Staufer history - more than the eye can behold: a narrow door leads visitors right into the center of the history of the Staufer dynasty. Those who enter find themselves surrounded by countless historical sites of Staufer activity. Viewers see not only their home in Lorch, but also the remote cities of Aachen, Rome and Naples. Magnificent coronations of kings and emperors, idyllic landscapes, well-ordered armies of war and for the Crusades. All together there are over 1,000 figures and countless animals. A mighty historical theater unfolds its exuberant splendor in the "Lorcher Stauferrundbild" (Lorch Circular Staufer Painting). The creator of this opus is a resident of Lorch - the painter Hans Kloss.
There's a lot to see in the former Chapter Hall (Kapitelsaal) of Lorch Monastery. Not only for natives, who will probably recognize many a familiar face among the figures in medieval dress. That's because Kloss has immortalized prominent persons from the region, sponsors and other more or less important figures in his work. Too bad for all those who aren't included!
The tried and true genus of the circular picture still hasn't lost its attraction. After all, it was quite presentable in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. With hand-worked panorama tapestries, noble society brought to mind popular landscapes within its own four walls. Then the effect of the circular painting was discovered as a fair attraction; famous towns, historical events such as great battles and other often patriotic themes enjoyed great popularity. Today the genus has nearly disappeared. Only solitary new 360° paintings are produced. In Germany most recently in 1987 in Bad Frankenhausen. Werner Tübke created a circular painting there to commemorate the Peasants' War, the Reformation and the Renaissance. The circular Staufer painting by Hans Kloss also joins this over 200 year old tradition and depicts the history of the Staufers of Württemberg in many colorful images.
The wide variety of scenes in the Lorch Chapter Hall is overwhelming. At the beginning of the circular painting, directly next to the entrance door, Hohenstaufen itself rises up, behind it lies the Wäscherburg Palace, and somewhat in the background Lorch Monastery can be seen. In the foreground a grand procession of Staufer knights and princes with coats of arms and flags passes. Coronation scenes, weddings, tournaments and hunting scenes are arranged in a continuous line. There the splendid royal household of Emperor Friedrich II, with many exotic animals that the sovereign brought along to Germany, catches the eye. Here the depiction of the coronation of Barbarossa in Aachen invites viewers to come closer. A battle at the base of the Sicilian Castel del Monte, Crusades, Barbarossa's death in the Salef, Konradin's execution and the Council of Lyon (at which the complete eradication of the Staufers was resolved) are also included.
Is this history as it really was? No, certainly not! On the contrary, the Lorch Panorama is a colorful composition, an interpretation of history in which the persons, places and events of 166 years are shown over a length of 100 feet (30 meters). People and animals romp closely crowded on all levels right up to the sky. A castle is seated on every mountain, and in the valleys camps, palaces and towns can be discovered. It is a huge simultaneous depiction in which - from the standpoint of art history - a great deal is based on the motifs and compositions found in examples in the early Italian Renaissance, e.g. of the painters Paolo Uccello, Mantegna, Benozzo Gozzoli or Pisanello. The enormous painting primarily also owes its pressingly direct effect to its bright, cheerful colorfulness. No one, who had seen the richly detailed black-and-white preliminary drawings on the round picture framework two years ago had imagined this. It's a big historical joke that many visitors greatly enjoy - above all when the painter Hans Kloss guides them through his work personally!