The Church of the Order, Bayreuth

It was the first large, splendidly furnished brand new building. It looks magnificent on the outside too, with its ground plan in the shape of a Greek cross, its high windows, decorative details and tall tower. But only inside can the total richness of the baroque main body of the church, as splendid as a ballroom, be appreciated. Georg Wilhelm, later to become Margrave, engaged the best master builders and artists of the region to build him ‘his church’ with its prince’s box in his new town of ‘St George by the Lake’.
From the main west door, you walk to the marble font which stands in the centre of the room. During the week the precious wood cover, carved by Elias Räntz, is kept in the sacristy. On the ceiling above, the central painting is likewise of the Baptism. In front, above the altar, is the Last Supper of Jesus with his disciples. Every surface is painted with scenes from the Old and New Testaments, and this wealth of paintings fits in very well with the plasterwork of the court stucco artist Bernardo Quadri: rich decoration with many flowers.
The pulpit altar and the canopy above it are also the work of the court sculptor Räntz. God the Father and God the Son sit enthroned above the pulpit; the golden triangle sparkles above the organ, each of them encircled by a shining halo of rays of light. The church takes its present name from the coats of arms of the noblemen who belonged to the Order of Sincerity, and who were permitted to display their heraldic shields on the galleries.