Germany II - A Stark Comparison

So sober and elegant!

This church stands in stark contrast to the rococo of other churches we visited. Shall we call it neo-gothic? All statues, plants, flowers & icons are against purest, unadorned white walls. I love the clear round ball-chandeliers suspended from the ceiling. 

Beautiful madonna & child

The Apse: no stain glass; only potted parlor palms

Side Chapel: Note the exposed crypt in the 2 clear diamond shaped floor windows.

Blessed Gisela - first Abbess of Holy Trinity

After the death of her husband in the early 1000's Queen Gisela of Hungary returned to Passau to live the rest of her life. Passau belonged to her father, Duke of Bavaria. She lived an exemplary life and in the late 1800's she was beatified, but surprisingly, not sainted. If the Papacy did not believe she was a saint, the Hungarians certainly do; her tomb is the object of a pilgrimage for Hungarians all over Europe. If not a miracle, it was certainly a great event when the first Magyar king was converted from a pagan tradition to Christianity. He was sainted and became the patron saint of Hungary, Saint Stephen.* And who but his sweet wife might have been the instrument of his sainthood? 

Gisela's Tomb: Notice the fresh flowers.

*See earlier posts on Hungary: # 47 Hungarian History