Chiemsee - Frauenchiemsee

Tassilo III, Duke of Bavaria, had founded a monastery in 782 on Herrenchiemsee, but mid of the 9th century the nuns moved to smaller island Frauenchimsee, where Louis the German, son of Louis the Pious and so Charlemagne´s grandson had founded a nunnery. His daughter Irmgard (of Chiemsee) was the first Abbess here in 857.

During the Hungarian raids of the 10th century, the monastery got looted and severely damaged. The convent recovered and the buildings got repaired or rebuilt.

Here is abbey church, a three-nave-basilica, erected probably after the Hungarian invasion, on Carolingian foundations within the 11th or 12th centu
ry. The building stayed unchanged to 15th century, when Gothic and later Baroque elements were added.

The architecture of the Romanesque portal is pretty unique, as the tympanum is "framed" by a very large and unusual structure. Gottfried Weber ("Die Romanik in Oberbayern") dates the "frame" into the 12th century, while the tympanum may be older, what would mean, that it was part of the Carolingian church.

Today protected by iron bars is the base of the right pillar, forming the portal´s frame. While on the left was a huge lion´s head, here is the head of a bearded man. His mouth is wide open, he seems to scream of pain, as the pillar pierces his skull. This may indeed be an "echo" of the Hungarian raids. It was not unusual to display human heads on poles for scaring enemies. Here a head is displayed "below" a pole - and maybe the two heads on the pillar could be interpreted similar.