The Last of the Franciscans

Near my apartment, at the corner of Günterstalstraße and Prinz-Eugen-Straße, there is a Franciscan monastery. Only five monks, Bogdan, Desiderius, Eryk, Lucjan, and Marcjean, still live in a building for 30 residents, and they are all from Poland. All speak excellent German and are pastoring in Freiburg. The number of Catholic priests educated in Germany is steadily declining and no longer covers the needs. Up to now, the gap has been filled by young clerics from Poland, who are the best Polish export item, as I learned when I visited Breslau in 2010.

These last Franciscans in high spirits will soon be "flying home" (Photo ©Badische Zeitung)
Note the beautiful park in the background.

The Friars Minor are gentle people. I used to pull their legs about their habits. As shown in the photo, they wear their typical brownish frocks with a white cord around their waists, but sandals with socks*, whereas in the past, they used to walk barefoot (Barfüßermönche). They answered, "Our prior told us to wear socks so we won't catch a cold." 

*Usually, when you see men wearing white socks in sandals, you can be sure that those guys are Germans.

Having resided in Freiburg for over 750 years, the last Franciscans will soon leave the city. Apparently, their services are needed at home. An old proverb says: Das Kloster währt länger denn der Abt (The monastery lasts longer than the abbot). Is this still true? 

Although the building has been designated a historical landmark, "building sharks" are already circling around the real estate, a beautiful natural park with old trees. I shall keep you informed.

The complex of the Franciscan monastery is located in the center, opposite the city hall
at the bottom of the Sickinger map of 1589.
St. Martin's Church is on the left, i.e., the north side, still without a steeple.
The west wing of the cloister still exists,
as well as the buildings on the south side of the complex.

The mendicant order of the Franciscans settled in Freiburg in 1246 after Count Konrad had endowed the ordo fratrum minorum (OFM) with a chapel opposite the city hall, consecrated to St. Martin, plus four standard plots of 100 by 50 feet (possibly 5% longer than the modern foot). Here, the Friars Minor built their monastery and enlarged the chapel into a church in 1317. 

While the church still exists, the south wing of the cloister was demolished in 1846 to make room for a larger square in front of the city hall, which was subsequently renamed Franziskanerplatz. When the Nazis seized power in Freiburg on March 31, 1933, the undemocratically installed mayor Franz (sic!) Kerber did not like residing on Franciscan Square and had renamed it Rathausplatz (City Hall Square).

After the war, most streets and squares that the Nazis had renamed regained their original names, with two notable exceptions. Freiburg's central street, previously known as Kaiserstraße, was renamed Kaiser-Joseph-Straße, a nod to the Habsburg rule. The city, by all means, wanted to avoid any allusion to the last Prussian Emperor Wilhelm. The Rathausplatz, however, kept its name. This was somehow far-sighted, for about a year ago, the Dominicans took over the original Franciscan premises.

The following photo shows the corner of St. Martin's Church and what remains of the now-glazed cloister. In this very corner, a stage will be mounted on the occasion of Freiburg's Partnership Market on June 7 and 8. Madison will be the guest of honor for this year; we celebrate the Silver Jubilee of the partnership between our two cities.

A quiet corner in Freiburg

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