Kenzingen

Last Saturday, Red Baron took part in an excursion organized by the Alemannisches Institut to Kenzingen, Kirnhalden, and Muckental.

   

Rudolf II von Üsenberg

Kenzingen was built like a Zähringen city at a crossroads, but it was founded in 1249 by Rudolf II von Üsenberg. The Lords of Üsenberg were an important noble family in Breisgau and Markgräflerland. Today, a 1824 fountain with a statue of the town's founder marks the intersection.

The medieval town of 1249 developed around the long market street and the parish Church, dedicated to St. Laurentius (Lawrence), first mentioned in 1275.

In the crypt: 13th-century frescoes

A sensational find

I had to ask ChatGPT: The icon depicts Jesus Christ together with Saint Menas (ΑΠΑ ΜΗΝΑ), an Egyptian martyr saint. Iēsous Christos (IC XC) holds the Gospel book in his left hand and places his arm around the saint's shoulder in a gesture of friendship. This motif symbolizes Christ's spiritual friendship and protection for the saint.

This Coptic icon dates from the 6th–7th century, was found in the Egyptian monastery of Bawit, and is now in the Louvre in Paris. It is one of the oldest surviving icons and was discovered only at the beginning of the 20th century, so it is not among the works Napoleon looted during his Egyptian campaign.

Kenzingen was first mentioned in a document in 712.
Rudolf II von Üsenberg founded the town of Kenzingen in 1249.

Kenzigen's history is carved into the four sides of two stacked sandstone cubes in the churchyard.

In 1352, Heinrich IV, margrave of Hachberg, bought the lordship of Üsenberg, which included Kenzingen and the Kirnburg castle. However, the Üsenberg territories were technically held as fiefs from the House of Austria. So, the Habsburgs claimed that the sale violated their feudal rights.

In 1358, Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, obtained an imperial judgment recognizing Austrian rights over the territories that Heinrich IV refused to comply with. He continued to rule Kenzingen as his possession. So an imperial ban (Reichsacht) was declared in 1366 against Heinrich IV and the town of Kenzingen. 

In 1369, the ban was lifted, and Kenzingen came under the rule of the House of Habsburg, being part of Further Austria.

Through an alliance with several Upper Rhine cities, Kenzingen obtained the status of an imperial city in 1415, though in practice, the Habsburg influence remained strong.

On the left is the Kenzingen town hall, built around 1520 in the Renaissance style; on the right, a stately home of a wealthy citizen.

In 1522, Kenzingen's city council appointed the Lutheran preacher Jakob Otter, who held services in German, administered communion in both forms, and enjoyed great popularity.

The Lutherans were a thorn in the side of the Catholic town of Freiburg, which sent troops to Kenzingen in 1524. To avoid punishment, Otter went to Strasbourg, accompanied by around 200 citizens. But it was to no avail. The Old Believers held a strict court. The mayor was arrested, the citizens who had left were refused re-entry to the town, and the town clerk was beheaded.

In 1814, 88 houses burned down.

In the Peace of Pressburg, Napoleon reorganized the German territories on the upper Rhine. Kenzingen became part of the Grand Duchy of Baden in December 1805.

In 1971 and 1974, Bombach, Nordweil, and Hecklingen were incorporated into the town of Kenzingen.

Inside St. Laurentius church, I searched for a picture of the patron saint of barbecuers. Nope, but here are some photos of my favorite saint.

One of the buildings surrounding the Kirchplatz is known as the Epstein House.

In 1574, Jews were expelled from Further Austria for nearly 300 years. They returned to Kenzingen only after the Grand Duchy of Baden granted Jews full civil rights in 1862, allowing them to settle freely. Their number in town oscillated between 20 and 30 persons.

The Epstein family in Kenzingen was well known. It included Alfred Epstein, a merchant with a shop at Kirchplatz; Leo Epstein, an accountant/bookkeeper; and Michael Epstein, a cattle trader and respected member of the town's civic committee. The three Epsteins were well integrated into local society, exercising typical Jewish occupations. The cattle trade, in particular, connected Jewish merchants with farmers throughout the region.

Under the Nazis, some members of the Epstein family were able to emigrate to South America. Others were deported to Gurs as part of the Wagner-Bürckel Aktion. Alfred joined the French Resistance, was captured, and executed as a partisan.

Our group moved on and passed the townhouse of the Benedictine monastery of Andlau in Alsace, which was built in the 13th century. Large monasteries owned houses in towns that served as lodgings for their abbot and his envoys.

The inscription above the door reads, "Porta patens esto nulli claudaris amico (Let the door stand open; be closed to no friend). This saying reminds us of the important social tasks performed by religious orders in the Middle Ages. Anyone in need who knocked on a monastery door was given warm soup. The sick were cared for in hospitals. The monks ran Latin schools, thus maintaining a certain level of education.

Kenzingen had a whole series of monasteries. As our group approached the former Franciscan monastery, Saint Lawrence suddenly stood on a high pillar in front of the church, holding his grill. The Franciscans, who had been documented in Kenzingen since the late Middle Ages, rebuilt their monastery after the Thirty Years' War between 1659 and 1662. 

Inside the monastery church, a painting of Saint Francis with a well-fed baby Jesus.

The church, also built in the 17th century and featuring a 16th-century crucifix, has served as a place of worship for the Protestant parish since 1891.

©Stadt Kenzingen

The Johanniter monastery existed from the beginning of the 15th century until secularisation in 1806, when the municipal prison was built on the site.

Kirnhalden in 1872

After lunch, the group went by car to Kirnhalden, where the Pauline monastery "Zum Heiligen Kreuz" (Holy Cross) has been documented since 1360. It was secularized in 1806. 

Spa in 1910

After that, "Kirnhalden moved from the Paulines to a sanatorium to a sustainable residential and cultural project." 

When the facility ceased to be used as a nursing and retirement home in 2017, the buildings stood empty. A group of young people took over the site and, in 2022, founded the Kirnhalden residential and cultural project as a cooperative. The plan is to renovate the buildings for experiencing, living, learning, and working. 

Experiencing Kirnhalden means running a café, learning comprises a seminar facility with rooms and overnight accommodations for 40 guests, and working includes various workshops and studios. The gradually renovated rooms in the buildings designated as historic monuments are available as living spaces and will be expanded to meet residents' needs.

The current facility from a bird's eye view.

Mostly young people are working hard to get their projects off the ground.

Our last stop was the water-powered forge in Muckental.

The agricultural and horticultural tools forged and on display were in big demand, especially at the beginning of the 20th century.

The master explained the art of blacksmithing to us laymen.

Thank you, organizers, for an informative and inspiring excursion.

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