Ammerland Castle Chapel shines in new splendor

On the day of the open monument, visitors were able to visit the completely renovated Ammerlander castle chapel.

Only one wish is still open: a bell for the tower.

• The Ammerland Castle Chapel is over 300 years old

• It served fishermen and farmers for reflection and devotion

• Now the renovation is almost complete

Ammerland

- Time and again in the past, the Ammerland master carpenter Josef Wagner was interrupted by curious walkers.

He made the wooden stairs that lead from the entrance door into the sacristy of the Ammerlander Schlosskapelle Heilige Drei Könige.

The entrance is directly on Nördliche Seestrasse, so that you couldn't overlook the craftsman and at the same time take a look into the little church.

“That didn't bother me.

On the contrary: I share the joy of the locals and day trippers that the palace chapel will soon be completely restored, ”says Wagner.

He remembers visiting her regularly as a child in the late 1950s.

A pastor from Mannheim, who was in Ammerland for the summer, always held mass in Latin during the long holidays.

The OSV helps significantly with the renovation

On the day of the open monument, the Chapel of the Three Wise Men was open to anyone interested.

Ursula Scriba, architect and chairwoman of the Ostuferschutzverband (OSV), who has been extremely committed to the renovation of the gem since 2006, led the visitors through the two rooms, the sacristy and the nave, together with Josef Wagner.

The castle chapel was transferred to the Münsing Church Foundation in 1682 as a foundation.

It was completed in 1685 in parallel to the new construction of the palace of the Wittelsbach prince-bishops behind it.

In the small nave, masses and devotions were celebrated for the local fishing and farming families as well as for the servants of the castle.

The church was looked after by the Counts Pocci until the 1930s.

There were long negotiations with the castle owners

Their significant decline took place in the 1970s.

It fell into disrepair, and even a tree grew inside.

The first renovation took place in 1981.

The foundation was renewed, the roof structure and roof were repaired, the tower was provided with a copper roof and a copper weathercock, the walls plastered and repainted.

After long negotiations with the respective castle owners, the church foundation, the Archbishop's Ordinariate, the State Office for the Preservation of Monuments and the OSV achieved in the 2000s that the main entrance, which was previously in the rear part, in the garden of the castle, was moved to the front of the street.

“Our goal was to give the public access to the chapel through this entrance,” explains Scriba.

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The Ammerlander Schlosskapelle on Nördliche Seestrasse was in decline in the 1970s, and a tree even grew in the walls.

© Matthias Wupper

The motto of this year's Open Monument Day was “Sustainability”.

The renovation of the castle chapel is an example of this: the building materials are predominantly ecological and regional.

Local wood was used for window frames and doors.

The new access staircase is made of silky, shimmering silver fir from the Black Forest, the tree of the future and forest conversion, the floor is made of Sollnhofner slabs.

The overall impression of the nave is emphasized sacred with colored filtered light, ocher walls and blue starry sky.

Glass artist Bernd Nestler created the shining window above the altar to the east with the motif of the Three Kings.

The side windows were designed true to the original with yellow and turquoise diamonds.

Also read: Ammerland artists' colony, Count Franz von Pocci

The former high altar made of wood has given way to a stone altar hall in warm beige, brown and gold.

“We also want to put up a large Easter candle,” announces Ursula Scriba.

In addition, three wooden benches are to invite visitors to silent prayer.

The key to the castle chapel could be deposited with a neighboring fisherman.

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120,000 euros have already been invested in the renovation.

The money comes from foundations, the State Office for Monument Preservation, the Upper Bavaria district, the district and the municipality.

The OSV also made a significant contribution through donations.

Scriba expects a total cost of 200,000 euros.

The original entrance door still has to be restored and the outside of the church has to be painted.

In addition, furniture and chandeliers are still missing.

A big wish of the OSV chairmen would be a bell for the tower.