Freiburg Minster

About

Standing at the heart of the old market square of Freiburg, the minster was begun around the year 1200 in Romanesque style under the last Duke of Zähringen, and continued from about 1230 in the Gothic manner that gives it its present character. Some of its foundations belong to an earlier church present from the city's founding in 1120.

The church belonged to the Diocese of Konstanz throughout the medieval centuries, becoming a cathedral only in 1827 when the Archdiocese of Freiburg was raised and the minster became its seat. The 116-metre tower with its dodecagonal star gallery and pierced stone spire was completed in 1330, the only major Gothic church tower within today's German borders finished in the Middle Ages.

A notable mercy of recent history is the minster's survival of the air raids of November 1944, which devastated the houses around it. Faithful staff had removed the windows of the spire in advance, and lead anchors held the stonework together through the bombing.

Within, devotees encounter a high altar by Hans Baldung, a chapel altar by Hans Holbein the Younger, and stained-glass windows donated by the medieval guilds whose emblems still mark them. The peal of nineteen bells is among the largest in Germany, and the venerable Hosanna bell of 1258 still rings on Thursdays after the Angelus and each 27 November in remembrance of the war dead.

History

Building began around 1200 in the Romanesque style favoured by the dukes of Zähringen, who had founded Freiburg itself in 1120, and continued from 1230 in the new Gothic manner that gives the minster its present character. The west tower, with its pierced stone spire rising to 116 metres, was completed by 1330, making it the only major Gothic church tower within Germany's present borders finished during the Middle Ages. For centuries the church served the Diocese of Konstanz as a parish church, becoming a cathedral only in 1827 when the newly created Archdiocese of Freiburg made it the seat of its archbishop. The minster survived the air raids of November 1944 largely unharmed, a mercy credited to the lead anchors binding its stonework and to church staff who had removed the spire's windows in advance.

Significance

Jacob Burckhardt once said the tower would forever remain the most beautiful spire on earth, and it remains the only medieval Gothic church tower in Germany completed within the Middle Ages. Within, an altar by Hans Baldung and a side chapel altar by Hans Holbein the Younger stand beneath windows donated by the city's medieval guilds, whose emblems still mark them. Each Thursday evening the Hosanna bell of 1258, one of nineteen bells making up one of Germany's largest peals, rings out as it has for over seven centuries.

Architecture

Romanesque origins continued in Gothic from 1230; openwork Gothic stone spire, the only major medieval German church tower finished in the Middle Ages