Library of the Week: Kloster Schussenried Bibliotekssaal, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Schussenried Abbey (Kloster Schussenried) was a monastery in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, founded in 1183. The abbey suffered tremendous damage and losses in the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648). Many of the monastic buildings were burnt down by the Swedes, and the lands were largely laid waste. But sufficient recovery had been made by the 18th century for comprehensive rebuilding to be undertaken, and the present name Neues Kloster (“new monastery”) refers to the Baroque reconstruction from 1752.

The main attraction of the monastery is the magnificently light-flooded Rococo library hall (Bibliothekssaal) in the center projection of the North Wing. The locked bookcases are arranged in two stories. The ornamentation is among the richest of the 18th century in the German-speaking world. The ceiling fresco completed by Franz Georg Hermann shows in bewildering detail the workings of divine wisdom.