Heiligkreuz and Baumburg Klosterkirche

Peter suggested an adventure this morning - "Let's drive to the Gothic church of Heiligkreuz and then to the cloister of Bamburg."  So off we drove in the old but cushy, dark blue/green Mercedes sedan that we have leased for our time here.  Sometimes we both feel like we are driving a tank.  So many of the cars on the road are tiny and peppy! 

Heiligkreuz reflects a "country Gothic" style.  Unlike the famous towering cathedrals of Salisbury and Cologne, it is much more modest with the unusual feature of columns down the center aisle to support a double apse.  Additionally, there are frescoes on the church walls from the end of the 15th to the beginning of the 16th centuries.  The colors are almost pastel like and have been complimented by a very recent (2005/2006) renovation of the chancel.  New frescoes are on the walls using the same pastel shades of orange, blue and yellow but these are decidedly more abstract and modern.

As we walked in the church, we were both aware of a distinct buzzing that turned out to be a HUGE beehive above the alter.  YIKES!  Dying bees lay on the floor but plenty were flying all around.

Next was the Klosterkirche (see above and below) which we have seen several times from the road but never visited.  A full-blown Baroque church, with a Rococo renovation, that was the center of an Augustinian monastery that was active until 1803;  Napoleon closed it down.  And so was our Saturday morning!