Münster Mapping

 ... or the Minster church shines. 

This light spectacle was meant to be the apotheosis of the "900 years of Freiburg" festivities in the fall of 2020. Corona delayed the presentation by one year.

A colorful announcement on the Freiburg webpage (©City of Freiburg)

Mind you, except for the perfection in the case of Freiburg's light show, the idea is not new. Son et lumière (sound and light) in historical and tourist places is common practice in neighboring France.

Still, the fifteen-minute spectacle was ambitious, combining the construction history of the Minster church with Freiburg's history.

Waiting for the show to begin.

Red Baron went to the Grand opening…

… and listened to the words of Freiburg's Lord Mayor Martin Horn, the chairwoman of the Minster-Bau-Verein Martina Feierling-Rombach, and Freiburg's new Münsterbaumeisterin (minster builder) Dr. Anne-Christine Brehm. Two Minster keepers in their red coats were present as well.

N.B. The links in the figure captions of the photos refer to my German Freiburg history page. Enjoy.

Spectacular beginning of the construction around 1200

Two historical Minster keepers, Johann Sigismund von Reinach and Jakob Bur,
guided the audience through the spectacle.

The founders and rulers of Freiburg, the Dukes of Zähringen,
founded many more cities

The construction of the Minster church advances

The Battle of Sempach in 1386, where Freiburg's knighthood
was wiped out, and the guilds took over the city's rule 

Archduke Albrecht founded the university in 1457

In 1513 the Minster church was finished
except for the circle of chapels around the choir

On her way from Vienna, Maria-Antonia passed through Freiburg in 1770
to become Marie-Antoinette in France, marrying King Lois XVI

To her honor, the Minster church is illuminated by chemical fires

Revolution all over Europe
but particularly violent in Baden in 1848/49

The bombing raid of November 27, 1944, reduced the city to rubble,
but as a sign of hope, the Minster church remained standing.

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