The oldest part of Ekeby Church is the Romanesque tower, dating from the end of the 12th century. The nave and choir were built around a century later in Gothic style. The tower was also heightened to its present height at the end of the 13th century.
Most notable in the exterior of the church are the two southern portals, which are richly decorated with stone carvings. These were originally painted, and fragments of colour survive. Inside, the church is profusely decorated with frescos. The nave has frescos from the 13th, 14th and 18th century, and the choir from the early 19th century in the form of blue trompe l'oeil draperies. Among the other frescos, the large frescos depicting the apostles are the oldest, from the end of the 13th century. Under them are frescos done by the Master of the Passion of Christ depicting, on the northern wall, the Passion of Christ and, on the southern, the childhood of Jesus. During a renovation in 2004, further frescos were discovered. Originally, all the windows had stained glass panes, but today only a few original remain.
An unusual niche in the choir, probably designed as a storage for the bread and wine from the Eucharist, retains remarkably well-preserved paintings from the end of the 13th century. Among the furnishings, the accomplished Romanesque triumphal cross deserves mention. It is from the end of the 12th century. The sandstonebaptismal font is also an unusual fine piece, from approximately the same time. Scholars believe that it may have been made by either Master Majestatis or Hegvald.
References:The Pilgrimage Church of Wies (Wieskirche) is an oval rococo church, designed in the late 1740s by Dominikus Zimmermann. It is located in the foothills of the Alps in the municipality of Steingaden.
The sanctuary of Wies is a pilgrimage church extraordinarily well-preserved in the beautiful setting of an Alpine valley, and is a perfect masterpiece of Rococo art and creative genius, as well as an exceptional testimony to a civilization that has disappeared.
The hamlet of Wies, in 1738, is said to have been the setting of a miracle in which tears were seen on a simple wooden figure of Christ mounted on a column that was no longer venerated by the Premonstratensian monks of the Abbey. A wooden chapel constructed in the fields housed the miraculous statue for some time. However, pilgrims from Germany, Austria, Bohemia, and even Italy became so numerous that the Abbot of the Premonstratensians of Steingaden decided to construct a splendid sanctuary.