Amberg - German School Church of St. Augustine

On 24 March 1667, at the request of Henrietta Adelaide of Savoy, wife of Elector Ferdinand Maria, Pope Alexander VII authorized the foundation of two convents of Salesian sisters in Munich and Amberg. The convent in the capital of the state had already been founded in 1671.

In the case of Amberg, the founding of the convent probably took place much later for financial reasons. It was not until 18 January 1692 that Elector Maximilian II Emmanuel of Bavaria granted the request of the Amberg magistrate to establish nuns to educate women "for decent, artistic work, good virtues and the fear of God". It was not until 20 April 1692 that the seven sisters from the Munich Maternity Hospital moved to temporary accommodation in Amberg and were given the revenues of the Gnadenberg and Seligenporten convents, which had been secularized during the Reformation. Construction of the monastery itself began in 1693 and was completed in 1696.

The plans for the church of St. Augustine were drawn up by Wolfgang Dientzenhofer, who was also commissioned to build it. The foundation stone was laid on 27 April 1697. The church was completed in 1699 and the central building was consecrated in 1699 by the auxiliary bishop of Regensburg, Albert Ernst von Wartenberg.

Between 1757 and 1758, the church was extensively rebuilt by the abbess Angela Victoria von Orban according to a design by Johann Paul Ufferer, but the original choir and side chapels were retained. The reconstruction gave the church its rococo furnishings, making it one of the most important rococo churches in Germany.

Most of the fine furnishings were made by local craftsmen, with Franz Joachim Schlott taking over the sculpture and woodwork. Famous artists such as the Wessobrunn plasterer Anton Landes and the imperial court painter Gottfried Bernhard Göz from Augsburg also contributed to the interior decoration of the monastery church.

In 1793 the convent, which was also very popular with the nobility, had 22 nuns and six lay sisters. In addition to spreading Salesian spirituality by founding a devotion in honour of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (1725), the sisters devoted themselves primarily to the education of female youth, which they provided free of charge. In 1782, 147 girls attended the convent school, divided into two lower and two upper classes.

Secularisation in 1802 meant the end of the convent. The convent was dissolved on 2 March 1804. The church together with the convent passed to the German School Foundation (Deutsche Schulstiftung).

Initially, the girls' school remained in the monastery building and was taught by four conventuals who entered the secular school service. Between 1805 and 1826, the newly established provincial library was also housed in these premises. The confessional and the convent pharmacy were sold at auction. From then on, the convent church served as a school church, "so that the pupils and pupils had their own place for daily worship, undisturbed by other people".

In 1849, the poor school nuns acquired the convent building.

The church is a hall church with a square chancel topped with a segmental arch. The diagonally set conchs mediate the wider nave. To the west is a built-in chancel with a shell organ loft. The nave is surmounted by a trough vault with lunette capitals, the choir with Bohemian capitals. The ceiling has rich rococo stucco decoration with brocades, vases and rocailles and allegories of the four elements and four seasons on the vault brackets. On the walls of the nave are depictions of the heads of the apostles. The light design was restored during the last restoration according to the findings.

The fresco on the main ceiling in the nave bears the inscription 'G. B. Göz Invenit et Pinxit 1758" and depicts scenes from the history of the founding of the Order grouped around the Divina Providentia floating on clouds and surrounded by symbols of the Trinity. The four Church Fathers are depicted in arched spandrels. In the ceiling painting of the choir, the Holy Trinity is surrounded by corner paintings of the four evangelists; in the oratories, Saint Florian and Saint Sebastian are depicted. Above the organ chancel is a depiction of the blessed founder of the order, Joan of Chantal, burning the monogram of Christ on her chest in the presence of personified divine virtues; on the chancel windowsills are two scenes from the life of St Augustine.

On the walls of the nave, stucco-framed frescoes depict veneration of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, with Saints Joseph and Apollonia to the north, Mary Immaculata, St. Jude Thaddeus and Hedwig to the south. On the sides of the facing pews are depicted the Apostles as pillars of faith. On the west wall of the anteroom are Saints Walburga, Florian and Nicholas of Tolentino.

The interior design was done by the masters from Amberg, the sculpture was done by Franz Joachim Schlott. Around 1758 the church received a high altar, pulpit, organ prospectus and confessional with rich rocaille decoration by Schlott. The woodwork was supplied by Johann Peter Bacher and the painting of the barrels by Johann Andreas Georg Zellner of Furth. The side altars by Johann Peter Hirsch and Johann Wolfgang Eder match the main altar. All the altarpieces were made by Gottfried Bernhard Götz. The painting on the main altar depicts Saint Augustine offering his flaming heart to the Fides-Ecclesia, while the side altars depict the Visitation of the Virgin Mary and Saint Francis de Sales writing a religious order. The last grille was added by Johann Franz Eberhard in 1699 and enlarged between 1757 and 1758.

Today the church and the monastery are part of the Dr. Johanna Decker Gymnasium and Real School.