The parish church of St Laurentius, Wonsees

‘Sanspareil’  (French ‘without parallel’) was the name the margraves gave to their mythological rock garden beneath Castle Zwernitz. There are others just as lovely, but St Laurentius church is one of the most beautiful of the margrave churches.The medieval fortified church was continually enlarged over the centuries, and then renovated in baroque style between the years 1720-29, when it  was given furnishings full of religious messages which are worth seeing. The youthful baptismal angel, carved by J. C. Fischer (1710/11) and painted by J. J. Kolb carries the great baptismal bowl with ease. On the pulpit altar by the same sculptor, Moses and Aaron stand either side of the body of the pulpit, with the symbol of the eagle beneath the lectern. St Peter and St Paul stand on the left and on the right of the Risen Christ. Above this again, the disciples look up to follow Christ as He ascends to Heaven. Between the marbled beams and pillars, the galleries are painted with floral decorations and bowls of flowers. Two splendid processional crosses complete the baroque fittings. The Wieneck organ of 1856 may no longer have its lavish decorations, but its sound remains true to the tradition of Silbermann, the greatest of organ builders.
In the sacristy, the oldest part of the church, first mentioned in records in 1108, you can marvel at the preserved stone tablets of the St Laurentius altar by W. Katzheimer the Elder and at sculptures of the 15C when you take a church tour.