At the moment he is mostly lonely on his bench. In normal times, however, there is a lot of hype around the monk in the Fürstenfeldbruck Museum. The lifelike replica is intended to testify to the quiet life of the Cistercians.
Fürstenfeldbruck - It is one of the most photographed motifs in the museum and is an eye-catcher on countless selfies: the lifelike monk figure in the monastery department. Skilfully placed, the art monk sits on a wooden bench away from the exhibition rooms, apparently lost in thought, enveloped from head to toe in the bright Cistercian clove.
"A lot of people startle when they see the figurine because it looks so lively," says museum director Angelika Mundorff. The high-quality representation of the monk - made of wood, clay and real hair on behalf of the museum - is more than an original exhibit. Appearance and attitude reveal a lot about the life that the monks lived in the Fürstenfeld monastery around 220 years ago.
Simplicity of the external appearance
With their robes made of undyed sheep's wool, the Cistercians emphasized the simplicity of the external appearance even more than other orders. The submissive attitude of the monk figure is also typical of everyday monastery life. True to the Benedictine order "Ora et Labora", life was dedicated to praying and working. "The monks spent much of their day praying, meditating, or reading the scriptures," explains museum educator Maria Bodin. "This took place either together or - as in the case of our monk - alone in prayer."
The large hood helped to isolate itself and reduce the viewing radius so that you could not be distracted. At the same time, it symbolizes the complete isolation from life beyond the monastery walls. Whoever entered the order turned his back on the outside world forever. It is no accident that the figure's mouth is closed. The Cistercians took a vow of silence and spent most of the day in silence. It was only allowed to speak to celebrate the fair.
Physical work
The second part of the order rule can also be seen in the figure: The rough hands are evidence of physical work. As a largely self-sufficient company, the monastery supplied itself with the essentials, the monks had to tackle the garden and the many other work areas.
"The monk is not an original exhibit, but it helps us a lot to recreate the monastic life," says Bodin. This includes that every visitor can slip into an original robe and take a seat next to the "last Cistercian Fürstenfeld" - for a fantasy journey into the past or an original selfie.
