Reichenau - St. Georg

Reichenau Island is an island in Lake Constance. It lies west of the city of Konstanz. Since 1838 the island is connected to the mainland by a causeway.

The island was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000 because of the important Abbey of Reichenau founded in 724 by Saint Pirmin, with patronage that included Charles Martel, Count Berthold of the Ahalolfinger and the Alemannian Duke Santfrid (aka Hnabi). It gained influence in the Carolingian dynasty, by educating the clerks who staffed Imperial and ducal chanceries. An important book collection was built up here.
The abbey housed a school, and a scriptorium and artists' workshop, that has a claim to have been the largest and artistically most influential centre for producing illuminated manuscripts in Europe during the late 10th and early 11th centuries, often known as the Reichenau School.

The Abbey reached its apex under Abbot Berno of Reichenau (1008–48). During his time, important scholars lived and worked in Reichenau. In the second half of the 11th century, the importance started to wane owing to rivalry with the nearby St. Gall. In 1540, the Bishop of Constance, an old rival of the Reichenau abbots, became lord of Reichenau, and, under the control of the succeeding bishops, the abbey's significance dwindled.

The church of St. Georg was part of the abbey. It was erected end of the 9th century. The Reichenau abbot Hatto III. received relics from Pope Formosus in Rome in 896 that included a piece of the skull of the martyr Georg. He brought the relic to Reichenau. The original church building comprised today's nave and the crypt. For this time, the nave was a very spacious building, the size of which was chosen for the expected veneration of Saint Georg. It got enlarged and altered a couple of times later.

St. Georg is known for its wonderful murals, created end of the 9th or 10th century. Due to the restoration, only the left side of the nave could be seen. Without the scaffolding, the church would give an overall impression, how a church interior before the turn of the millennium looked like. The only other church similar to this is Müstair in Switzerland.

The original murals had been overpainted in the 14th century. In the second half of the 18th century, the church got a whitewash - and the murals were forgotten. They got rediscovered in 1879 and subsequently uncovered.