in its original Gothik form and its baroque conception, both unusual and in its own way unique. As an architectural monument the dhurch belongs to one of the most important witnesses of South German baroque. The most precious and delicate interior architecture of the domed structure gives testimony as to how rococo forms from the courtly realm - especially from the capital and residence city of Munich - could be used in an ecclestastical setting. We thus have a document before us of a longdeveloped culture and in addiffon a center and focal point of ecciesiastical and Benedictine life.