St. Michael Pforzheim, known locally as St. Michael, stands as a testament to the resilience and historical depth of the city of Pforzheim in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. This former castle and collegiate church, with its imposing structure and rich history, is one of the few remaining medieval relics in Pforzheim. The city's medieval landscape was largely destroyed during the Thirty Years' War, the War of the Palatine Succession, and finally, World War II, making St. Michael Pforzheim a precious link to the past.
The church's origins date back to 1219 when Pforzheim came under the control of the House of Baden. Constructed atop an older structure, the late Romanesque west building of St. Michael Pforzheim, dating from 1220/1230, still stands today. By 1270, the nave (or main body of the church) was completed in its current form. Between 1290 and 1310, the diagonal choirs and the Margarethenkapelle (Margaret Chapel) were added.
The church underwent significant transformations after being elevated to a collegiate church. Between 1460 and 1475, the renowned court architect Hans Spryß von Zaberfeld constructed the new late Gothic high choir. The intricate sculptures inside, particularly the finely crafted faces and hair, reveal Spryß's Upper Rhenish training. The architectural style bears similarities to the Maulbronn Monastery Church, as evidenced by the stonemason marks that were also found in Maulbronn around 1200.
The Margarethenkapelle was built to house the monument of the martyr Margaretha. It is believed that a stone sarcophagus of the child Margaretha, venerated as a victim of ritual murder and displayed as a martyr, was placed there. The inscription reads: MARGARETHA A IVDEIS OCCISA OB(IIT) FELICITER ANNO D(OMI)NI M CC LX VII CAL(ENDAS) IVLII FER(IA) VI, which translates to: Margaretha, killed by Jews, died happily in the year of our Lord 1260 on the 7th day before the Kalends of July (June 25), on a Friday. This inscription documents the existence of a Jewish community in Pforzheim in the mid-13th century and the hostility they faced from the Christian citizens, led by the Dominican order.
On the south side of the church, visitors will find an early Gothic portal. The jambs are stepped twice, and two engaged columns are continued by the archivolts of the arch. The tympanum, made of red sandstone, is divided by blind tracery and contains an incomplete inscription: PETITE · ET ACCIPIETIS (translated: Ask, and you shall receive).
From 1535, the church served as the burial place for the Protestant line of the Margraves of Baden (from 1515 Baden-Durlach). The last member of the ruling house to be buried in the church was Stéphanie de Beauharnais in 1860. The surrounding residential castle in Pforzheim gradually disappeared from the 18th century onwards, with only the archive building remaining.
In a late Gothic extension of the church, the so-called Reuchlinkolleg, the Reuchlin Museum was established in 1922. This museum made Johannes Reuchlin's library accessible to the public.
During the air raid on Pforzheim on February 23, 1945, the church was severely damaged. Its restoration, led by the State Building Authority and supported by the Friends of the Castle Church Foundation, was completed by 1957. The sculptures were reconstructed by Oskar Loos, and the choir's stained glass windows were created by Charles Crodel in collaboration with Hermann Hampe. The bronze-plated portal of the castle church, featuring six biblical scenes, was crafted by Stuttgart sculptor Jürgen Weber in 1959, and the pulpit was designed by Valentin Peter Feuerstein.
In 2021, the Bund Heimat und Umwelt in Deutschland (Federal Association for Homeland and Environment in Germany) selected the church as a Cultural Monument of the Year under the theme Historic Places of Community.
Excavations after 1946 revealed two predecessor buildings: a pre-Romanesque chapel from the 9th/10th century and a three-aisled structure with a choir apse from the second half of the 12th century.
The oldest visible part of the castle church is the Romanesque, two-story west building with a north tower, likely a foundation of the Margrave of Baden, Hermann V. When Irmengard, the granddaughter of Conrad, married Margrave Hermann V of Baden around 1217/18, she brought the burgeoning town of Pforzheim into the union. Construction of the west building began around this time, and it is estimated to have been completed by 1235.
The exterior is adorned with lesenes, arch friezes, and the German band. A window rose (19th century) sits in the south gable between rising round arch friezes. The main portal, with a stepped round arch and rich small sculptures, connects to the Hohenstaufen architectural style. The richly structured jambs with cushion capitals showcase the Maulbronn master's work, featuring flower buds, a crowned head with a cross, a bull's head, an ox-like head sculpture, and a hybrid creature between a dog and a lizard. Horizontally, a meander band with a pentagram reminiscent of incantations against evil spirits can be seen. The capitals and bases inside the ground floor are late elements of Romanesque ornamentation. The combination of the Romanesque west building with the Gothic, basilica-like nave without a transept creates an intriguing tension. The pillars and leaf-decorated consoles reveal the transitional style. The influence of the Maulbronn Paradise Master is also evident in the diamond-shaped ribs, crescent-shaped consoles, and shaft rings. The nave extends over the entrance square of the west building.
Between 1235 and 1270, the vaulting of the west building's central bay and the construction of the nave bays were completed, along with the foundation of the diagonal choirs. The southern diagonal choir was built around 1280, and the northern one around 1290. This resulted in a continuously vaulted basilica with three bays, a square fore-choir, and a polygonal apse, which has not survived but was excavated.
The late Gothic choir at the eastern end of the church was constructed by the Pforzheim stonemason Hans Spryß von Zaberfeld, who left his portrait and master's mark in the choir vault. He also designed the rood screen between the choir and the nave around 1470. The intersecting vault supports allowed for the creation of vaults that seem to grow out of the walls. The church's patron, Archangel Michael, testifies to the sculptural skills of the master, who also created the cloister at the Hirsau Monastery. The castle church and its choir gained additional significance when Margrave Ernst designated it as the burial place for his family around 1545.
In 2022, a technical reconstruction of the Steinmeyer organ from 1959 was completed by Mühleisen Orgelbau (Leonberg), reusing the original pipework. The church tower houses a six-bell chime cast by the Bachert brothers' bell foundry in Karlsruhe in 1958.
The grave slab of Johann Freigraf (Frigraf) from Klein-Ägypten, a tall rectangular slab of red sandstone with an inscription between lines and a full coat of arms in shallow relief, dates back to around 1498. It has attracted early attention as it was referred to as the grave of a Gypsy.
From 1535, the church served as the burial place for the Protestant line of the Margraves of Baden (from 1515 Baden-Durlach). The last member of the ruling house to be buried in the church was Stéphanie de Beauharnais in 1860. The following grave monuments in the collegiate choir are cultural monuments:
Between 2006 and 2008, an extension was built on the south side of the church according to plans by Hamburg architect Bernhard Hirche. The new building restores the original cubature of the Reuchlinkolleg in the former sacristy of the church. The buttresses erected after World War II were incorporated into the new building, illustrating the historical complexity. The new Johannes Reuchlin Museum was inaugurated on September 6, 2008.
In conclusion, St. Michael Pforzheim is not just a church; it is a monument to the enduring spirit of Pforzheim. Its walls tell stories of faith, resilience, and history, making it an unmissable destination for anyone visiting this beautiful city.
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