Lived Spirituality | The Daily Mail

The leaves gleam silvery in the sun. The reeds rustle to the left and right of the more than one kilometer long avenue of poplars, and the water flashes again and again between the trees. The white sandbanks in Lake Constance almost give the picture a Mediterranean flair. Already the crossing over the dam, which was built around 100 years ago, is wonderful. Then you pass them Kirche St. Georg and has arrived on Reichenau: the largest island in Lake Constance. This is where the small island world of around 3,200 inhabitants begins, where three historic churches are part of everyday life and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. St. George was passed after 888 Abt Hatto III. built. The murals in the nave were created at the end of the 10th century and are among the earliest examples of their kind north of the Alps. Between the three churches from the Middle Ages, vegetables, herbs and wine thrive in the gardens, on fields and slopes.

Just a few meters from the church is the almost legendary fish snack bar “Bei Riebels”. The vegetables that are served there as a side dish are crisp and fresh. The Reichenau definitely also stands for enjoyment: for whitefish and wine. It is around two kilometers to the district of Mittelzell and to the St. Maria and Markus Minster, the oldest church on the island. After its eventful history, the monastery was dissolved in 1757 and today the winegrowers’ association presses the Reichenau wine in the monastery cellar. It is the past of the former monastery island that is reflected in the tradition of the three festival days. In addition to the St. Mark’s Festival on April 25th and the Holy Blood Festival in June, on the Monday after Trinity Sunday, in the middle of August, on Ascension Day, the third island holiday, on which work is suspended on the Reichenau, shops, authorities, Schools and kindergartens are closed. “Even if not everyone in Reichenau takes the island holidays off, they are very important to us,” says Karl Wehrle, the island resident and head of the Reichenau Tourist Association. The Minster is the largest of the three Romanesque churches on the island. Its north side borders on the monastery garden, where the outdoor service took place last year on the Holy Blood Festival during the Corona Pandemic.

At five o’clock the bells rang

At five o’clock in the morning on the festive days, the cathedral bells ring. This “sound of terror” wakes the islanders and reminds Catholics to get to church on time. “Then it’s time to put on your Sunday best, clean your gun, at least for the members of the militia, and let’s go,” says Karl Wehrle. There is hardly an islander, as the Reichenau call themselves, who is not active in a club or in a choir. But not everyone follows the call of the bells and stays at home or goes to work – although most facilities on the island have closed. The festival program is similar on all three public holidays and begins with the parade of the historic militia and the subsequent service (note the current Corona measures). The Monday after Whit Monday is the highest of the three island holidays and is also a day of pilgrimage. It refers directly to a Christ or Lord relic, a relic that points directly to Jesus Christ. She is in the so-called Holy Blood Altar kept in the Minster, which the Prince Bishop of Konstanz founded in 1739, and is a small Byzantine abbot’s cross made of gilded silver. According to tradition, it is said to contain blood-soaked earth from Calvary, splinters from Christ’s cross, and a blood-soaked silk handkerchief. The front of the cross shows the image of the crucified. The back contains a Greek inscription, which many scholars have attempted to interpret. The inscription should read: “Lord, help Hilarion, your servant and head of your monastery, the Tzirithon”. The name and the way of writing point to the end of the 9th century when the cross was created. If you take a look inside the cathedral, you will find a painting in the northern aisle depicting the solemn procession.

“For centuries, herbs have been consecrated on Ascension Day,” says tourism manager Wehrle. Each bouquet of herbs should consist of at least seven different plants – symbols for the seven sacraments and seven sorrows of Mary. After the consecration, the bouquets are then dried and stored at home. They are supposed to protect the inhabitants against diseases, mischief and lightning. Inside the cathedral at the high altar, a scene shows the coronation of Mary in heaven by the Trinity, depicted on the top panel of the winged altar by Rudolf Stahel (1498).

Bones of the Evangelist Mark

The feast of Saint Mark the Evangelist opens the island’s annual calendar of holidays. The bones of St. Mark the Evangelist came to the Benedictine Abbey, which was famous at the time, in 830 AD by Bishop Ratold of Verona. They are in the west chancel of the minster in a valuable silver-wrought and gilded shrine from the beginning of the 14th century.

Karl Wehrle hopes that after the service on the Holy Blood Festival this year, a procession made up of militia and traditional costume groups will be able to set off again this year. This year’s St. Mark’s Festival took place just like in the old days. “On our highest island holiday last year and also at the St. Mark’s Festival and on the Assumption of Mary, some traditions were canceled due to Corona,” Wehrle regrets. A little way from the Minster, at the end of the island, the two towers of St. Peter and Paul with their red-tiled roofs soar into the sky. Here is the last of the three Romanesque churches on the island, a three-aisled basilica. It was partly built on the old foundation walls in the 11th century after the demolition of the old Peterskirche. The painting in the apse dates from 1104-1105 and shows the Majestas Domini accompanied by the four evangelist symbols. Peter and Paul worship on the left and right and the twelve apostles are in the middle.

As the day draws to a close on the Holy Blood Festival, the sun sinks in the distance over Hegau, while small waves lap at the island shore. The Reichenau, where spirituality is firmly anchored, is actually always worth a visit.