Ettal Abbey (German: Kloster Ettal) is a Benedictine monastery in the village of Ettal close to Oberammergau and Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Southern Bavaria, Germany - near the border with the Austrian Tyrol.
Interior of the dome at Baroque Abbey Ettal
Emperor Ludwig of Bavaria fulfilled his vow made in exchange for his safe return to Bavaria and founded the Benedictine Abbey Ettal in 1330. Associated with the religious vow were more practical motives such as security of local roadways, development of the area and creation of a foundation for knights and their wives.
Ettal Abbey
Interior of the dome at Baroque Abbey Ettal
Emperor Ludwig of Bavaria fulfilled his vow made in exchange for his safe return to Bavaria and founded the Benedictine Abbey Ettal in 1330. Associated with the religious vow were more practical motives such as security of local roadways, development of the area and creation of a foundation for knights and their wives.
Ettal Abbey
The church was completed after forty years of construction in 1370. In 1710 the abbey functioned as a school for knights and was one of the most notable schools of higher learning of its time. For many years, the monastery’s monks have brewed their own beer and made their own straw-colored liqueur using mountain herbs, and today it’s still possible to purchase both.
Ettal Abbey interior
In 1744, following a serious fire and the destruction of both church and abbey, the abbey site is completely redesigned by Enrico Zucalli (architect at court) and Josef Schmutzer from Wessobrunn in the form still evident today. The central building with a 12-sided floor plan is impressive due to its outstanding stucco decoration by Johann Baptist Zimmermann and Johann Georg Üblherr as well as the ceiling fresco depicting the Benedictine heaven with the saints beneath the Holy Trinity as its central theme.
Ettal Abbey interior
The rococo vestry, stuccoed in 1725 by J. Zimmermann and painted in 1747 by J. J. Zeiller is to this day considered to be on of the most beautiful rococo vestries of southern Germany.
Ettal Abbey, baroque confessional
Source text; ammergauer-alpen.de, triciaannemitchell.com.
Fot. Elisabeth Fazel.
