Picture this a magnificent church standing proudly before you. This is Kath Kirche St Georg in Freiburg im Breisgau. Its history stretches back to 804. A document mentions a church in the village of Hardkirch. This village later became part of St Georgen. The church was dedicated to St Georg in 1178. The name St Georg first appeared in writing in 1322. In 1516 the Johanniter built a new church in the Gothic style. This Hardkirche existed until the 19th century. It was later remodelled in the Baroque style.
By the 19th century the congregation had grown enormously. The old church with only 400 seats was far too small. Catholics were obliged to attend Sunday Mass. There was only one service a week. The original architect Heinrich Hübsch wanted to build a new church alongside the old one. He had the support of many in the community. His successor however decided otherwise. After discussions with the archbishopric building authority the local council and the citizens of St Georgen the old Hardkirche was demolished in 1865. The new church was built between 1866 and 1869. This was against the wishes of residents from Uffhausen and Wendlingen. These villages were also part of the parish.
Lukas Engesser designed the current building. It has a wide nave and two narrower aisles. The church was consecrated on February 7 1869. The interior has been updated several times. The last major renovation took place in 2005 and 2006. The church is built in the style of Romanesque Historicism. It has a tower added to the main structure. The design is typical of the era and follows the style of Heinrich Hübsch. You can see similar designs in churches in Sulzburg and Schallstadt-Mengen.
Some of the old church’s features were saved. The baptismal font from the Renaissance period around 1600 is still here. So is a Baroque statue of St Sebastian. The statue of St George above the entrance is by Franz Xaver Reich. The high altar by Joseph Dettlinger was installed during the first renovation in 1896. It’s a copy of a late Gothic altarpiece from Kaysersberg. This was created by Hans Bongart in 1518. It depicts scenes from the Passion of Christ. Dettlinger used similar motifs for the Stations of the Cross in the church of Our Lady in Karlsruhe-Südstadt.
The Baroque altarpiece of the Marian altar was given to the church in 1961. This was a gift from the Augustinermuseum Freiburg. The celebrant’s altar is by the Freiburg sculptor Bruno Knittel. The organ dates back to an instrument from the Merklin and Fröhlich organ workshop. This was built in 1869. The organ case comes from the Sängerhaus in Freiburg. In 1978 the organ was rebuilt. This was done by the organ building company Fischer & Krämer in Endingen. Some of the old registers were reused. The instrument now has 34 stops on two manuals and pedal. The actions are mechanical. It was renovated by Orgelbau Mühleisen in Leonberg in 2008.
The octagonal bell tower is above the entrance. It contains a four-bell chime in a steel bell frame. One bell dates back to 1507. The other three were cast in 1962 by Friedrich Wilhelm Schilling in Heidelberg. All four bells chime on the hour and quarter-hour. Clock faces on all four sides of the tower show the time visually. Kath Kirche St Georg a testament to faith and history stands as a landmark of Freiburg im Breisgau.