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Big and splendid

 

The town of St. Blasien is located in the southwestern part of the Black Forest, in an area known as the Hotzenwald. Its western border is formed by the river Wehra, the eastern one by the river Schwarza, which also flows through the Schluchsee. In fact, St. Blasien is not far from this lake.

 

St. Blasien is best known for its imposing cathedral, which dominates the townscape from afar. It has existed in its present form since 1783 and is modeled on the Roman Pantheon, reaching a total height of 62 meters. Its dome, which spans 36 meters and is the third largest in Europe, is outstanding. The master builder, the Frenchman Pierre Michel d'Ixnard, also had a well-known model for it, namely the Michelangelo dome of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The dome in St. Blasien consists of two interlocking shells supported by twenty Corinthian columns. At its outer top is a golden sphere complete with a cross. There is also a gallery that runs along the twenty columns. A peculiarity: if the dome were to be completed in its curvature downwards, that is, if a round sphere were to be formed from it, its lowest point would be exactly on the floor of the church. The dome provides pleasant acoustics, so that the St. Blasien Cathedral is nowadays often used for concerts.

 

At the front of the circular building, which the dome spans, six columns rise, as well as on its outer side two thirty-meter towers, which house a total of ten bells. The last one was added only in 2005.

 

Already early there was a church on the same place. It is said to have been consecrated for the first time between 1088 and 1104. However, it was severely damaged by a fire in 1322 and during the Peasant Wars, so that it had to be rebuilt and consecrated a second time in 1538. But again there was destruction and fire, the last time in 1768, but since its last rebuilding in 1783 the cathedral has remained undamaged.

 

The noble family of the Habsburgs has a crypt in the cathedral, where several bones are buried. The name of the place St. Blasien goes back to St. Blasius of Sebaste, who died as a martyr in 316. Also worth seeing is the courthouse of the village. There you can admire a sundial from the Baroque period.

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