The "New Minster" of Würzburg is a riot of Baroque decoration, and is dedicated to the three Irish…read moremissionaries, Kilian, Colman and Totnan, martyred in 689 while bringing Christianity to the Thuringians under the rule of King Gozbert.
Kilian travelled from his native Ireland leading a band of missionaries and arrived at Wurzburg by way of Rome, where their mission was blessed by the Pope. The band split at Würzburg, the three missionaries remaining while the others went further afield.
All initially went well: Gozbert and many of his subjects were converted and baptised.
But Kilian informed the King that his marriage to the his brother's widow Geilana was contrary to scripture. She was furious and had the three beheaded in the absence of her husband.
The church was subsequently built at the scene of their martyrdom: in 1060 Adalbero of Würzburg founded the present church with an aisled nave and two choirs (east and west) in the Romanesque style. From 1180 to 1250 the church was further expanded.
The first step towards its current form was the demolition of the west choir and the remodelling to form a new west front in the Baroque style between 1711 and 1716. More significant still was the thorough redesign of the interior by the Zimmerman brothers in 1725.
The present Church therefore appears as a complete Baroque structure. It is painted in cool white, which highlights the baroque altar pieces and the ceiling frescoes. The fresco on the domed ceiling at the west front is a triumph of trompe d'oeil, which depicts different layers of cloud, drawing the eye upwards.
In complete contrast, the casket containing the relics of St Kilian is found the the west crypt, which is dark, low-ceilinged, and a place of restful quiet - a perfect escape from tourist throngs above.
