Author: Maarten Koning

It is not known whether Hortense de Beauharnais (1783-1837), daughter of Joséphine de Beauharnais (1763-1814)and stepdaughter of Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), and her son Louis-Charles Bonaparte (1808-1873) the later Emperor Napoleon III of France, often visited the island of Reichenau to attend mass in one of its three Romanesque churches during their stay at the Arenenberg (1817-1837) in the municipality of Salenstein (canton Thurgau). 

The Arenenberg seen from Reichenau

Reichenau seen from the Arenenberg

The island of Reichenau, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2000, was one of Europe’s cultural and religious centres from the 8th to the 12th century. The Irish monk Pirmin founded the monastery in 724 under the rule of the Merovingians.

Its greatest heyday, the monastery’s Golden Age, occurred during the Carolingian period under Charlemagne (748-814) and his son Louis the Pious (778-843). The Carolingian empire (800-843) had about 800 (Benedictine) monasteries. Eighty of these monasteries, including Reichenau, fell directly under the emperor.

The monastery introduced Charlemagne’s new education system and the new script (minuscule), which was proficient in Latin, music, literature, religious murals, science, and illuminated manuscripts. In short, it was a centre of the so-called ‘Carolingian Renaissance’, featuring an extensive library, monastic garden, and scriptorium.

The new (and subsequently renovated) library of the abbey (1616)

The Garden

Education aimed to train the empire’s political, official and religious elite (abbots and bishops). The most important abbots were Waldo, Strabo and Heito.

The monastery of Reichenau maintained close relations with bishoprics (especially Basel, Constance and Chur and the archdiocese of Mainz) and, among others, with the abbeys in Schaffhausen, St Gallen, Fulda and Lindau.

The second heyday, the Silver Age, took place under the first (Saxon) emperors of the Holy Roman Empire (962-1024). Abbot Bern was the most crucial abbot in this period. The following centuries saw a slow decline. The monastery was dissolved in 1803.

The first stones of the abbey date from the eighth century. After that, the monastery church, dedicated to Mary and Mark, and the monastery complex were frequently rebuilt until the 17th century, retaining Romanesque and Gothic features.

Liber Viventium Fabariensis, a. 810-820, Archive Abbey St. Gallen

The abbey’s scriptorium in Reichenau produced beautifully illustrated manuscripts, which are now housed in the library of the former abbey in St. Gallen, among other locations. The famous monastery plan from 830 is also located here.

Church of St. Peter and Paul 

Additionally, the tiny island had approximately 20 chapels and churches. Of these, only two remain beside the abbey church. The church of St Peter and Paul in Reichenau-Niederzell was consecrated in 799. Its patron, Bishop Egino of Verona (730-802), is buried in the choir. In 1134, the church was completely rebuilt in the Romanesque style. The influence of art from Lombardy is evident in sculptures, frescoes, and other forms of art.

Church of St. George

St George’s church in Reichenau in Oberzell was founded in the late 9th century by Abbot Hato. Its beautiful Romanesque frescoes date from the late 10th century. They depict the miracles of Jesus and his power over nature, disease, life and death. These frescoes and the scriptorium show the same style. At the end of the 10th and the beginning of the 11th century, murals and illuminated manuscripts in Reichenau reached their peak.

Despite the dissolution of the abbey and most of the churches, these centuries of religious occupation have left a lasting impact on the island. They initiated and maintained agriculture and viticulture for centuries. By 1492, the island had become a true vineyard paradise, boasting approximately 200 hectares of vineyards. Today, it is only 5-10 hectares.

The Abbey and Its Viticulture Around 1700. Picture: Museum Church of St. Peter and Paul, Reichenau-Niederzell

After the abbey was dissolved in 1803, the farmland was bought by private individuals. Today, the island remains agriculturally oriented, with approximately 145 farms primarily dedicated to growing vegetables. Annual yields are as high as 14 million cucumbers, 2,000 tonnes of tomatoes and 5 million heads of leafy vegetables on less than 200 hectares! 

Relics

Another fertile soil of the island concerns relics. The most famous three relics are the bones of St. Mark in the golden shrine, the holy blood of Christ in the Byzantine cross in the monastery church of Mary and Mark, and the skull of St. George in St. George’s church.

The shrine with the bones of St. Marc the Evangelist

The Holy Blood of Christ and the  Byzantine cross

The Monday after Pentecost sees the annual procession of the Holy Blood. On April 25, a march for the bones of the evangelist Mark takes place. These days are public holidays on the island and are part of the UNESCO World Heritage.  

Conclusion

Hortense and Louis III were not particularly religious. However, both left numerous ‘relics’ in their Arenenberg. Unlike the relics above, these are open to the public daily. From the monastery island of Reichenau, the Arenenberg is easily visible. However, by the arrival of the Napoleons, the abbey was already closed. Still, its cultural and agricultural legacy was also perceptible to these inhabitants of the Arenenberg.

(Source and further information: Klosterinsel Reichenau; T. John, Die Klosterinsel Reichenau im Bodensee, Beuron, 2006)

Castle and houses in Reichenau-Mittelzell

 Reichenau-Mittelzell Museum

Cemetery of the abbey

The Reichenauer Verbrüderungsbuch (book of brotherhood) from 824 with deceased abbots, monks and friends. Picture: Museum Church of St. Peter and Paul, Reichenau-Niederzell

Those who think of monasteries usually have in mind a large complex with various buildings, vineyards and other farmland, a botanic garden and a large monastic church. The most famous example on paper is the design of a monastery kept in the library of St Gallen Abbey.

This drawing, dating from around 840, likely originates from a monastery on the island of Reichenau. Many monasteries were based on similar designs and were almost always large complexes.

Several large monasteries from this period (e.g., Disentis, Einsiedeln, St. Johann, St. Maurice) still exist in Switzerland and function as such. Many other monasteries (e.g., Ittingen, Dornach, St. Urban, or Bellelay) have been closed and now have different uses today. For example, others have been demolished and fallen into oblivion (e.g., Moutier-Grandval.

The size of a monastery says nothing about its continuity. An example is the monastery of St Otmar on the small island of Werd (canton of Thurgau) near Stein am Rhein (canton of Schaffhausen).

The island of Werd and two uninhabited islets in 2008. Image: Thurgau Bodensee

The monastery is located on the isle of Werd in the Untersee. Its name is derived from the Alemannic word ‘Ward’, meaning island. The island has been inhabited for thousands of years.

The Untersee, the Rhine to or from Lake Constance

The oldest finds date back to 7000 B.C. In Roman times (15. B.C. – 410 A.D.), Werd was part of the Vicus Tasgetium (Eschenz). The Romans built the first (wooden) bridge to the island. A small exhibition with documentation and archaeological finds about this period has been set up in the convent’s priest’s house.

The monastery’s history begins with the Irish Gallus (c. 550-c. 620). Ireland and England are not only countries with beautiful medieval manuscripts (inspired in part by motifs of Norman culture) but also by the founders of monasteries on the European mainland. Gallus is the most revered saint in Alsace, Baden-Württemberg and Switzerland. He is also the namesake of the city and canton of St Gallen, and the Abbey of St Gallen was founded on his grave.

The abbey’s founder and the first abbot was Otmar (689-759). Otmar was from an Alemannic family. Until 746, the present-day Baden-Württemberg and the Lake Constance region were part of an Alemannic duchy. The Franks (the Merovingians and then the Carolingians) conquered and governed the area from 746, and a Frankish abbot replaced Otmar. The Frankish bishop of Constance even sentenced Otmar to death. This punishment was converted into exile to the island of Werd, where he died in 759.

The tomb and relics of Saint Otmar in the abbey of St. Gall

He was buried on the island. Ten years later, he was rehabilitated and interred in the abbey of St Gallen. In 864, he was canonised as Saint Otmar. From then on, the empty tomb on Werd became a place of pilgrimage, and a first chapel was built on the site. In 959,

Emperor Otto I (Otto the Great, 912-973) donated the island to the Benedictine monastery Einsiedeln (canton of Schwyz). In 1957, the Order of Benedictines transferred the monastery to the Order of Franciscans.

Today, with its beautiful Romanesque frescoes from the 14th century, the monastery still houses four monks, marking an uninterrupted monastic life of over 1,000 years. Every Wednesday, the monks commemorate Saint Otmar in a pilgrimage service.

The bridge to the mainland. Picture: Thurgau Bodensee

The bridge to Werd in rainy weather.

The wooden bridge has also been restored, connecting the island to the mainland as if the Romans had never left after 2,000 years. The island seems too small to get lost. But appearances can be deceiving. The labyrinth is a copy of the famous medieval labyrinth of Chartres Cathedral. It is 444 metres long, and many can wander on this small island.

(Source and further information: Kloster Werd; www.franciscan.ch; Thurgau Bodensee)

The Klosterhof of the abbey of St. Gall, statue of St. Otmar commemorating the foundation of the abbey 1,200 years ago

As early as the 14th century, a fortress stood on the Emmersberg ridge in Schaffhausen. Old pictures show a mighty tower called Annot (ohne Not/without need), with a defence platform in front of it, the Zwingolf. Both were demolished after 1564 when the Munot was built.

The so-called Römerturm (Roman tower) on the Rhine slope also belonged to the older Annot. The Munotverein and the city have been maintaining the complex since 1836.