Amorbach

History

The Abbey Church at Amorbach

The scenic town of Amorbach, with a population of around 4,000 people, lies in the Bavarian Odenwald not far from the Main River.

The town began life as a Benedictine monastery during the Carolingian Period of Frankish rule in 734, and from that point, eventually grew into a settlement that was elevated to the status of a city in 1253. Today it is a popular tourist hot spot with, not only a charming old town, but also beautiful remnants of its important ecclesiastical past. 

The Carolingian rulers who founded monasteries at that time did so, not only for religious purposes, but also as a way to control areas under their jurisdiction, often scarcely-populated areas of dense forest, and the area around Amorbach was no exception. In addition to Amorbach, the Carolingians also established three other monasteries in the region: Lorsch, Fulda and Mosbach. 

 St. Pirmin
By Alex - https://commons.wikimedia.org/
w/index.php?curid=309997

There is a bit of uncertainty surrounding the exact origins of the abbey at Amorbach, however, legends say it was first founded at the entrance of the Otterbachtal by Saint Pirmin, an influential abbot who had gained favour with the Carolingian ruler, Charles "the Hammer" Martel. This is highly likely as St. Pirmin was the founder or reformer of several other abbeys in Frankish territory, such as those at Gengenbach, Murbach, Wissembourg, Marmoutier and Neuweiler. Additionally, Saint Pirmin, though he originated from the area around Narbonne, focused much of his missionary work in the Alsace, the upper area of the Rhine and near the Danube. 

The legend continues with the assertion that it was a disciple of Pirmin, an Aquitanian called "Amor", who moved the monastery to its current location in 734. Though who set up the abbey is uncertain, we do know that by 800 it had become an imperial abbey under the direct jurisdiction of the emperor, who at that time was Charlemagne. 

In the 10th century, Amorbach Abbey was severely damaged by invading Magyar troops from Hungary, who took part in what was a consistent wave of invasions across much of Europe during that time. Despite the attack by the Magyars, the abbey continued to prosper, and with the acquisition of relics in the 15th century, began to attract pilgrims. The abbey also did not escape the antics of the infamous Götz von Berlichingen who, during the German Peasants War of 1525, plundered the abbey and destroyed some of its buildings.

A little over a century later in 1632, the abbey was again attacked, this time by Swedes in the Thirty Years War. The monastery was even dissolved for a short time during the war, between 1632 and 1634, when a local landowner took over abbey lands. Like much of the area, Amorbach suffered through a time of poverty and deprivation after the Thirty Years War, and in 1656, Amorbach was transferred into the control of the Archbishopric of Mainz, which oversaw significant building works.

A View of Amorbach's Old Town

The 18th century saw many structural changes to the abbey buildings. In 1740, the entire site was
renovated to include late Baroque and early Rococo features. It was also during that decade that the abbey church was built and later, in the 1780s, further construction and renovations were introduced, including the installation of an organ, which at the time, was the largest in the world. 

The latter part of the 18th century and the early 19th century brought an end to religious life at the abbey as a result of the Napoleonic wars. The abbey was dissolved, and it, along with its territorial possessions, were given to the Princes of Leiningen as compensation for territory lost as a result of French actions in 1793, which stripped the family of their territory on the left bank of the Rhine. The abbey church was given to the Protestant parish and the other monastic buildings were converted to a royal residence. Jurisdiction over the abbey and its territories passed to the government of the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1816.

Royal Connections

Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
By Richard Rothwell - The Royal Collection, Public Domain,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18262477

The title “Prince of Leiningen” is a relatively new title, having been created in 1779 by Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II; however, the Leiningens are a very old German noble family who can trace their roots back to the first Count of Leiningen who lived in the 12th century.

Under the new title, the first Prince of Leiningen was Carl Friedrich Wilhelm, whose son, Emich Carl, 2nd Prince of Leiningen, married Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld.

Fans of British history may recognise this name because Princess Victoria, after the death of Emich Carl, married King George III's fourth son, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn.

Edward's niece, Princess Charlotte of Wales, was the only legitimate grandchild of George III, however, she died 1817, an event which caused a succession crisis for the United Kingdom. This crisis brought pressure on the Duke of Kent and his unmarried brothers to marry and have children. Prince Edward chose Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, whose brother, Leopold, was Princess Charlotte's widower.

After the couple's marriage, the prince  moved to Amorbach to be with his wife, who was serving as regent of the principality of Leiningen on behalf of her young son, Carl.  It was while the couple were in Amorbach that Princess Victoria found herself pregnant with the child who would one day become Britain's Queen Victoria, a monarch who would rule over almost a quarter of the Earth’s population. The couple left Amorbach in 1819 to travel to England so that their child would be born in the land she would one day rule.

Things to See

St. Gangolf Church 

St. Gangolf Church

St. Gangolf Church is the Catholic parish church of Amorbach and was built between 1751 and 1753 on the site of a church dedicated to St. Gangolf and St. Sebastian. The first documented evidence of the earlier church was in 1182. The exterior of the present church is Baroque, while the interior reflects the Rococo style, with elements of the beginning of the Neoclassical  movement. The ceiling frescoes, which show the lives of St. Gangolf and St. Sebastian, are by Johannes Zick, an important master of the late Baroque. 

Abbey Church and Residence Buildings

Abbey Church of Amorbach

Though the monastery dates back more than 1,000 years, the present day abbey church only dates to the mid-18th century. It was built between 1742 and 1747 by the court master builder, Maximilian von Welsch from Kurmainz, and is considered to be one of the most important and beautiful examples of German late Baroque/early Rococo to be found in a religious building. Von Welsh incorporated two 12th century towers into his new church, though he had them clad in Buntsandstone.

Interior of the Abbey Church

The interior of the church features late Baroque/early Rococo stucco work and frescoes by members of the Wessobrunner School, a group of late 17th century stucco-workers who developed in the Wessobrunn Abbey in Bavaria. The side aisles contain altars dedicated to Saint Joseph, Magdalena, Agnes and the Bishops of Verden, among others. The high altar, with its six marble columns, displays a picture of the arrival of Mary in heaven. The impressive wrought-iron choir screen was made between 1748 and 1750 by Marx Gattinger from Würzburg, and the gold-covered pulpit was constructed in 1749 by Johann Wolfgang van der Auvera.

The Organ

Perhaps the most famous feature in the abbey church is its Stumm organ, which was built between 1776 and 1782, by the brothers, Johann Philipp and Johann Heinrich Stumm. The organ is the largest instrument ever built by by the Stumm workshop, which is quite impressive considering the Stumm family built organs for over 200 years.

The Residence

The most notable rooms in the residence, where the Leiningen family still live, are the neoclassical Green Room and the library. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Green Room was used for large dinners and as a concert venue. The room features unique stucco work by Andreas Dittmann, an attractive musicians' gallery, two 18th century crystal chandeliers and cast-iron ovens, with heraldry emblems of the former abbey.

Amorbach Residence

The original library was heavily damaged during both the German Peasant War in 1525 and again during the Swedish occupation of the Thirty Years War between 1632 and 1634. The room you see today was built in the late 18th century by architect Ignaz Neumann in the “Amorbacher Braid Style”, a popular decorative motif during the transition from Rococo to Neoclassical. The abbey library, with its painted ceilings by Konrad Huber, was considered to be one of the most beautiful of its time, and since 1856, has been home to approximately 35,000 books.  

Tithe Barn (Zehntscheuer)

Amorbach Zehntscheuer

This building, built in 1488, was originally used to store produce that was paid as tithes to the prince.  It was remodelled in the 1960s to serve as a cinema; however, The Amorbach Tithe Barn Cultural Circle (Kulturkreis Zehntscheuer Amorbach e.V.) turned the building into a cabaret theater in 1991 and then bought the barn in 2001. 

The Berger Collection and Teapot Museum (Sammlung Berger mit Teekannenmuseum)

The collection houses works by a number of modern artists including Chagall, Yves Klein and Roy Lichtenstein. The teapot museum displays around 2,500 examples of teapots from all over the world.

Wildenberg Castle and the Watterbacher House Museum

If you're looking for an historical outing that is a bit off the beaten path, a visit to Wildenberg Castle and the nearby Watterbacher House Forestry Museum may be just the place for an interesting day trip.

Wildenberg Castle (also called Wildenburg Castle) lies in the Odenwald in the Lower Franconian district of Miltenberg in Bavaria near the town of Amorbach.  This remarkable ruin, dating from the time of the Hohenstaufen dynastic period between 1079 and 1278, is considered one of the most important castle ruins in all of Germany. 

A visit to Wildenberg can easily be combined with a tour of the Watterbacher House Forestry Museum (see below) located less than a kilometer away in the little village Pruenschen. 

History

Wildenberg Castle was built sometime between 1180 and 1200 by the Lords of Dürn who were members of the retinue of the Hohenstaufen emperor and protective stewards of Amorbach Abbey. The von Dürn family took their name from their seat in Walldürn, and in the 13th century, they

Wildenberg Castle

had large possessions in southwest Germany. 

We first hear of the von Dürn family in relation to Ruprecht von Dürn, who was given the bailiwick of Amorbach Abbey and extensive lands in the surrounding area. Ruprecht was one of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa’s and Henry IV’s closest advisers and was a witness on many of their official documents. 

At the height of their influence, the von Dürn’s territory included almost the entire area known as the Bauland between the Neckar, Jagst and Main rivers and, south of the Jagst, included a strip of land running between Heilbronn and Forchtenberg. In total, they controlled an area of about 2,100 square kilometers. 

The decline of the Lords of Dürn took place as early as the middle of the 13th century. It is likely that Konrad I allied himself against Frederick Barbarossa during the emperor’s dispute with his deposed son, Henry. Prior to the family’s decline, however, around 1200, Ruprecht or perhaps his father or brother, Burchert, began the construction of Wildenberg Castle. Construction was completed by Ruprecht’s grandson, Konrad I.  

View of the Gate House

In 1251, Konrad I divided his territory between his three sons, with his son, Ulrich III, being given the property around Wildenberg; however, Ulrich was forced to sell Wildenberg to the archbishopric of Mainz in 1271 as he was under financial distress. The castle was later sold to the Amt of Mainz, and in 1350, it was enfeoffed to Eberhard of Rosenberg. In 1354 Conrad Rüdt of Collenberg redeemed the fief only to see the castle seriously damaged by an earthquake two years later. Shortly after, Archbishop Gerlach enfeoffed the castle, as well as the town of Amorbach and a free tenancy in Miltenberg to Engelhard of Hirschhorn. 

From 1368, Wiprecht of Dürn, Eberhardt Rüdt of Bödigheim, Fritz of Dürn and Eberhard of Fechenbach were castellans for the castle, with their descendants managing Wildenberg up to the 15th century. In the German Peasants' War, peasants from Heller Haufen, led by the infamous Götz of Berlichingen razed Wildenberg Castle on May 4, 1525. Since then, it has been a ruin. 

Castle Layout

Partition Wall in Courtyard

When you first see Wildenberg Castle, what you notice immediately, even in its ruined state, is the castle’s size. It covers an area of over 5,400 sq. meters, three times the size of an average German castle. The inner ward is 80 meters long. and has survived largely in its original state since the  Hohenstaufen period. 

The oldest parts of the castle complex are the inner and outer bailey. The relatively small outer bailey lay between the rising ridge and the inner bailey and was separated from both by a trench. Today nothing remains of the outer bailey except a few bridge piers which provide evidence of how the castle inhabitants moved between the two areas. On the ridge above the outer bailey, you can see the remains of a hunting lodge that was never actually completed. 

Upper Windows of the Gate House

In contrast to the structures of the outer bailey, those in the inner bailey are in good condition. Today, visitors access the inner bailey by way of the still-impressive gate tower, the upper floor of which housed the castle’s chapel, The St. George Chapel. To the left of the gate you can see two windows, belonging to a guardhouse, which was built with an adjoining residential building in 1485. This was accessed from the middle courtyard. 

The Bergfried

In its heyday, the inner bailey was divided into three areas. The center courtyard, most importantly, contained the well with its housing structure. Built into the southwestern curtain wall there were numerous residential and farm building whose windows can still be seen on the wall. In the south, there were additional buildings as well as the diagonally-oriented Bergfried and shield wall.

Palac Windows

In the north, lies the ornate residential palace with an adjacent defensive tower. The interior of the palace is partially preserved with, among other things, some pillars, a large chimney, beam supports, beam holes and numerous window openings. The numerous ornamental elements on the upper floor windows and the richly decorated vaulting points indicate the prestige of this impressive building

Artist's Reconstruction

In the years 1400 to 1511, the castle was extended in a late medieval style. The west tower and a partition wall in the middle of the courtyard were built and the castle chapel renovated. Apart from these changes, however, there have been hardly any structural alterations to the castle in the post-Hohenstaufen period.  The fact that the castle retains so many original features is why Wildenberg, despite its ruinous state, is regarded as one of the best preserved Hohenstaufen castles in Southern Germany.

Parzival and Wildenberg Castle

Wildenberg is rumored to be the castle mentioned in Wolfram von Eschenbach’s Parzival, a verse novel of court literature written in Middle High German sometime between 1200 and 1210. Von Eschenbach,  in the fifth book (Die Gralsburg), mentions the Wildenberg specifically: "Who saw such a great fire/Here by us in Wildenberg?" It is possible, therefore, that Wolfram von Eschenbach wrote part of the novel here; however, other castles have also been suggested as the subject of the novel, or the author may have simply based his description on contemporary court literature.

Watterbacher House Forestry Museum

The Watterbacher House, so named for its original location in Watterbach-Kirchzell, is considered to be the oldest preserved farmhouse in the Odenwald. Its owners in Watterbach wanted to demolish the house in order to build a new building in its place, so the building had to be moved to a different location. The old farmhouse was first moved to Breitenbach in 1966 and then to its present location in Preunschen in 1981. Tests on wood samples from the house point to its construction being sometime around 1475. The medieval half-timbered house was what is called a residential stable, with an enclosure for animals and the living quarters for the family under one roof. This was a common practice in the Odenwald during that time. The Watterbacher House opened as a museum on August 1, 1997, exploring forest history development throughout the ages. 

Visiting Wildenberg Castle and the Watterbacherhaus

From October to March the Watterbachaus is open on Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 16:00. From April to September, it is open on Saturdays and Sundays from 11:00 to 17:00  and outside opening hours on request. It is located at Dorfstrasse 4, 63938, Kirchzell-Pruenschen.

The castle is open year around, and, except during cultural events, is free to the public. It is located about a 20 minute walk from the museum where you will see directional signs. You will need to wear comfortable shoes for the walk.