Did you know that St Hilarius in Freiburg’s Ebnet district boasts the oldest Baroque country church in the Breisgau region? St Hilarius is more than just a pretty building. It’s a living testament to centuries of history faith and community.
This magnificent church dedicated to Saints Hilarius and Remigius sits proudly on a hillside. Its origins trace back to 1275. It was then a branch church of Kirchzarten. A consecration ceremony is recorded for 1463. For a period St Hilarius belonged to the Lords of Falkenstein. They shared ownership of Ebnet with the House of Schnewlin-Landeck. That changed in 1631. The Lords of Sickingen separated the Falkenstein chaplaincy from the mother parish in Kirchzarten. This made St Hilarius an independent parish church.
The present-day church however dates from 1720 to 1725. Baron Ferdinand Hartmann von Sickingen ordered its construction. It cleverly incorporates parts of the 1473 predecessor church. This includes the beautiful tabernacle. Freiburg master builder and stonemason Franz Hamm constructed the nave. Franz Joseph Vogel created the stunning stucco work. The Sickingen family’s charnel house was demolished in 1725 to create their tomb.
Between 1904 and 1908 the church was expanded. This unfortunately meant that a 18th-century western extension was lost. During the installation of a hot air heating system in the choir the Sickingen family crypt was opened. The remains of eight adults and seven children were found. They were carefully reburied together in a concrete sarcophagus. The most recent renovations took place in 1979/81 and 1998.
St Hilarius is a treasure trove of artistic masterpieces. Ferdinand Sebastian von Sickingen-Hohenberg commissioned the interior decoration by Benedikt Gambs. The high altar painting from 1730 is by Franz Bernhard Altenburger. He signed it with the words “F B Altenburger jnv et pinxit 1730”. The painting depicts Bishops Hilarius and Remigius. Below them are the Virgin Mary and the Trinity. They are shown directing God’s grace upon Ebnet. Three cherubic angels unfurl a view of the town. This painting is a fascinating record of Ebnet and its castle before its rebuilding. Matthias Faller and Franz Xaver Hauser carved some of the figures and the tabernacle.
The church also houses memorial plaques. One is for Benedikt Gambs who died and was buried in Ebnet. Another honours Bonaventura Josef Schweizer. He was born in Ebnet and was a superior general of the Salvatorians. He was also a synodal member of the Second Vatican Council and an honorary citizen of Ebnet. Of course there is the Sickingen-Hohenburg family crypt.
The church’s 18-register organ with two manuals and a pedal was built in 1961 by the Gebr. Späth organ builders from Ennetach. The Überlingen firm Mönch Orgelbau rebuilt it in 1981. The three bells in the church tower date from 1699. Ferdinand Hartmann von Sickingen and his wife Maria Countess of Pappenheim gifted them two years after their wedding. Remarkably all three bells are the same age cast by the same bell founder. They still hang in their original positions.
Lothringer itinerant bell founder Ignaz Joseph Thouvenet cast them in Ebnet. He worked on Mathias Hettich’s estate next to the rectory. The inscription on the bells identifies the founder: “These three bells were cast by me Ignaz Joseph Thouvenel from Lorraine in the year 1699 Ebnet”. They hang in a valuable historical bell frame with carved wooden yokes. The largest bell is richly decorated with the founders’ names and the Sickingen coat of arms. The Latin inscription reads “Sit nomen Domini benedictum” (May the name of the Lord be blessed). Other figures are thought to be Ebnet’s patron saints Bishops Hilarius and Remigius. Mary with a halo the martyr Aurelia Anna Selbdritt and St Sebastian are also depicted. The smaller bells are more simply decorated.
The tower has clock faces with Roman numerals on two sides. All three bells have striking mechanisms to indicate the time. The large bell strikes the hours. The smaller bells strike the quarter hours. Amazingly these three bells survived both world wars unharmed. During the First World War their artistic and historical value saved them. During the Second World War the two smaller bells had to be handed over. However Ebnet’s school principal organist and choirmaster August Feyel found them in 1945. They were then rehung in the tower.
On September 14 1756 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s in-laws were married in St Hilarius. This was bailiff Franz Fridolin Weber and his bride Maria Cäcilia Cordula Stamm. That’s a remarkable connection to a very famous composer.
So next time you are in Freiburg take some time to visit St Hilarius in Ebnet. It’s a truly special place.