Old Church of St. Michael

At a glance:

The church’s history dates back to the 7^th century. It began as a small, rectangular, Merovingian-era stone church with Alemannic stone tombs in its floor; these were discovered during excavations in 1921-22 by the Lörrach district building authority under commissioner Siebold. The church is thus even older than the first documented mention of the town of Schopfheim from the year 807 AD.

In the 10^th/11^th century, it became a late Carolingian / early Romanesque aisleless church with an apse. A mighty choir tower was built in 1240 in place of the apse; this tower is presumed to have formed part of the town’s fortifications.  Frescoes, which are partially exposed, were painted there in 1300. Since 1482, the church has featured a late Gothic nave with a reticulated vault.

In 1768, the old organ was replaced by a new Markus Stein organ, with which Johann Peter Hebel became familiar during his days as a student at the Schopfheim grammar school (1771-1774). His poem “Die Feldhüter” immortalised the organ’s “vox humana” reed stop, which sounds like a singing human voice.

Trivia

• The key is available from the Orient Café next door.
• “Orgelmusik zur Marktzeit” is a series of concerts that take place at the Church of St. Michael every other Saturday between May and October, from 11 to 11:30am.
• Another series of concerts is the “Schopfheimer Orgelsommer”. A detailed program can be found HERE.

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