Münster is one of the two main churches of the old town of the

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

city of

Schaffhausen Schaffhausen (; ; ; ; ), historically known in English as Shaffhouse, is a list of towns in Switzerland, town with historic roots, a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in northern Switzerland, and the capital of the canton of Schaffh ...

. First built in 1064 AD as a Romanesque

Basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

of the then Benedictine ''Kloster Allerheiligen'', it was rebuilt several times, and became in 1524 the Reformed Church of the city of Schaffhausen.

Geography

Schaffhausen - Kloster Allerheiligen IMG 2705

Today the

Reformed church Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyterian, ...

is as before architecturally integrated in the vast complex of the former Allerheiligen abbey, and is located at the center of the historic old city of the municipality of

in the

Canton of Schaffhausen The canton of Schaffhausen, also canton of Schaffhouse (; ; ; ), is the northernmost Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Switzerland. The principal city and capital of the canton is Schaffhausen. The canton's territory is divided into three non-co ...

History

The development of the city of Schaffhausen is closely linked to the ''Nellenburg'' noble family around 1100 AD. Various archaeological finds and the building of the present church date back to around 1000 AD. The Earls (German: ''Grafen'') ''von Nellenburg'' recognized the importance of the geographical area as a transshipment of goods on the ''

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

'' river, and the order to bypass the '' Rheinfall'' waterfalls, controlled by the

Wörth Castle The Wörth Castle (, Swiss German: ) is a fortification in the municipality of Neuhausen am Rheinfall in the canton of Schaffhausen, Switzerland, located on a small island in the Rhine Falls' basin. Geography and name The water castle is loc ...

. The Allerheiligen Abbey and the

were founded by ''Eberhard von Nellenburg'' in 1049, on 22 November it was consecrated by

Pope Leo IX Pope Leo IX (, , 21 June 1002 – 19 April 1054), born Bruno von Egisheim-Dagsburg, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 February 1049 to his death in 1054. Leo IX is considered to be one of the most historica ...

, and in 1064 the construction works were completed. The church was dedicated to the Saviour, the Holy Cross, the Virgin Mary and All the Saints. Allerheiligen became, instead of the

Reichenau Abbey Reichenau Abbey was a Benedictine monastery on Reichenau Island (known in Latin as Augia Dives) in southern Germany. It was founded in 724 by the itinerant Saint Pirmin, who is said to have fled Visigothic Spain ahead of the Moorish invaders, w ...

, the new grave lay by the founding family, and various renovations and additions. Eberhard became after 1075 a Benedictine monk in the abbey, and died there in 1078 or 1079. He was buried in the outdoor crypt that was built for the family. Schaffhausen - Kloster Allerheiligen 2010-06-24 17-09-40 ShiftN

Schaffhausen - Kloster Allerheiligen 2010-06-24 17-09-40 ShiftN

In the so-called

Investiture Controversy The Investiture Controversy or Investiture Contest (, , ) was a conflict between church and state in medieval Europe, the Church and the state in medieval Europe over the ability to choose and install bishops (investiture), abbots of monasteri ...

conflict between the Roman Catholic church in Rome and the secular power, the pope loyal Count Burkhard von Nellenburg, the son and heir of Eberhard, conformed in 1080 all of the rights of the monastery. The monastery was directly subordinate to the Pope, and received the vast estate of the family, the free election of the abbot, and the mint money market as well as the town of Schaffhausen. Thus abbot became the new lord of the city. Burkhard remained the monastery's ''Vogt'', and motivated the Abbot William to join with some monks from the

Hirsau Abbey Hirsau Abbey, formerly known as Hirschau Abbey, was once one of the most important Benedictine abbeys of Germany. It is located in the Hirsau borough of Calw on the northern slopes of the Black Forest mountain range, in the present-day state of ...

, to reform the monastery on the model of Hirsau. After more than four centuries of economic and political decline, Michael Eggendorfer, the last abbot of the monastery, initiated the last renovations in 1521/22. During the

Reformation in Switzerland The Protestant Reformation in Switzerland was promoted initially by Huldrych Zwingli, who gained the support of the magistrate, Mark Reust, and the population of Zürich in the 1520s. It led to significant changes in civil life and state matte ...

, the abbey was abolished, and the Cathedral became the second main city church in 1524.

Architecture

Early years

In its early years, the church consisted of a three-aisled

with a three-apsed

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

, a

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

and a double tower facade to the west. The westerly courtyard was preceded by a single goal, which was flanked by two chapels. About this door system, there was possibly the entrance to the Nellenburg Palatinate, once the residence of the Nellenburg family. The monastery in all was modeled on church's building from

Cluny Abbey Cluny Abbey (; , formerly also ''Cluni'' or ''Clugny''; ) is a former Benedictine monastery in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France. It was dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul. The abbey was constructed in the Romanesque architectural style, with t ...

. ''Ebernhard von Nellenburg'' financed the monastery's church third central tower to the west, extended with a new chancel choir grown in the apex outdoor crypt, as a burial chamber, and a subsequent courtyard. Around 1090, the church was partially demolished to make place for a larger Cathedral.

Romanesque church

Schaffhausen - Kloster Allerheiligen - Nellenburger 2010-06-24 17-04-14

Late Romanesque expansions were added between 1150 and 1250. Abbot Ullrich initiated the construction of the cathedral tower. These extensions included the east wing of the convent buildings including the chapter house of the monks on the ground floor, and a

dormitory A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm), also known as a hall of residence, a residence hall (often abbreviated to halls), or a hostel, is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential qu ...

with latrines upstairs. In the west, the monastery gate, a two-storey house for guests and

lay brothers Lay brother is a largely extinct term referring to religious brothers, particularly in the Catholic Church, who focused upon manual service and secular matters, and were distinguished from choir monks or friars in that they did not pray in choi ...

were added, as well as the present herb garden, the hospital, the novitiate and a

loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior Long gallery, gallery or corridor, often on an upper level, sometimes on the ground level of a building. The corridor is open to the elements because its outer wall is only parti ...

. The present St. Johann's church was

vault Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosur ...

ed, and upstairs there was a further chapel added. The ornately decorated semi-circular arched

lunette A lunette (French ''lunette'', 'little moon') is a crescent- or half-moon–shaped or semi-circular architectural space or feature, variously filled with sculpture, painted, glazed, filled with recessed masonry, or void. A lunette may also be ...

s that were originally on this upper chapel, are among the finest examples of Romanesque architectural sculpture in the monastery, and are on display in the museum. Finally the chapels of St. Michael and Erhards were built, and a

Beguine The Beguines () and the Beghards () were Christianity, Christian laity, lay religious orders that were active in Western Europe, particularly in the Low Countries, in the 13th–16th centuries. Their members lived in monasticism, semi-monastic ...

house. Schaffhausen - Kloster Allerheiligen IMG 9822 ShiftN.jpg,

Pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...

in the basilic Schaffhausen - Kloster Allerheiligen IMG 9821 ShiftN.jpg, fresco in the basilica Schaffhausen - Kloster Allerheiligen - Kreuzgang 2010-06-24 17-07-00 ShiftN.jpg,

cloister A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open Arcade (architecture), arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cat ...

and gravestones Schaffhausen - Kloster Allerheiligen IMG 9823 ShiftN.jpg, so-called ''Schillerglocke'' in the garden Schaffhausen Munster Tower.jpg, The tower (1851) Schaffhausen Münster southern nave.jpg, Side nave The former monastery's building complex are the oldest buildings that still exist in Schaffhausen.

Pipe organ

The first

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboard, keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single tone and pitch, the pipes are provide ...

from the 15th century AD was a

swallow's nest organ A swallow's nest organ (, ) is a form of pipe organ which takes its name from its resemblance to the Swallow#Breeding, nests built by swallows. Rather than placed on a gallery or on the floor, the swallow's nest organ case sits on a platform suspe ...

hung on the northern high wall of the nave. In 1529 it was canceled in the wake of the Reformation as an ''unpleasant pope lyra and decoy for anti-Christian Roman worship''. In 1597 the city council considers that the organ should be reintroduced, the clergy reacted strongly and secured a sustainable waiver of such attempts. So it was not until the year 1879, to when Johann Nepomuk Kuhn was finally allowed to install a new organ on the westerly gallery. It was a mechanical cone chest organ. The magnificent neogothic housing was built according to the plans of the then known architects and builders ''Franz Müller und August'' In 1929 a rather wide drastic remodeling by the builders Kuhn was done. 1 crescendo with 20 steps, paddocks crescendo capture system with 8 x 500 combinations (built in 2003) with a floppy drive. Koppeln: II/I, III/I, III/II, I/P, II/P, III/P – 1) swellable – 2) in separate swell As part of a total restoration of the church (1979 to 1985), the existing organ was obtained as a monument worthy instrument, but at the same the front panel time pushed back. The I and II Manual have been faithfully restored, originally located at the far end, III Manual (Swell) was then set down a level to the lower case. Also, the laterally placed pedal mechanism had to be recreated on two levels. The instrument again consisted of mechanical cone chests, equipped with the three manuals and modern Barker machines. 51 of the 66 registers are now wholly or partly of the original organ, 4 registers were reconstructed and 11 registers, mostly in the Swell, have been added.

Parish St. Johann – Münster

In 2014 the merger of the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

es ''Münster'' and ''St. Johann'' was generally supported; the new established parish of ''St. Johann Schaffhausen Münster'' comprises over 3,700 members.

Cultural heritage of national importance

The building is listed in the

Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance #REDIRECT Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance {{R from other capitalisation ...

as a ''Class A'' object of national importance.

Literature

* Kurt Bänteli, Hans Peter Mathis: ''Das ehemalige Kloster zu Allerheiligen in Schaffhausen''. Schweizerische Kunstführer GSK Nr. 76, Gesellschaft für Schweizerische Kunstgeschichte, Bern 2004, ISBN * Kurt Bänteli: ''Das Kloster Allerheiligen in Schaffhausen. Zum 950. Jahr seiner Gründung am 22. November 1049''. Schaffhauser Archäologie, Vol. 4, Schaffhausen 1999, . * Thomas Hildbrand: ''Herrschaft, Schrift und Gedächtnis. Das Kloster Allerheiligen und sein Umgang mit Wissen in Wirtschaft, Recht und Archiv (11.-16. Jahrhundert)''. Zürich 1996, .

References

External links

Website of the former monastery ''Allerheiligen''

Website of parish ''St. Johann''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schaffhausen Munster Benedictine monasteries in Switzerland Reformed church buildings in Switzerland

Münster Schaffhausen Münster is one of the two main churches of the old town of the Switzerland, Swiss city of Schaffhausen. First built in 1064 AD as a Romanesque Basilica of the then Kloster Allerheiligen Schaffhausen, Benedictine ''Kloster Allerheiligen'', it was r ...

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

1064 establishments in Europe

Churches in Schaffhausen