Johann Michael Fischer (18 February 1692 – 6 May 1766) was a German

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

in the late

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

period. Fischer was born in

Burglengenfeld Burglengenfeld is a town in the district of Schwandorf, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Naab, 22 km north of Regensburg. Climate Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfa ...

Upper Palatinate The Upper Palatinate (german: Oberpfalz, , ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany, and is located in the east of Bavaria. Geography The Upper Palatinate is a landscape with low mountains and numerous ponds and lakes ...

. He is a major representative of south German Baroque architects. He studied in

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

and combined Bohemian elements with Bavarian Baroque traditions. He often co-operated with the most gifted

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

n artists of his time, such as

Cosmas Damian Asam Cosmas Damian Asam (29 September 1686 – 10 May 1739) was a German painter and architect during the late Baroque period. Born in Benediktbeuern, he lived in Rome from 1711 to 1713 to study at the Accademia di San Luca with Carlo Maratt ...

and

Egid Quirin Asam Egid Quirin Asam (1 September 1692 – 29 April 1750) was a German plasterer, sculptor, architect, and painter. He was active during the Late Baroque and Rococo periods. Born in Tegernsee, Bavaria, Asam worked mainly together with his brothe ...

Johann Joseph Christian Johann Joseph Christian (12 February 1706 – 22 June 1777) was a German Baroque sculptor and woodcarver. His masterworks are considered to be the choir stalls in Zwiefalten Abbey and Ottobeuren Abbey. Christian was born in Riedlingen, in ...

Johann Michael Feuchtmayer Johann Michael Feuchtmayer (the Younger) (sometimes spelled Johann Michael Feuchtmayr or Feichtmayr) (1709 – June 4, 1772) was a German stuccoworker and sculptor of the late Baroque period. He collaborated with the architects Johann Michael Fisc ...

Matthäus Günther Matthäus Günther (also Mathäus Günther) (7 September 1705 – 30 September 1788) was an important German painter and artist of the Baroque and Rococo era. Günther, who was born in Peissenberg (at that time: Tritschengreith), helpe ...

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

Franz Joseph Spiegler Franz Joseph Spiegler (5 April 1691 – 15 April 1757) was a German Baroque painter. He is best known for his frescoes, which decorate many of the churches and monasteries along the Upper Swabian Baroque Route. The frescoes in the Zwiefalten ...

Johann Baptist Straub Johann Baptist Straub (1 June 1704 (baptism) – 15 July 1784) was a German Rococo sculptor. Biography Straub was born in Wiesensteig, into a family of sculptors. His father Johann George Straub and his brothers Philipp Jakob, Joseph, and ...

, and

Johann Baptist Zimmermann Johann Baptist Zimmermann (3 January 1680, Gaispoint — 2 March 1758, Munich) was a German painter and a prime stucco plasterer during the Baroque. Zimmermann was born in Gaispoint, Wessobrunn. He and his brother Dominikus Zimmermann were ...

. Fischer died, aged 74, in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, and is buried in the

Munich Frauenkirche , native_name = , native_name_lang = , image = Frauenkirche Munich - View from Peterskirche Tower2.jpg , pushpin map = , pushpin label position = , pushpin map alt = , pushpin mapsize ...

Main Works

Fischer designed 32 churches and 23 monasteries in southern Germany. Among these, the best-known are the following.

Bavaria

Aufhausen Aufhausen is a municipality in the district of Regensburg in Bavaria in Germany. Aufhausen Priory Aufhausen Priory (german: Kloster Aufhausen), formerly the Aufhausen Oratory, is a Benedictine monastery located at Aufhausen near Regensburg i ...

— Pilgrimage Church of Maria Schnee (1736–1751) *

Benediktbeuern Benediktbeuern (Central Bavarian: ''Benediktbeiern'') is a municipality in the district of Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen in Bavaria, Germany, 2 kilometers, or 1.25 miles from Bichl. The village has 3,602 residents as of 31 December 2019. The medieval ...

—Anastasia Chapel in the Church of St. Benedikt (1750–1758), considered a jewel of Baroque architecture *

Dießen am Ammersee Dießen am Ammersee (Southern Bavarian: ''Diaßn am Ammasä'') is a municipality in the district of Landsberg in Bavaria in Germany. It is located on the shores of the Ammersee. Geography Situated in the Bavarian Alpine Foreland the town stret ...

—Church of St. Maria (completed 1739) *

Fürstenzell Fürstenzell ( bar, label=Central Bavarian, Fiaschtnzei) is a municipality in the district of Passau in Bavaria in Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most ...

—Church of the Ascension of the Blessed Virgin (completed 1728) *

— Franciscan Monastery Church of St. Anna im Lehel (consecrated 1737) *

— Parish Church of St. Michael (1737–1752) *

Niederalteich Niederalteich (Central Bavarian: ''Niedaoida'') is a village on the Danube in Bavaria, Germany. It is best known as the location of Niederaltaich Abbey Niederaltaich Abbey (Abtei or Kloster Niederaltaich) is a house of the Benedictine Order fou ...

— Benedictine Monastery of St. Mauritius (first commission for Fischer) (1724–1726) *

Osterhofen Abbey Osterhofen Abbey (german: Kloster Osterhofen, also called Altenmarkt Convent german: Altenmarkt- Damenstift) is a former monastery in Bavaria, Germany, It is located in the Altenmarkt section of Osterhofen, a town to the south of the Danube betwe ...

—Papal Basilica of St. Margaretha (1727–1740) *

Ottobeuren Ottobeuren ( Swabian: ''Ottobeire'', Medieval Latin: ''Ottobura'') is a market town and municipality in Bavaria, Germany, located 11 km southeast of Memmingen near the A7. It is famous for Ottobeuren Abbey, situated next to the Basilica. The ...

— Benedictine Monastery Church of the Holy Trinity (1737–1766), considered one of the most magnificent churches of the Baroque era *

Rott am Inn Rott am Inn is a municipality in the district of Rosenheim in Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the larg ...

—Benedictine Abbey Church of St. Marinus and St. Anianus (1759–1767)

Baden-Württemberg

* Kisslegg—Neues Schloss (New Castle) (1721–1727) *

Wiblingen Abbey Wiblingen Abbey was a former Benedictine abbey which was later used as barracks. Today its buildings house several departments of the medical faculty of the University of Ulm. The former abbey is located south of the confluence of the river ...

—Benedictine Monastery Church of St. Martin (1714–1783), built by Johann Georg Specht based on designs by Fischer *

Zwiefalten Zwiefalten is a municipality in the district of Reutlingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany located halfway between Stuttgart and Lake Constance. The former Zwiefalten Abbey dominates the town. The former monastery is considered one of the finest exa ...

—

Zwiefalten Abbey Zwiefalten Abbey (german: Kloster Zwiefalten, Abtei Zwiefalten or after 1750, ) is a former Benedictine monastery situated at Zwiefalten near Reutlingen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. History The monastery was founded in 1089 at the time of ...

(1741–1747), considered a model of integrated Baroque design''Germany: A Phaidon Cultural Guide,'' p. 776.

Disputed Works

Several works have been attributed to Fischer that are now disputed, although his style was an obvious influence: * Erling-Andechs— Pilgrimage Church Mariae Verkündiging and Monastery *

Haigerloch Haigerloch is a town in the north-western part of the Swabian Alb in Germany. Geography Geographical location Haigerloch lies at between 430 and 550 metres elevation in the valley of the Eyach river, which forms two loops in a steep shelly limest ...

—Pilgrimage Church of St. Anne * Murnau—Parish Church of St. Nikolaus

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fischer, Johann Michael 1692 births 1766 deaths German Baroque architects Rococo architects Architects of the Bavarian court Burials at Munich Frauenkirche People from Schwandorf (district)