Breisach - Muenster St. Stephanus

St. Stephanus towers on a hill over the little town of Breisach. The steep hill, once an island in the middle of the Rhine, housed a Celtic settlement, before in 369 the Romans founded "Mons Brisiacus", a castle, maintained still in the 5th century against the hostile Alemanni. A settlement on the hill existed throughout early medieval times and the town of Breisach was founded by the Staufer in 1185. It was taken over soon after by the House of Zaehringen, followed by the Bishop of Basel, followed by the House of Habsburg, followed....

The construction of the Muenster was probably started after 1185, replacing a smaller church that was carolingian or even merovingian. What is seen today is the result of centuries of building and rebuilding. Started in late romanesque style and "completed" already 1230/1240, a gothic choir was added still within the 13th century. After 1330 the construction of the western part started. It took 200 years, to complete it. The last small towers were added in 1785.

The architecturally heterogeneous church has a very rich furnishing. There is a fantastic, high gothic choir screen, a triptych, created by an unknown scholar of Hans Baldung (who himself was one of Albrecht Durer’s students), a huge (100m²) "Last Judgment"-fresco by Martin Schongauer ("Madonna im Rosenhag") and there is a shrine containing the relics of Saints Gervasius and Protasius, once brought to Breisach by Archbishop Rainald von Dassel.
A legend tells, that Rainald von Dassel was on his way back to Cologne after he and his friend Barbarossa had looted Milano in 1162. The relics he left here were part of the loot. The most important and valuable loot had, were the relics of the Magis, which he brought home to Cologne, where they still are.

So a lot of interesting and fantastic works of art to find inside the church - BUT - unfortunately it is not allowed to take photos inside. I accept easily the NO FLASH, what (see Freiburg) sometime leads to bad results, but NO PHOTOS is - bad! In case a member of the parish or the Tourist Office reads this - please ask the persons in charge to rethink the decision. I would come back!