We pull into the old wooden dock and the distinctive onion-shaped dome of the Abbey church comes into view. Dominating almost the entire island, the Abbey Church is famous for its well-preserved fragments of early Romanesque frescoes. During archaeological excavations in 1996, the painted fragments were discovered in the rubble. After the worried archaeologists removed the dust, they removed the frescoes in the interests of conservation. While these eleventh century frescoes are not on public display, paintings from later eras adorn the walls of the Abbey Church. Many of the frescoes which remain in the church feature female saints, including Martha and Mary, the sisters of Lazarus, and a very fine early gothic painting of St. Elisabeth of Thuringia.
At the back of the dark and cool Abbey Church is a chapel dedicated to Blessed Irmengard. Although it may seem morbid to some, her bones are exposed for veneration by the faithful inside the chapel. Blessed Irmengard, Charlemagne’s great granddaughter, was the first abbess on Fraueninsel. Since her death in 866 at the age of thirty-three, she has been venerated as a spiritual benefactor and patroness of the Chiemgau area. But Irmengard is not just a local saint. Women from all over Germany visit the tiny island to seek her help with romance, pregnancy and childrearing. Many believe that Irmengard answers the prayers of infertile women and, while not directly causing pregnancy, at least encourages it. The thousand of photographs of chubby babies surrounding the chapel would seem to indicate that Blessed Irmengard answers the prayers of the faithful bountifully.
Adjacent to the church is the twelve hundred year old Benedictine convent of Frauenworth, which now houses a school for girls. Although the public is notallowed, you can still take a peek through the wrought iron gates into the convent gardens. Established in 766, the convent on Fraueninsel is the oldest in Germany, and one of the oldest in the world. The tiny neighboring island of Krautinsel once served as the convent’s garden. Depending on who you talk to, this little speck of land also provided a rendezvous spot for amorous nuns from the Benedictine abbey on Fraueninsel and monks from the Augustinian monastery on Herreninsel.
From Fraueninsel, you can board a ferry directly to the Herreninsel, on which King Ludwig II of Bavaria built his amazing imitation of Versailles, Schloss Herrenchiemsee. Though many consider him a ridiculous caricature of a ruler, King Ludwig is proudly regarded as a folk hero by Bavarians. Born the absolute monarch of Bavaria before it was subsumed by Bismarck’s Germany in 1887, Ludwig was one of the last of the Wittelsbach dynasty, who ruled Bavaria from 1880 to 1898. Ludwig had the grave misfortune of possessing a dreamy, self-indulgent, hypersensitive character in an era which called for decisive military leadership and realpolitik. Aside from his dedication to Wagner’s operas, Ludwig was primarily concerned with his hair. Said Ludwig, "I have no intention of spoiling my coiffure for anyone. If I don’t have my hair curled every day, how can you expect me to enjoy my food?"
