The Fortified Church of St. Arbogast (german: Wehrkirche St. Arbogast) in the municipality of Muttenz in the

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

canton of Basel-Land Basel-Landschaft or Basel-Country informally known as Baselland or Baselbiet (; german: Kanton Basel-Landschaft ; rm, Chantun Basilea-Champagna; french: Canton de Bâle-Campagne; it, Canton Basilea Campagna), is one of the 26 cantons forming ...

is the only church in Switzerland that is surrounded by a defensive wall. It is an example of the

fortified church A fortified church is a church that is built to serve a defensive role in times of war. Such churches were specially designed to incorporate military features, such as thick walls, battlements, and embrasures. Others, such as the Ávila Cathedra ...

type of construction, and is a Swiss heritage site of national significance. The church is still used as a local village church.

History

The first church on the site was built in the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...

, possibly as early as the 6th century but certainly by the 8th century. It is first mentioned in 793. Around 1000 the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

was extended toward the west. The second church was built around 1100. This new building had a wider and longer nave and the

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

was rectangular with massive walls. The second church was replaced in the mid-12th century by the third church, parts of which still stand today. The third church, a Romanesque building, had a round

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...

, a rectangular choir and a bell tower on the north side which were probably grafted on the earlier nave. The church was heavily damaged in the

1356 Basel earthquake The 1356 Basel earthquake is the most significant seismological event to have occurred in Central Europe in recorded history and had a moment magnitude in the range of 6.0–7.1.owner Ownership is the state or fact of legal possession and control over property, which may be any asset, tangible or intangible. Ownership can involve multiple rights, collectively referred to as title, which may be separated and held by different ...

of the village and had a new, larger bell tower built. Five years later, his mother gave the church a bell. Under Hans Thüring Münch-Eptingen the church was fortified with a

rampart Rampart may refer to: * Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement Rampart may also refer to: * "O'er the Ramparts We Watched" is a key line from "The Star-Spangled Banner", the national anthem of the ...

around 1435. The walls had two

gatehouse A gatehouse is a type of fortified gateway, an entry control point building, enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a town, religious house, castle, manor house, or other fortification building of importance. Gatehouses are typically the mos ...

s north and south of the church. By fortifying St. Arbogast, the towns people now had defenses to replace the destroyed Hintere Wartenberg, Mittlere Wartenberg and Vordere Wartenberg Castles. The northern gatehouse is decorated with the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

of the Münch or Münch von Münchenstein family. In 1450 Hans Thüring had the interior of the church covered in

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

es. The Münch family had to sell the right to appoint priests and collect money for the church to Peter zum Luft in the late 15th century. He probably built the

charnal house A charnel house is a vault or building where human skeletal remains are stored. They are often built near churches for depositing bones that are unearthed while digging graves. The term can also be used more generally as a description of a pl ...

adjoining the church. After Peter's death, Arnold zum Luft took over the church in 1474. Under Arnold, the nave was raised the final to its current height and in 1504 given a richly painted wooden ceiling by Ulrich Bruder. Large windows were added on the north and south sides of the nave. Additional frescoes depicting the legend of St. Arbogast were added in 1507. In 1513 the charnal house was decorated with frescoes on the interior and exterior walls and ceiling. In 1517 the city of Basel took over the church. When Basel converted to the new faith of the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

in 1528, St. Arbogast became a Protestant church. The relics of St. Arbogast were destroyed and the altars were sold off. The frescoes were painted over as part of the wave of

iconoclasm Iconoclasm (from Ancient Greek, Greek: grc, wikt:εἰκών, εἰκών, lit=figure, icon, translit=eikṓn, label=none + grc, wikt:κλάω, κλάω, lit=to break, translit=kláō, label=none)From grc, wikt:εἰκών, εἰκών + wi ...

from the Reformation. The Sigristenhaus was built outside the south wall in 1553. In 1630 the bell tower was had an additional story added to it and was topped with a pointed spire. At the same time, the nave windows were replaced with new pointed arch windows and another pointed arch window was added on the south side of the choir. During the 17th century the Wächterhaus was added to the south wall to the west of the Sigristenhaus. The town decided to demolish the walls and gatehouses around the church in 1853, but Zurich historian Johann Rudolf Rahn convinced the council in Basel to preserve them instead. In 1880/81 the church was renovated and the old frescoes were discovered. However their condition was judged to be too poor and they were covered in new plaster. The only exception was a painting of the

Last Judgment The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...

above the

portal Portal often refers to: * Portal (architecture), an opening in a wall of a building, gate or fortification, or the extremities (ends) of a tunnel Portal may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * ''Portal'' (series), two video games ...

which was repainted in 1884 by

Karl Jauslin Karl Jauslin (21 May 1842 – 12 October 1904) was a Swiss painter and illustrator, known mostly for historical and battle scenes. Biography His father was, successively, a quarry worker, a personal servant and a member of the Cantonal police. ...

. In the 1970s the church was renovated again. This time, the 19th century plaster was removed and the medieval frescoes were restored.Hans Eppens, ''Baukultur im alten Basel'', Frobenius A.G. 1937 A new organ was built by Neidhart & Lhòte in Geneva in 1976. Today's congregation forms part of the

Evangelical Reformed Church of the Canton Basel-Landschaft The Evangelical-Reformed Church of the Canton Basel-Landschaft is a Reformed cantonal church in the canton of Basel-Land, which does not include the eponymous city. In 2004 it had 113,537 members and 35 parishes and 65 ordained clergy. Member of ...

Frescoes

Nave

All three walls are decorated with a series of paintings of the

Apostles An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

(1507). Additionally, the south side had the life of

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

and the

Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ� ...

(1507). The west side is the Last Judgment (1507), repainted in 1884 by Karl Jauslin. The north side is a fresco of the Passion (1507).

Choir

On the north side of the choir above the

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is usually located ...

is the apostle's medallion from the early 14th century. A fragment of another medallion is visible on the opposite wall. Also on the north wall are two frescoes of the life of St. Arbogast from 1450. In the first King Dagobert brings his son Siegbert, killed in the hunt, to Bishop of Strassburg, Arbogast, and asks for help. In the second the king and his wife pray as Arbogast awakens Siegbert from death. On the south side the frescoes depict the

Assumption of Mary The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it in 1950 in his apostolic constitution ''Munificentissimus Deus'' as follows: We proclaim and define it to be a dogma revealed by Go ...

and her crowning in heaven. Another fresco from 1450 shows

Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-da ...

giving three gold purses to the daughters of a poor man. The vault of the choir features the coat of arms of Münch-Löwenberg from the second half of the 14th century. The remaining frescoes were too badly damaged to be repaired. The rest of the paintings were badly destroyed.

Charnal house

The exterior of the charnal house has a fresco of

Saint Christopher Saint Christopher ( el, Ἅγιος Χριστόφορος, ''Ágios Christóphoros'') is veneration, venerated by several Christianity, Christian denominations as a martyr killed in the reign of the 3rd-century Roman Empire, Roman emperor Deciu ...

on the left side and protective mantel on the right.

Saint Michael Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...

is above the door and the year 1513 is above the window. Inside the charnal house is a fresco of the Last Judgement from 1513 and an example of the Legend of the

grateful dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

from the same year. The legend is of a knight who always prays for the souls of the dead. One day he is attacked by robbers and the dead come to his aid, driving off the robbers.

Gallery

File:Muttenz ref 2.jpg, Exterior of the church File:Muttenz ref 3.jpg, Interior, looking toward the choir File:Muttenz ref 4.jpg, Late Gothic Fresco File:Muttenz ref 5.jpg, The Last Judgement fresco File:Muttenz ref 6.jpg, Window of the choir File:Muttenz ref Beinhaus aussen.jpg, Charnal house File:Muttenz ref Beinhaus innen.jpg, Charnal house interior 20200918 Muttenz StArbogast DSC04040 HDR maskedDark PtrQs.jpg, Church seen from within the rampart

References

* ''Muttenz - Gesicht einer aufstrebenden Stadtsiedlung''; Kanton Basel-Landschaft, 1968 * Werner Meyer; ''Burgen von A bis Z, Burgenlexikon der Regio''; Basel, 1981

External links

*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Church Of St. Arbogast, Fortified Fortified church buildings in Switzerland

Fortified Church of St. Arbogast The Fortified Church of St. Arbogast (german: Wehrkirche St. Arbogast) in the municipality of Muttenz in the Swiss canton of Basel-Land is the only church in Switzerland that is surrounded by a defensive wall. It is an example of the fortified ...