Travel Tuesday: Jesuitenkolleg and Maria Immaculata Kirche in Büren, Germany

Probably the two biggest tourist attractions in in Büren, Germany, which I also saw during my April 1982 Easter visit there, are the Jesuitenkolleg and Jesuitenkirche.

The Jesuitenkolleg, also known today as Mauritius-Gymnasium (Mauritius High School), is named for Moritz von Büren (1604-1661), the last Baron of Büren.  After a law career (from 1629 to 1644, he was president of the Supreme Court of  the Holy Roman Empire in Speyer), he entered the Jesuit Order, and ultimately left all his possessions to that order.  Between 1717 and 1728, his castle was torn down, and the Baroque-style Jesuit College, in a three-wing rectangular form with an open inner courtyard, was built.  Over the years, the building has also served as a teacher training college, but has been Mauritius-Gymnasium since 1946.  My German cousins attended school here.

By ludger1961 (Own work (own photography)) 4 October 2005 [GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

This is a view of the back side of the school, which has this lovely pond beside it:

Jesuitenkolleg Büren 3 October 2011 / Angela Marie / CC-BY-2.0

Next door to the Jesuitenkolleg (to the right in the photo below) is the Jesuitenkirche, otherwise known as the Kirche Maria Immaculata (Immaculate Mary Church).  It was built in the late-Baroque style between 1754 and 1773.  This is a view from the back.

Büren 29 March 2012 / Andreas Siegel / CC-BY-NC-SA-2.0

Here is a view that shows more of the ornate front exterior of the church (to the right):

Jesuitenkirche Büren 2 February 2011 / Felix Stember / CC-BY-SA-2.0

This church has an incredibly beautiful interior.  This panoramic shot shows the numerous frescoes on the ceilings and dome, most of which portray scenes from the life of Mary, Mother of God:

Deckenfresken [Ceiling frescoes] 14 April 2012 / Felix Stember / CC-BY-SA-2.0

The church has a gorgeous organ loft and organ, installed between 1884 and 1886 by Franz Eggert of nearby Paderborn:

By Nicole New (Own work), 26 June 2005 [GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0 or CC-BY-2.5], via Wikimedia Commons

More pictures of the beautiful interior and exterior of the church can be found on Wikimedia Commons.  Today the church is used mostly for weddings and concerts.

© Amanda Pape - 2013 - click here to e-mail me.