Church of Saint George (Reichenau)

10th century Frescoes of the Church of St. George

The Church of Saint George is a part of a Benedictine monastery founded in 648 CE, which is located on the island of Reichenau on Lake Constance in southern Germany. The island is also home to the churches of Saint Mary, Marcus, Peter, and Paul. The Church of Saint George was built in the late 9th century to house the relic head of Saint George, a gift from Pope Gregory II, which commemorated a visit to Rome by Abbot Hoito in 896. The church is currently owned and run by the Catholic Church of Saint George Fund. The interior of the church is decorated with wall paintings that depict stories and figures from scripture and was designed for those who dedicate their lives to prayer and worship.

Frescoes

The Church of Saint George was built at the end of the 9th century, with the Frescoes added nearly a century later. The wall paintings typify artistic expression from the Middle Ages and are unique for their age and location. These are the only preserved complete set of wall paintings produced north of the Alps before 1000 AD.

The Frescoes are divided into three pictorial zones, with the first and lowest zone located between the nave and the arches, the second zone located above the arches, and the third and highest zone located above the windows. The lowest panel depicts the monasteries at Island Reichenau. The second, and most researched, zone portrays the miracles of Christ. The top panel depicts the Old Testament prophets and the New Testament apostles.

Each fresco details a specific story from the life of Christ. Descriptive inscriptions, or Tituli, accompany the paintings.

The eight miracles and their Titular (translated into English)

1. The Healing of the Demon-Possessed Man (Mark 5:1-19) “The demon is driven out, which bears the name Legion. Then [the demons] enter the swine. They throw themselves into the open sea”
2. The Healing of a Man with Dropsy (Luke 14:1-11) “A man with dropsy comes straight toward the path and is healed. He goes there loaded. He returns freed of the burden.”
3. The Calming of the Windstorm on the Sea of Galilee (Matthew 8:23-27) “God sleeps in his bodily form; east and south wind in particular break lose. With sovereign power, he gives the command. Wind and water are calm.”
4. The Healing of the Man Born Blind (John 9:1-38) “Here the one born without light is anointed with saliva and clay and…” (the remainder of the inscription is unreadable due to partial destruction).
5. Healing of a Leper (Matthew 8:1-13) “... thankfully gives…” (inscription mostly destroyed)
6. Raising of the Young Man of Nain (Luke 7:11-16) “Dead one, rise quickly, and by rising and at the same time saying, return to life!/ And so drive away all sadness of your widowed mother!”
7. The Daughter of Jairus Restored to Life and a Sick Woman Healed (Matthew 9:18-26) “See, the faith of the ruler encourages you, Jesus, to say,/ By the power of [my] force I want to,/ ‘Magdalena now arise’!”
8. Lazarus Raised from the Dead (John 11:1-45) “Lazarus, come forth! you who have already been buried four days!/ ‘Leave the delay in death.’: Thus speaks the Father’s image.”

UNESCO

The whole island of Reichenau was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2000. According to UNESCO, the island, including the frescoes of the Church at St. George, are protected based on the following criteria: the remains bear witness to the role of Medieval Benedictine monasteries, they are a strong example of monastic architecture in Central Europe from the 9th to 11th centuries, and they held great artistic significance in Europe during the same time period.

Restoration and recent damage

Since their discovery in 1856, the Frescoes have faded significantly. After being uncovered, it was declared that the paintings–specifically those depicting the life of Christ–would be preserved in an authentic state and not restored, so as to preserve their historic and artistic value. The Swiss technique of Bildtapeten, or picture wallpaper, was introduced to the church as a way to display a clean mural without restoring the original work. Depending on the visitors, the Bildtapeten could be raised and lowered from a mechanism installed in the ceiling. For example, the Bildtapeten might be lowered for mass to provide a complete picture of the paintings, but might be raised to reveal the original Frescoes when art historians or other experts are inspecting the walls. The academic painter Carl Ph. Schilling began creating and installing the Bildtapeten in 1889 and completed the project in 1891. In 1909, the Bildtapeten of St. George was removed after a part of the mechanism broke. A restoration that included partial repainting and artificial patination was completed by Victor Mezger between 1921 and 1922.

A rise in visitors in the past few decades has led to damage of the Frescoes, requiring that the church closely and constantly monitor their state. Additionally, this increase has led to a climate change within the church itself. As more bodies enter the church each year, the humidity and pollution levels in the building are gradually increasing. This humidity and pollution have created an environment ideal for the growth of mold and bacteria, causing further severe damage to the frescoes.

The current damage in The Church of Saint George is being monitored by Landesamt für Denkmalpflege, alongside the University of Stuttgart, Institute for Materials of Architecture. These groups state that the data they collect include “indoor climate, microclimate impacts, air motion, an influence of radiation, and influence of visitation on the microclimate.” This data will help prompt new methods by which to regulate the indoor climate, including controlling visitor access. This might require that the church place a cap on visitor entry, limiting the number of daily visitors, and decreasing open hours.