BASILICA OF ST PETER AND ALEXANDER - ASCHAFFENBURG
Treasury at the Abbey Museum
The Abbey Basilica of Saint Peter and Saint Alexander is a thousand year landmark of the town of Aschaffenburg. Built on order of Emperor Otto I “the Great” of Swabia, the first record of the church and the town date from 957, with the central structure decidedly Romanesque in its foundations and cloister, with later Gothic additions and medieval period chapter buildings. The Church of St Peter and Alexander has held a central position on the Stiftsberg, the city hill marking the center of the old town. The church and its estate passed into the hands of the Dioceses of Mainz, the builders of the Aschaffenburg Palace, and the town of Aschaffenburg remained in the control of the Archbishops of Mainz until 1803. The Archbishops of Mainz were the most important ecclesiastical overlords in the Holy Roman Empire of German Nations and members of the Electoral College, which was responsible for the election of the German king.
Not a cathedral in the grand scale of the one in Mainz (see Mainz Cathedral), but the abbey church is richly decorated with art of major historical significance. Artworks include the 10th century Crucifix of Otto, the Lamentation of Christ by Matthias Grünewald, and most especially the Cranach altar. In 1525, the powerful Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg, then Archbishop of Mainz, commissioned Lucas Cranach to design an altar for the church. Known as the “Altar of St Magdalene”, this was a significant work of German painting of the Reformation. The altar panels depict life-size portraits of saints with a remarkable central panel illustrating the Resurrection of Christ. The panels had been separated for many years, but have been reunited. The abbey church suffered rounds of damage over the centuries and in WWII, with phases of rebuilding. At the one thousandth year anniversary in 1958, Pope Pius XII designated it as a Roman Catholic basilica.
Treasury of St Peter and Alexander
The Treasury of St Peter and St Alexander is one of the most impressive collections of medieval church treasures in Germany, held in the buildings of the former monastery Chapter since 1861. Located next to the church the city museum (the Stiftsmuseum), sometimes called the Abbey Museum, holds the abbey’s treasury, a collection of liturgical objects, ecclesiastical robes and intricate works of ceremonial gold and silver, illustrating the bond between art and the Christian faith. Aside from the fantastic religious art treasures, the museum also displays a collection of artifacts from pre-historic times, the Roman period and middle ages.
Visiting the Abbey Museum Treasury
The Basilica of St Peter and Alexander is free to visit. The opening times for the Treasury Museum are daily from 11am to 5pm, closed Mondays. Admission price is €2.50 for Adults. Concessions €1.50 and a Family Ticket for €5. There is a reduced entry with a DB Bavaria Ticket or Happy Weekend Ticket. The Basilica of St Peter and Alexander and the Treasury are across from the Aschaffenburg City Hall with underground city parking and a short walk from the stunning Bishops Palace (see Johannisburg Palace). © Bargain
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Aschaffenburg Stiftsmuseum
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See Also:
SCHONBUSCH PARK & SUMMER PALACE
FRANKFURT ST BARTHOLOMEW GOTHIC CATHEDRAL
CHRISTMAS MARKETS – FRANKFURT RHINE-MAIN
