Minster “To Our Lady”

Its façade appears simple and unassuming, but both its interior and its history are colourful and multifaceted: the Minster “To Our Lady” is a fascinating building in many respects. Directly opposite the Protestant St. Stephen’s Church is the Catholic parish church, whose mighty bells can be heard far across the island. Anyone near the market square will find it hard not to pause and look up when the bells ring: for several minutes, many clear tones merge into a single heavy, overwhelming sound.

Exuberant Baroque splendour

No less impressive than its bells is the interior of the church, also known as St. Mary’s or the Collegiate Church, whose origins date back to 810. The present church was built between 1748 and 1752, and the exuberant splendour that pervades the entire building shows that the architect Johann Caspar Bagnato was a master of the Baroque style. The eye wanders between elaborately decorated columns, ornate coloured frescoes and the golden main organ – and always finds something new.

Fire and ceiling collapse

Hardly visible are the traces of numerous renovations, two of which were necessitated by devastating disasters: in 1922, a fire destroyed the roof truss. Sixty-five years later, on the night of 27 to 28 September 1987, the stucco ceiling of the central nave collapsed – right where evening mass had been held the night before. In addition to the two side altars and the pulpit, the historic Steinmeyer organ from 1926 was also severely damaged. The renovation work took almost five years, during which the organ on the west gallery, with its three sound levels and 4,694 pipes, was also restored to full working order. A second organ, the Marien organ on the side gallery, built in 1993, now completes the impressive ensemble inside the minster.

Elaborate reconstruction

After the collapse of the cathedral ceiling, thousands of small pieces had to be examined, sorted, measured and transferred to the new ceiling. Joseph Lorch, the artistic construction manager responsible, carried out valuable, meticulous work: over 60% of the groups of figures from Kolmsperger’s painting could be reincorporated in their original form.