Saints Peter and Paul Church: A Neogothic Parish Church in Oberstaufen, Germany
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.6
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- Germany
- Primary era
- Modern
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Medieval, Early Modern, Modern
- Civilizations
- German, Holy Roman Empire
- Site type
- Religious
- Remains
- Church
On this page10 sections
History
Saints Peter and Paul Church is the Catholic parish church of Oberstaufen, Germany, a Neogothic building constructed between 1859 and 1863 after the destruction of its predecessor by fire. It belongs to the Diocese of Augsburg and succeeded the medieval collegiate church of the former Collegiate Foundation of Staufen.
Early parish and collegiate foundation
The history of the Staufen parish reaches back to records from 868, although the first church building is not mentioned. A church was already standing at that time. In 1328, Count Hugo V of Montfort founded a collegiate foundation at Staufen with six secular canons, priests who followed ecclesiastical rules without belonging to a monastic order. Bishop Rudolph Diethelm von Steinegge, the then-responsible Bishop of Constance, added a seventh priest, who served as the foundation’s provost, or presiding official.
The foundation charter was dated 14 January 1328. Hugo V granted the institution his rights of patronage, while the abbot of Mehrerau was to arbitrate in disputes. The foundation’s territory comprised the parishes of Staufen, Stiefenhofen, and Aach, together with about 50 smaller villages. The predecessor of the present church was probably built from 1389 in connection with the establishment of the collegiate institution.
Fire, secularization, and rebuilding
A fire in 1680 damaged the church, which was subsequently repaired. Further changes followed during the eighteenth century, but a new building was eventually planned. The Kingdom of Bavaria ordered the dissolution of the Collegiate Foundation of Staufen during secularization, the early nineteenth-century state suppression or transfer of ecclesiastical institutions and property. The order was issued in 1806 and implemented in 1812.
A second fire in 1858 led to the construction of the present church. Georg von Stengel prepared the plans, and Anton Harrer carried out the building work between 1859 and 1863. Bishop Pankratius von Dinkel consecrated it as the Catholic parish church of Saints Peter and Paul in 1865. The former provost’s building continued as the rectory until 1953, and a pharmacy moved into the old building in 1962.
The church received a comprehensive restoration between 1977 and 1982, followed by another major renovation in 2020 and 2021. Its dedication recalls Saint Peter, one of Christianity’s principal apostles and traditionally the first bishop of Rome, and Saint Paul, an early Christian missionary whose letters form part of the New Testament.
Remains
The surviving church is a Neogothic building, a nineteenth-century revival of medieval Gothic architecture, with pointed forms and strong vertical emphasis. Its 65-metre tower rises above the church and is crowned by a pointed spire roof. Although the present structure dates from 1859 to 1863, the tower rests on foundations dating from the thirteenth century.
Exterior and entrance
A large image of Saint Christopher was installed on the facade by Anton Harrer. Saint Christopher is traditionally regarded as a Christian protector of travelers. At the entrance, bronze door handles made by Eva Moshack in 1981 combine biblical imagery with contemporary motifs.
Interior furnishings
Chancel and Crucifixion group
The chancel is centered on the celebration altar and a Late Gothic Crucifixion group made between 1500 and 1510 by the Constance sculptor Heinrich Yselin. The group was kept until 1959 in the open-fronted Calvary chapel built around 1867. Christ measures 5.20 by 4.25 metres, while the figures of Mary and John are each 3.30 metres high.
The chapel-like base of the group contains a sandstone sacrament house, a structure for reserving the consecrated Eucharistic elements, together with a Late Gothic wrought-iron grille.
Pulpit and nave decoration
Anton Harrer prepared plans for reconstructing the original pulpit. The pulpit itself was produced in Neogothic style between 1862 and 1865 at the Mayer Art Institute in Munich. Bonifaz Locher and Luitpold Heim, both Munich artists, painted the nave ceiling in 1913. Figures of the church’s patrons, Saints Peter and Paul, stand on the wall of the northern nave.
Marian devotional setting
On the eastern wall of the southern aisle is a Marian devotional setting created around 1863 by the sculptor Ferdinand Preckle. It shows Mary with the Christ Child, accompanied by Saint Ulrich, the tenth-century bishop of Augsburg and its patron saint, and Saint Magnus, an early medieval missionary associated with the Christianization of the Allgäu. Painted stone towers behind the figures evoke the lost Neogothic altars.
Organ
The organ was built between 1919 and 1920 by the Hindelang brothers of Ebenhofen. It is a cone-chest instrument, using windchests with cone valves to admit air to the pipes, with 47 stops, three manuals, and a pedal. Its key and stop actions are pneumatic. The Zeilhuber company began restoring the instrument in 1997. Its couplers include II/I, III/I, III/II, I/P, II/P, and III/P, as well as super-octave couplers II/II, II/I, and III/I and sub-octave couplers II/II and II/I.
