The renovation work in the monastery is progressing. © Arp
Floor by floor, the renovation work in the south arcade wing of the Benediktbeuern monastery is progressing. The first areas should be able to start operations as early as the end of 2023.
Benediktbeuern – Since autumn 2020, extensive renovations have been underway in the south arcade wing of Benediktbeuern Monastery. The project costs around 23 million euros and is largely financed by subsidies. The work is almost on schedule, with completion targeted for 2023. Not everything will be ready this year, but important areas will be able to start operations at the end of the year this year, says head of administration Hilmar Gries during a tour with our newspaper.
Completion targeted for 2023
The work is most advanced in the basement. As in the past, the dining room will be located here, but in the future there will also be another area for it on the ground floor. "There are 180 seats per level," explains Gries. In the basement, the pillars were first strengthened. Then it became clear, however, that the outer wall on the north side had to be refounded. "You couldn't estimate that beforehand," says Gries. It was good that the work had to be carried out. "Now we have additional stability."
Head of administration Hilmar Gries shows a piece of wooden floor in the Prince's Hall, which was laid in the Wilhelminian period around 1730. © Arp
In the basement there will be two separate buffet streets, one for teenagers and one for adults. Light wells, which have been designed at a slight angle, direct daylight downwards. There is safety glass on them. The supply and exhaust air in the vault is installed in such a way that seats can be arranged here. "The young people used to love the atmosphere in the vaulted cellar, and we want to make the area beautiful again," says the administrative manager. Lars Fendrich from the Action Centre will carry out a project with young people. Soundproofing elements are also planned, which the young people can design beautifully.
For the Easter season 2024, the inauguration is currently under discussion
In the basement there is also the complete building services. It is currently being piped. The entire area is supplied by the monastery's own energy center. It is local heating via a wood chip heating system. It is 20 years old, and at the end of 2023 a renovation will begin here as well. The monastery will continue to rely on wood chips in the future. What the order, as the client, could not foresee in advance was that the course of the stream outside, in front of the south arcade wing, would also have to be renovated. The financing had to be done from the company's own resources and was done through the sale of a property, reports Gries.
On the ground floor, work is currently in full swing to complete the canteen kitchen. Again and again, says Gries, he is asked why the kitchen is set up here of all places. His answer: "It's the historic guest wing." A contemporary canteen kitchen with corresponding cold and storage rooms is currently being built. These are also located in the basement – like the scullery – and can be reached via two elevators. One of them, accessible from three sides, will also be available to guests with reduced mobility. "This is a 'delicacy' of our project," says Gries with a smile. After all, every step in the monastery must be discussed with the monument protection authorities. "And that wasn't so easy with this custom-made product."
Staff is already available
The kitchen staff also have sanitary facilities, changing rooms and a lounge. Gries is pleased that the staff is already available. "The employees are already looking forward to it starting. " Our canteen kitchen will consist of state-of-the-art technology." At full capacity, 450 meals have to be prepared here - not only for the guests of the monastery and youth facilities, but also for the canteen of the university as well as the supply of kindergarten and primary school in Benediktbeuern. "In the new kitchen, however, we have the option of being able to prepare 700 to a maximum of 1000 meals if required," says Gries. The goods are delivered via the head side of the nursery area.
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Commercial kitchen can cook up to 1000 meals daily
In the kitchen area, a lot of coordination with the experts from the monument protection department was necessary. "Many structural issues had to be clarified here," says the head of administration. This is because the building has also changed over the centuries, non-load-bearing walls, for example, have been transformed into load-bearing walls. "Of course, all of this has to be incorporated into the restructuring process." In the garden in front of the kitchen area, a disposal station will soon be built, i.e. a garbage house. It may have a flat roof and will be greened at the top so that it blends in with the surroundings as best as possible.
The photo shows the current state of the rooms on the ground floor. This room will house the heart of the new canteen kitchen. © Arp
Anyone who currently enters the Prince's Hall, i.e. the former house chapel, on the upper floor, walks over a floor with planks from the Wilhelminian period. They are very wide and about three centimeters thick. "You can see what kind of trees there used to be," says Gries reverently. Because they are in very good condition, it was decided to reinstall them. Among other things, there are tensions to stabilize the building. A so-called stiffening disc will soon be placed on the planks and then the new floor, in this room wooden cassettes.
On the upper floor, the restorers will soon devote themselves to the ceilings. Here, for example, cracks have to be repaired, some areas need a new color or have to be retouched. "The Fürstensaal is the biggest project," says Gries. Here, the monastery association "Juwel" collected donations to finance the renovation of the ceiling fresco. For this purpose, it was divided into individual squares so that the donors can look at a "personal piece", so to speak. There are still free pieces, Gries knows.
Even though many craftsmen work in the monastery, some things are done by their own efforts. Together with the young people who are doing their voluntary social year in the field of monument preservation, the monastery painter will take care of the upgrading of the historic windows on the upper floor. In the past few weeks, the young people have already done a lot in the basement, Gries is pleased to say. "It's nice to see how everyone pitches in."
More info
If you would like to help support the renovation of the ceiling fresco, you can contact the Förderverein Juwel: www.juwel-kloster-benediktbeuern.de.
You can find even more up-to-date news from the region at Merkur.de/Bad Tölz.
