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Founded: 1768-1772Category: Religious sites in Germany
Historical period: Emerging States (Germany)
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The mendicant order of Augustinian hermits had a monastery in the Augustinerstrasse from 1260 until 1802. The one-aisled church was newly constructed, together with the monastery, from 1768 to 1772. The Diocesan Priests’ Seminary has been located here since 1805. The ornamentation of the church is so rich because patrons generously supported the work: The Elector did not want a “peasants’ church” in his residence city. The façade shows the vivid forms of Main-Franconian baroque and a Coronation of the Virgin by the Mainz sculptor Nikolaus Binterim. In the interior, the painter Johann Baptist Enderle from Donauwörth glorified the life of the Father of the Church, Augustine, in large, bright ceiling frescos. Johann Heinrich Stumm built the divided organ with the centre window in1773; it is one of the few surviving instruments of this dynasty of organ builders.
A lime wood sculpture from 1420 smiles out of a niche between the south side altars: Mary with the Child Jesus playing – an unusual work of Gothic art in its brightness which is assigned to the “soft style”. The highly venerated miraculous image was rescued from the burning Church of Our Lady in 1793. In the high altar is an iconographic rarity: At the death of Christ, God the Father lets “Mankind’s certificate of debt” be torn up by a putto.
References:Sirmione castle was built near the end of the 12th century as part of a defensive network surrounding Verona. The castle was maintained and extended first as part of the Veronese protection against their rivals in Milan and later under the control of the Venetian inland empire. The massive fortress is totally surrounded by water and has an inner porch which houses a Roman and Medieval lapidary. From the drawbridge, a staircase leads to the walkways above the walls, providing a marvellous view of the harbour that once sheltered the Scaliger fleet. The doors were fitted with a variety of locking systems, including a drawbridge for horses, carriages and pedestrians, a metal grate and, more recently, double hinged doors. Venice conquered Sirmione in 1405, immediately adopting provisions to render the fortress even more secure, fortifying its outer walls and widening the harbour.
Thanks to its strategical geographical location as a border outpost, Sirmione became a crucial defence and control garrison for the ruling nobles, retaining this function until the 16th century, when its role was taken up by Peschiera del Garda.