Essen Cathedral Treasury
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Essen Cathedral Treasury (
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
: Essener Domschatz) is one of the most significant collections of religious artworks in
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. A great number of items of treasure are accessible to the public in the treasury chamber of
Essen Minster Essen Minster (German: ), since 1958 also Essen Cathedral () is the seat of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Essen, the "Diocese of the Ruhr", founded in 1958. The church, dedicated to Saints Cosmas and Damian and the Blessed Virgin Mary, stands on ...
. The
cathedral chapter According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. In ...
manages the treasury chamber, not as a museum as in some places, but as the place in which liturgical implements and objects are kept, which continued to be used to this day in the service of God, so far as their conservation requirements allow.


History

The Cathedral Treasury derives from the treasury of the former Canonesses of Essen, which passed to St Johann Baptist after the
secularisation In sociology, secularization () is a multilayered concept that generally denotes "a transition from a religious to a more worldly level." There are many types of secularization and most do not lead to atheism or irreligion, nor are they automatica ...
of the order in 1803. During the
Ruhr Uprising The Ruhr uprising () or March uprising () was an uprising that occurred in the Ruhr region of Germany from 13 March to 6 April 1920. It was a Left-wing politics, left-wing workers' revolt triggered by the call for a Kapp Putsch#General Strike ...
in 1920, the entire treasury was smuggled out to
Hildesheim Hildesheim (; or ; ) is a city in Lower Saxony, in north-central Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim (district), Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of t ...
in secret, from which it was returned in 1925. During the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
the Treasury was taken first to
Warstein Warstein () is a municipality with town status in the district of Soest, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located at the north end of Sauerland. Geography Warstein is located north of the Arnsberger Wald (forest), at a brook called Wä ...
, then to
Albrechtsburg The Albrechtsburg is a Late Gothic castle erected from 1471 till about 1495. It is located in the town centre of Meissen in the German state of Saxony. It is situated on a hill above the river Elbe, adjacent to the Meissen Cathedral. History ...
in
Meissen Meissen ( ), is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden and 75 km (46 mi) west of Bautzen on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, th ...
and from there to
Siegen Siegen () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany, in the south Westphalian part of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located in the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein in the Arnsberg (region), Arnsberg region. The university town (n ...
, where it was sealed in Hain tunnel to protect it from
aerial bombing An airstrike, air strike, or air raid is an offensive operation carried out by aircraft. Air strikes are delivered from aircraft such as blimps, balloons, fighter aircraft, attack aircraft, bombers, attack helicopters, and drones. The official d ...
. After the end of the war it was found there by American troops and brought to the State Museum in
Marburg Marburg (; ) is a college town, university town in the States of Germany, German federal state () of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf Districts of Germany, district (). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has ...
, and later to a collection of displaced artworks in Schloss Dyck,
Rheydt Rheydt () is a borough of the German city Mönchengladbach, located in the west of North Rhine-Westphalia. Until 1918 and then again from 1933 (due to a split from Mönchengladbach arranged by Joseph Goebbels, who was born there) through 1975 it ...
. From April to October 1949, the Essen Cathedral Treasury was displayed in
Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
and
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
and after that it was brought back to Essen. In 1953 the Treasure was displayed in an exhibition in the Villa Hügel. In 1957 the Treasure became the property of the then newly established Diocese of Essen. The Treasury Chamber was first made accessible to the public without charge in 1958 at the wish of the first Bishop of Essen,
Franz Hengsbach Franz Hengsbach (10 September 1910 – 24 June 1991) was a German Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Bishop of Essen from 1957 to 1991, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1988. Biography Franz Hengsbach was born in ...
. The Treasury had to be closed from 15 September 2008 until 15 May 2009 for a structural extension. The Treasure was displayed as the opening exhibit of the Ruhr Museum in the former coal washery of the
Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex The Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex (German Zeche Zollverein) is a large former industrial site in the city of Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The first coal mine on the premises was founded in 1847, and mining activities took pl ...
from 20 October 2008 until 8 February 2009 with the tagline ''Gold vor Schwarz'' (“Gold in Black”). The new display of the Cathedral Treasure was opened on 15 May 2009, which was over seventy percent larger than the previous space and improved in line with the latest ideas in
museum education Museum education is a specialized field devoted to developing and strengthening the education role of informal education spaces and institutions such as museums. In a critical report called ''Excellence and Equity'' published in 1992 by the Amer ...
.


Collection

The collection is exceptional in its completeness because only a few pieces of the Abbey's Treasure, such as the golden shrine of St Marsus, have been lost in the course of time, and particularly because the ''liber ordinarius'' survives, in which the
liturgical Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...
use of the objects is laid out. The Essen Cathedral Treasury contains several artistically significant works, particularly from the Ottonian period, such as: * Four
processional cross A processional cross is a crucifix or cross which is carried in Christian processions. Such crosses have a long history: the Gregorian mission of Saint Augustine of Canterbury to England carried one before them "like a standard", according to ...
es from Ottonian times: the Cross of Otto and Mathilde, the Senkshmelz Cross, the Cross of Theophanu and the Cross of Mathilde * A golden crown, which is claimed to be the Childhood Crown of Otto III, but is generally dated to the eleventh century. It is, at any rate, the oldest surviving lily crown. * The
Sword of Saints Cosmas and Damian The Sword of Saints Cosmas and Damian, also known as the Sword of Essen, is a ceremonial weapon in Essen Abbey. The sword itself dates to the mid 10th century, the gold decoration was added at the close of the 10th or the onset of the 11th centur ...
, the gold-sheathed ceremonial sword of the abbesses since Ottonian times * The Theophanu Gospels, an eleventh-century manuscript with a gilt cover and carved
ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and Tooth, teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mamm ...
plate in the middle. * A cross-shaped reliquary for a Holy Nail, gifted by Theophanu. * The
Golden Madonna ''Golden Madonna'' (Italian: ''La madonnina d'oro'') is a 1949 British-Italian drama film directed by Luigi Carpentieri and Ladislao Vajda and starring Phyllis Calvert, Tullio Carminati and Michael Rennie. It was considered a lost film and was on ...
, the oldest sculpture of
Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...
in western art (kept in the Minster). * A two metre tall Seven-armed
candelabrum A candelabrum (plural candelabra but also used as the singular form) is a candle holder with multiple arms. "Candelabra" can be used to describe a variety of candle holders including chandeliers. However, candelabra can also be distinguished as b ...
from Ottonian times (kept in the Minster) In addition to the Ottonian artworks, valuable objects from later times also belong to the Cathedral Treasury, such as the Bust of Marsus and sixteen Burgundian
fibula The fibula (: fibulae or fibulas) or calf bone is a leg bone on the lateral side of the tibia, to which it is connected above and below. It is the smaller of the two bones and, in proportion to its length, the most slender of all the long bones. ...
e from the fourteenth century.Birgitta Falk, "Die sechzehn französisch-burgundischen Agraffen im Essener Domschatz", in Birgitta Falk, Thomas Schilp, Michael Schlagheck (edd.): ''... wie das Gold den Augen leuchtet. Schätze aus dem Essener Frauenstift'' (= ''Essener Forschungen zum Frauenstift.'' Bd. 5). Klartext-Verlag, Essen 2007, , pp. 215–241; Susanne Conrad, "16 Agraffen aus dem Essener Domschatz", in ''Jahrbuch der rheinischen Denkmalpflege'' 42, 2011, pp. 240–243. Several manuscripts also belong to the Cathedral Treasury, including the Great Carolingian Gospels (Ms. 1) also known as
Essen Cathedral Treasury Hs. 1 The manuscript Essen Cathedral Treasury Hs. 1, often referred to as the Great Carolingian Gospels or Altfrid Gospels, is a Parchment, parchment manuscript from the Essen Cathedral Treasury, Essen Cathedral Treasury. It was created around the year ...
of linguistical and artistic significance, the ''Liber Ordinarius'' of Essen (Ms. 19), and the
Necrology An obituary ( obit for short) is an article about a recently deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on positive aspects of the subject's life, this is not always the case. Ac ...
of Essen (Ms. 20). There is also a vitrine in the Treasury with loaned items from the Diocesan Museum, such as the
crosier A crozier or crosier (also known as a paterissa, pastoral staff, or bishop's staff) is a stylized staff that is a symbol of the governing office of a bishop or abbot and is carried by high-ranking prelates of Roman Catholic, Eastern Catho ...
,
mitre The mitre (Commonwealth English) or miter (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, see spelling differences; both pronounced ; ) is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of ...
s,
pectoral cross A pectoral cross or pectorale (from the Latin ''pectoralis'', "of the chest") is a Christian cross, cross that is worn on the chest, usually suspended from the neck by a cord or Link chain, chain. In ancient history and the Middle Ages, pector ...
es and rings of the deceased Bishops of Essen.


See also

*
Aachen Cathedral Treasury The Aachen Cathedral Treasury () is a museum of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Aachen under the control of the cathedral chapter, which houses one of the most important collections of medieval church artworks in Europe. In 1978, the Aachen Cathe ...
*
Trier Cathedral Treasury The Trier Cathedral Treasury is a museum of Christian art and medieval art in Trier, Germany. The museum is owned by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Trier and is located inside the Cathedral of Trier. It contains some of the church's most valuable ...
*
Seven-branched candelabrum (Essen) The Seven-Branched Candelabrum is a large candlestand from the Essen Cathedral Treasury. Today, it stands on the ground floor of the Westwork of Essen Minster, Essen Cathedral. The lampstand, which dates to around the year 1000, is a significant ...


Bibliography

*
Georg Humann Georg Humann (8 December 1847, in Rellinghausen (now a suburb of Essen) – 18 January 1932, in Aachen) was a German art historian. Life Humann belong to a long-established Essen family, his father was steward of the estates of Schloss Schel ...
. ''Die Kunstwerke der Münsterkirche zu Essen.'' Schwann, Düsseldorf 1904. * Heinz Köhn. ''Der Essener Münsterschatz. Eine Einführung'', Essen 1953. * Victor H. Elbern. ''Der Münsterschatz von Essen.'' Kühlen, Mönchengladbach 1959. *
Leonhard Küppers Leonhard is a male given name and surname in German and other Germanic languages, as well as Estonian, sharing the same origin as English Leonard. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Alfred Leonhard Maluma (1955–2021), Tanzanian Ro ...
and
Paul Mikat Paul Mikat (10 December 1924 – 24 September 2011) was a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and former member of the German Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germ ...
. ''Der Essener Münsterschatz.'' Fredebeul u. Koenen, Essen 1966. * Alfred Pothmann. "Der Essener Kirchenschatz aus der Frühzeit der Stiftsgeschichte." In Günter Berghaus (ed.): ''Herrschaft, Bildung und Gebet. Gründung und Anfänge des Frauenstifts Essen.'' Klartext-Verlag, Essen 2000, , pp. 135–153. * Jan Gerschow. "Der Schatz des Essener Frauenstifts bis zum 15. Jahrhundert. Zur Geschichte der Institution." In ''Das Münster am Hellweg'' 56, 2003, pp. 79–110. *
Klaus Gereon Beuckers Klaus is a German, Dutch and Scandinavian given name and surname. It originated as a short form of Nikolaus, a German form of the Greek given name Nicholas. Notable persons whose family name is Klaus *Billy Klaus (1928–2006), American basebal ...
and Ulrich Knapp. ''Farbiges Gold. Die ottonischen Kreuze in der Domschatzkammer Essen und ihre Emails.'' Domschatzkammer Essen, Essen 2006, . * Birgitta Falk, Thomas Schilp, and Michael Schlagheck (edd.). ''... wie das Gold den Augen leuchtet. Schätze aus dem Essener Frauenstift'' (= ''Essener Forschungen zum Frauenstift.'' Bd. 5). Klartext-Verlag, Essen 2007, . * Birgitta Falk (ed.). ''Gold vor Schwarz. Der Essener Domschatz auf Zollverein.'' Catalogue of the exhibition in the Ruhr Museum, Essen (20 October 2008 - 11 January 2009). Klartext-Verlag, Essen 2008, . * Birgitta Falk (ed.). ''Der Essener Domschatz.'' Klartext Verlag, Essen 2009, . * Ina Germes-Dohmen. "Nach Umbau und Erweiterung. Der Essener Domschatz präsentiert sich mit neuem Konzept und Design." In ''Das Münster am Hellweg'' 62, 2009, pp. 150–155.


External links


Website of the Essen Cathedral Treasury

The Essen Cathedral Treasury on the homepage of the Association of Church Museums and Treasuries of the German Speaking World


References

{{coord, 51.4557, N, 7.0141, E, source:wikidata, display=title, format=dms Essen Minster Museums in Essen Religious museums in Germany Ottonian metalwork Church treasuries