The Church of Saint George is a Roman Catholic church. It is part of Reichenau Abbey founded in 724, [1] located on the island of Reichenau on Lake Constance in southern Germany. The island is home to the churches of Saint Mary, Marcus, Peter and Paul. The church 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. [2]
The church is owned and run by the Catholic Church of Saint George Fund. The church interior 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.
The church hosts frescoes were added in the 10th century. [3] They are not frescoes in the proper sense of the word but are fresco-secco where the painting is applied to a dry surface. The wall paintings typify artistic expression from the Middle Ages and are unique for their age and location. They are the only preserved complete set of wall paintings produced north of the Alps before 1000 AD. [4]
The frescoes are divided into three zones. The first and lowest zone is located between the nave and the arches. The second zone is above the arches. The third and highest zone is located above the windows. The lowest panel depicts the monasteries at Reichenau Island. The second is the most researched zone. It portrays Christ's miracles. [5] The top panel depicts Old Testament prophets and New Testament apostles. [3]
Each fresco details a specific story from the life of Christ. Descriptive inscriptions, or Tituli, accompany the paintings. [3]
Reichenau island 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 century; and they held great artistic significance in Europe at the time. [4]
Following their discovery in 1856, the frescoes significantly faded. [6] The paintings depicting the life of Christ were to be preserved in an authentic state and not restored, reflecting 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, then raised to reveal the original frescoes when art historians or other experts are inspecting the walls. Academic painter Carl Schilling began creating and installing the Bildtapeten in 1889 and completed the project in 1891. In 1909, the Bildtapeten 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. [6]
A subsequent rise in visitors damaged the frescoes, requiring the church to closely monitor their state. This increase has led to climate change within the church building. As more bodies enter the church each year, the humidity and pollution levels in the building increase. This humidity and pollution created an environment ideal for the growth of mold and bacteria, further damaging the frescoes. [4]
The frescoes are monitored by Landesamt für Denkmalpflege and the University of Stuttgart, Institute for Materials of Architecture. These groups collect data on indoor climate, microclimate impacts, air motion, radiation, and visitation. [4] These data were expected help prompt new methods by which to regulate the indoor climate, including visitor access.
The Studenica Monastery is a 12th-century Serbian Orthodox monastery situated 39 kilometres (24 mi) southwest of Kraljevo and 40.9 kilometres (25.4 mi) east of Ivanjica, in central Serbia. It is one of the largest and richest Serb Orthodox monasteries.
Reichenau Island is an island in Lake Constance in Southern Germany. It lies almost due west of the city of Konstanz, between the Gnadensee and the Untersee, two parts of Lake Constance. With a total land surface of 4.3 km2 (1.7 sq mi) and a circumference of 11 km (6.8 mi), the island is 4.5 km (2.8 mi) long and 1.5 km (0.93 mi) wide at its greatest extent. The highest point, the Hochwart, stands some 43 m (141 ft) above the lake surface and 438.7 m (1,439 ft) above mean sea level.
Gelati is a medieval monastic complex near Kutaisi in the Imereti region of western Georgia. One of the first monasteries in Georgia, it was founded in 1106 by King David IV of Georgia as a monastic and educational center.
The Boyana Church is a medieval Bulgarian Orthodox church situated on the outskirts of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, in the Boyana quarter. In 1979, the building was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The Bachkovo Monastery of the Dormition of the Theotokos, archaically the Petritsoni Monastery or Monastery of the Mother of God Petritzonitissa is a major Eastern Orthodox monastery in Southern Bulgaria. It is located on the right bank of the Chepelare River, 189 km from Sofia and 10 km south of Asenovgrad, and is directly subordinate to the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. The monastery is known and appreciated for the unique combination of Byzantine, Georgian and Bulgarian culture, united by the common faith.
Vardzia is a cave monastery site in southern Georgia, excavated from the slopes of the Erusheti Mountain on the left bank of the Kura River, thirty kilometres from Aspindza. The main period of construction was the second half of the twelfth century. The caves stretch along the cliff for some five hundred meters and in up to nineteen tiers. The monastery was an important cultural center, a place of significant literary and artistic work.
The Gračanica Monastery is a Serbian Orthodox monastery located in Kosovo. It was built by the Serbian king Stefan Milutin in 1321. The monastery was declared a Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance in 1990, and on 13 July 2006 it was placed on UNESCO's World Heritage List under the name of Medieval Monuments in Kosovo as an extension of the Visoki Dečani site, which was overall placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger.
The Church of St. George is a Macedonian Orthodox church in the village of Staro Nagoričane, near Kumanovo in North Macedonia, built by medieval Serbian king Stefan Milutin. It is noteworthy both for its architecture and its frescoes. It is considered a 14th-century masterpiece of the palaiologan time and a key example of Christian heritage in this area.
The Abbey of Saint John is an early medieval Benedictine monastery in the Swiss municipality of Val Müstair, in the Canton of Graubünden. By reason of its exceptionally well-preserved heritage of Carolingian art, it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983.
Castelseprio was the site of a Roman fort in antiquity, and a significant Lombard town in the early Middle Ages, before being destroyed and abandoned in 1287. It is today preserved as an archaeological park in the modern comune of Castelseprio, near the modern village of the same name. It is in the north of Italy, in the Province of Varese, about 50 km northwest of Milan.
Hosios Loukas is a historic walled monastery situated near the town of Distomo, in Boeotia, Greece. Founded in the mid-10th century, the monastery is one of the most important monuments of Middle Byzantine architecture and art, and has been listed on UNESCO's World Heritage Sites since 1990, along with the monasteries of Nea Moni and Daphnion.
Göreme is a district of the Nevşehir Province in Turkey. After the eruption of Mount Erciyes about 2.6 million years ago, ash and lava formed soft rocks in the Cappadocia region, covering a region of about 20,000 square kilometres (7,700 sq mi). The softer rock was eroded by wind and water, leaving the hard cap rock on top of pillars, forming the present-day fairy chimneys. People of Göreme, at the heart of the Cappadocia region, realized that these soft rocks could be easily carved out to form houses, churches, and monasteries. These Christian sanctuaries contain many examples of Byzantine art from the post-iconoclastic period. These frescos are a unique artistic achievement from this period.
Kobayr is a 12th-century Armenian monastery located in the village Kobayr, directly across the road from the town of Tumanyan, within Lori marz, Armenia.
The Betania Monastery of the Nativity of the Mother of God commonly known as Betania or Bethania is a medieval Georgian Orthodox monastery in eastern Georgia, 16 km (9.9 mi) southwest of Tbilisi, the nation's capital. It is a remarkable piece of architecture of the Georgian Golden Age of the Kingdom of Georgia, at the turn of the 11th and 12th centuries, and is notable for its wall paintings which include a group portrait of the contemporary Georgian monarchs.
The Hermitage of San Baudelio de Berlanga is an early 11th-century church at Caltojar in the province of Soria, Castile and León, Spain, 8 km south of Berlanga de Duero. It is an important example of Mozarabic architecture for its peculiarities, and was built in the 11th century, in what was then the frontier between Islamic and Christian lands. It is dedicated to Saint Baudilus or Baudel.
Church frescos or church wall paintings are to be found in some 600 churches across Denmark, no doubt representing the highest concentration of surviving church murals anywhere in the world. Most of them date back to the Middle Ages and were uncovered by Jacob Kornerup (1825–1913) who carried out restoration work in 80 churches across the country towards the end of the 19th century. They lay hidden for centuries as after the reformation, they were covered with limewash only to be revealed and restored during the course of the 19th and 20th centuries. In most of Europe medieval frescos, extremely common in the Middle Ages, were more likely to be removed completely during the Reformation or in subsequent rebuildings, or merely as they aged. The oldest frescos, dating back to the 12th century, were painted in the Romanesque style by artists from elsewhere in Europe but those from the 14th century and thereafter are in the Gothic style which was used by native Danish painters. It is these that are considered to be the most important for Danish art and culture. A distinction is to be made between these church wall paintings or kalkmalerier and the generic term "fresco" which refers to all types of painting on plastered walls or ceilings.
The Church of St Peter or Church of Saints Peter and Paul is a small medieval Bulgarian Orthodox church located in the village of Berende in Dragoman Municipality, Sofia Province, in westernmost Bulgaria. Most likely constructed and decorated in the 14th century, the Church of St Peter features simple stone architecture but contains a number of remarkable interior frescoes.
The Church of St. George is a 12th-century Macedonian Orthodox church located 2 km away from the village of Kurbinovo in North Macedonia. Excavations have shown that the building has once belonged to a settlement, which was abandoned at the end of the 18th century for the present-day village of Kurbinovo. According to the research made on the church's frescoes, it is supposed that the church was built in the year 1191 by the Byzantines. The church is a "monument of culture" in the Republic of North Macedonia and protected by law. It is also a part of the Prespa - Pelagonia diocese of the Macedonian Orthodox Church.
The Nakipari church of Saint George, locally known as Jgrag (ჯგრაგ), is a medieval church in the Mestia Municipality in Georgia's region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti. The area is part of the highland historical and cultural region of Upper Svaneti. The designation Jgrag derives from the name of Saint George in the local Svan language. It is a hall church, adorned with frescoes painted by Tevdore in 1130. The church is inscribed on the list of the Immovable Cultural Monuments of National Significance of Georgia.
Chiesa di San Prospero is a church in Perugia, Italy, located in Via San Prospero, 7, which dates back to the 7th and 8th centuries. It is located in the Porta Eburnea district outside the city walls. It is of importance for art history because it preserves the oldest frescoes in Perugia, dating to 1225.
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