St. Joseph is a

Rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

church in

Starnberg Starnberg is a Town#Germany, town in Bavaria, Germany, some southwest of Munich. It is at the north end of Lake Starnberg, in the heart of the "Five Lakes Country", and serves as capital of the Starnberg (district), district of Starnberg. Recor ...

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It was built in the second half of the 18th century. The high altar of the church was created by

Ignaz Günther Ignaz Günther (22 November 1725 – 27 June 1775) was a German sculptor and woodcarver working in the Bavarian Rococo tradition. He was born in Altmannstein, where he received his earliest training from his father, then studied in Munich und ...

Location and naming

The church is located up on the hills on the west side of Starnberg. It is directly adjacent to the small castle garden that lies between it and Starnberg Castle. She has her patronage from

St. Joseph According to the canonical Gospels, Joseph (; ) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. Joseph is venerated as Saint Joseph in the Catholic Church, Eastern Orth ...

, patron of Bavaria since 1764.

Stalls and pulpit

The pews, the choir stalls, the confessionals, and the lower pillars of the west gallery are the work of Bartholomäus Zwinck. He created them in Murnau in 1766. The

gilded Gilding is a decorative technique for applying a very thin coating of gold over solid surfaces such as metal (most common), wood, porcelain, or stone. A gilded object is also described as "gilt". Where metal is gilded, the metal below was tradi ...

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...

on the right pillar of the triumphal arch is also made by Zwinck. It is considered a "cabinet piece." It refers to the Evangelist

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

and shows his main attributes, taken from the

Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation, also known as the Book of the Apocalypse or the Apocalypse of John, is the final book of the New Testament, and therefore the final book of the Bible#Christian Bible, Christian Bible. Written in Greek language, Greek, ...

: on the pulpit the eagle, next to the pulpit the lion and man, and below the bull. The pulpit was originally made for the Elisabeth Church in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

and was also installed there; it has only been in St. Joseph since the beginning of the 19th century. The

crucifix A crucifix (from the Latin meaning '(one) fixed to a cross') is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the (Latin for 'body'). The cru ...

on the left is likely a work by Philipp Jakob Rämpl, also from the 18th century.

Side altars

The side altars represent

Saint Peter Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the Jewish Christian#Jerusalem ekklēsia, e ...

on the left and

Saint Sebastian Sebastian (; ) was an early Christianity, Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Diocletianic Persecution of Christians. He was initially tied to a post or tree and shot with arrows, though this d ...

on the right. Both are shown with their attributes, Peter holds the key to heaven, Sebastian has an arrow in his side, corresponding to his martyrdom. They are

neo-baroque Neo-Baroque may refer to: * Neo-Baroque music * Neo-Baroque painting, a painting style used by Christo Coetzee and others *Baroque Revival architecture * Neo-Baroque film *the Organ reform movement The Organ Reform Movement or ''Orgelbewegung'' ...

works, created in 1854. The Petrus altar is by Wilhelm Hauschild, the Sebastian altar by Eduard Schwoiser.

High altar

Created by Ignaz Günther, the group of the Holy Family, Mary holding the baby Jesus, Joseph on the right side around a globe, is carved from linden wood. The people next to the

putti A putto (; plural putti ) is a figure in a work of art depicted as a chubby male child, usually naked and very often winged. Originally limited to profane passions in symbolism,Dempsey, Charles. ''Inventing the Renaissance Putto''. University ...

are painted white for emphasis. Except for the figures, the altar is gilded. It forms an imaginary triangle from the middle putto floating in a halo to the clouds on the left and the lying putto on the right. The lack of an altar painting is unusual, but due to the structure of this construction it was no longer necessary. The altar is accompanied by two figures also framed in white, on the left

Saint John of Nepomuk John of Nepomuk (or John Nepomucene) (; ; ) ( 1345 – 20 March 1393) was a saint of Bohemia (a western part of what is now the Czech Republic) who was drowned in the Vltava river at the behest of King Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia. Later accounts st ...

and on the right

Saint Francis Xavier Francis Xavier, SJ (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; ; ; ; ; ; 7 April 15063 December 1552), venerated as Saint Francis Xavier, was a Navarrese cleric and missionary. He co-founded the Society of Jesus and, as a representative o ...

. The church as a whole was built in the Rococo, the calm

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...

, the little gilding and the very restrained, pastel-colored painting show the transition to

neoclassicism Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative arts, decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiq ...

.{{Cite journal, title=14. Switzerland, url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/wcrc-206b14, access-date=2020-10-05, website=World Council of Churches Online: Relations with the Roman Catholic Church, doi=10.1163/wcrc-206b14, url-access=subscription

Interior of the church

File:St Josef am Schlossberg, Starnberg - 12.jpg, Inside with Rococo furnishings File:St Josef am Schlossberg, Starnberg - 9.jpg, Saint Peter altar File:St Josef am Schlossberg, Starnberg - 8.jpg, Saint Sebastian altar File:St Josef am Schlossberg, Starnberg - 2.jpg, Left north side of the nave File:St Josef am Schlossberg, Starnberg - 1.jpg, Right south side of the nave File:St Josef am Schlossberg, Starnberg - 7.jpg, Vault frescos of the choir and nave

Notes

Rococo architecture in Germany 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Germany Buildings and structures in Starnberg (district) Roman Catholic churches in Bavaria