Think of Würzburg’s skyline. The impressive dome and twin towers that define it belong to Stift Haug. This baroque church is not just a pretty picture. It has a story etched in its very stones.
Stift Haug started as a chapel. It stood in the Schalksberg vineyards around 997. Bishop Heinrich I resurrected it in 1002 as the home of the “Herren vom Berg”. This translates to “Gentlemen from the Mountain”. Locals called it “ein Haugis”. “Haug” meant hill in old German. Canons seeking a peaceful retirement moved in. The settlement became the suburb of Haug. It sat exposed outside the city walls.
The church suffered many plunders. The Peasant War saw one such event. An organ was installed in 1568. Another church was constructed nearby. Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn consecrated it in 1591. The original Stift Haug was partially torn down. It was rebuilt and rededicated in 1637.
Würzburg decided to build baroque fortifications. The church complex stood in the way. Both churches were leveled in 1657. The hill itself was removed. A new church was built on this very spot. Bishop Johann Philipp von Schönborn laid the cornerstone on April 26, 1670. Construction finished with its consecration in 1691. This marked the first major baroque church in Franconia. The 65-meter-high dome mirrored St. Peter’s in Rome. The church is considered the masterpiece of Antonio Petrini. He served as the prince-bishop’s master builder.
The secularization of 1803 dissolved the collegiate foundation. The church remained as a parish church.
March 16, 1945, saw a devastating bombing. Stift Haug nearly burned to the ground. Its rich baroque interior was lost. A few figures survived. The vaults and outer walls withstood the fire. The sacristy became a temporary worship space.
People began clearing rubble in late April 1945. They secured loose parts and the dome. The surviving vaults received an emergency roof. By autumn 1946, the new roof frame was ready. A basic lighting system was installed in 1947. The elaborate restoration took longer. Finally, in 1956, a lantern made of shell limestone was installed. It was topped with a cross and weather vane. Craftsmen spent four years securing and restoring the dome.
The parish focused on restoring the interior and facade. Father Hermann Grömling led this effort. One major problem was the chancel. In 1961, they decided to move the main altar. It was placed on an altar island under the dome. The Venetian artist Jacopo Tintoretto created a monumental crucifixion scene in 1585. This piece then enclosed the empty chancel space.
Bishop Alfons Kempf consecrated the new main altar on June 27, 1965. This marked the end of the reconstruction.
From 2002 to 2005, another interior renovation took place. This was under Pfarrer Erhard Kroth and art consultant Jürgen Lenssen. Lenssen created a communication space. A glass wall separated it from the church. He emphasized Petrini’s central space under the dome. Parishioners gathered in a semicircle around the altar. Relics of Franconian saints were placed in the new altar stone. These saints were Burkard, Bruno, and Liborius Wagner.
Take a closer look at the twin-tower facade. Sculptors crafted figures of the Fourteen Holy Helpers in 1891-1893. Endres, Josef Metzger, and Valentin Weidner created them.
Consider the portal. It displays the coats of arms of five prince-bishops. These men oversaw the construction of Stift Haug. Johann Philipp von Schönborn, Johann Hartmann von Rosenbach, Peter Philipp von Dernbach. Then Konrad Wilhelm von Wernau, and Johann Gottfried von Guttenberg. Johann Georg Wolfgang van der Auwera created the figure of John the Baptist above.
Step inside Stift Haug. A modern bronze crucifix will catch your eye. Dietrich Klinge created it in 2004. The artist meant the divided arms to suggest that. Christ has no arms but ours to work in the world today.
Notice the side chapels. New side altars were installed after the 1991 renovation. The altar paintings above come from nationalized church property. The State Painting Collections of Munich loaned them to Stift Haug. Some are by Würzburg court painter Oswald Onghers. Peter Geist created the Stations of the Cross pictures around 1850. The Evangelical Church of St. Stephan loaned them.
Dominating the chancel is the sacrament altar. It holds the crucifixion scene by Jacopo Tintoretto. Originally created for a Munich church, it came to Stift Haug in 1964.