Ulrich crosses (German : Ulrichskreuze) are souvenir crosses originally given to pilgrims who visited the sepulchre of Saint Ulrich of Augsburg in the basilica that bears his name in Augsburg. [1]
Ulrich crosses (German : Ulrichskreuze) are souvenir crosses originally given to pilgrims who visited the sepulchre of Saint Ulrich of Augsburg in the basilica that bears his name in Augsburg. [1]
The Ulrich crosses represented the relic of the True Cross also kept in the basilica. [1] According to late medieval legend, Saint Ulrich was present at the Battle of the Lechfeld on 10 August 955. He was unarmed, carrying only a relic of the True Cross that had been given to him by an angel. In light of King Otto the Great's victory over the Hungarians, this relic became known as the Crux Victorialis ('cross of victory'). Historically, Ulrich was present, unarmed, with the defenders of Augsburg who went out to meet the invaders on 7 August. [2] It is unlikely he was present at the Lechfeld, however. [1]
Ulrich probably acquired his single piece of the True Cross on a trip to Rome. It is kept inside a reliquary created between 1280 and 1320. Originally designed to be worn in a pectoral cross, in 1494 it was placed within a cross-shaped Gothic case designed by goldsmith Georg Seld and his brother Nikolaus, commissioned by Abbot Johannes von Giltlingen. The story of Ulrich at the Lechfeld is depicted on the back of the case. [1] Although once attached to a chain and worn around the neck by the abbots of Saint Ulrich and Saint Afra, it is nowadays attached to a stand. [3]
The first souvenir crosses were made in the 17th century. They were produced by both stamping and casting. They came sometimes to be treated as talismans against mice and as such were buried in fields, cellars, etc. Most surviving examples come from Germany and Alsace–Lorraine, but some are found in museum collections further afield. [3] The dimensions of a typical cross are about 5.5 centimetres (2.2 in) square. [2] [4]
Joseph Friesenegger classifies the crosses into the following types: [5]
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