St. Vitus Basilica (Ellwangen)

The history of the church begins with the founding of the monastery in 764 by the brothers Hariolf, Bishop of Langra , and Erlolfl, who also invited the first monks from Burgundy, probably from the Dijon monastery of St. Venigna . The first inhabitants brought with them many relics that made up the glory of the new monastery throughout the Middle Ages : particles of the relics of St. Venigne, the holy martyrs of the brothers Speusippus, Eleusippus and Meleusippe (patrons of horse breeding, † 175) and their older sister Neonilla ^[1] , their mother Unilla , the saints of Neon (who described their death) and Turvon (to whom Neon passed the manuscript). Due to its favorable geographical location at the intersection of important trade routes, Ellwangen quickly became an important regional center, and the church, which constantly attracted pilgrims , was rebuilt several times.

In the years 1100-1124. the abbey, which received imperial status in 817, erected a new church in the high Roman style; Convent buildings were also rebuilt. The construction, however, required such significant financial costs that the abbot Helmerich was forced to provide part of the monastery lands for residential development of a small village located in the neighborhood, henceforth becoming more and more connected with the monastery and acquiring the features of the city.

The fire of 1182, which destroyed most of the buildings of the abbey, was followed not only by restoration work, but the church - in a much larger volume and in a new place - was rebuilt. 50 years later, on October 3, 1233, the basilica in honor of St. Vita was consecrated by Bishop Engelhard of Naumburg , and - with regard to her appearance - with minor changes has survived to the present day.

In the XV century. The monastery, heavily affected by the plague and the city fire of 1433, ceased to exist (in 1460), and was re-founded as a princedom principality , headed by a probbst in the rank of bishop. In the years 1460-1470. Extensive restoration work was undertaken under the direction of Hans Stieglitz from Miltenberg : a number of burnt buildings were demolished, a new cloister was erected in 1467, and a chapel of the Virgin Mary was erected in 1473.

With the beginning of the Reformation and with the support of Emperor Charles V, Ellwangen found himself a kind of “Catholic island” in a mostly Protestant setting, which affected the popularity of the church; This, of course, was facilitated by the sharply negative attitude of the reformed communities towards the worship of relics.

In 1661-1662 years. the interior of the church was baroque under the guidance of masters from the Bavarian monastery of Wessobrunn .

In 1637-1741 early baroque forms of the interior decor were changed in the early Rococo style under the guidance of Italian architects and sculptors Donato Riccardo Retti, Carlo Carlone and Emmanuelo Pignini, invited from Ludwigsburg .

With the abolition of the Ellwangen testament in 1802-1803, the former monastery church received the status of the city parish church of the city of Ellwangen.

The basilica damaged during the Second World War was restored in 1959-1964. Moreover, the Roman crypt was restored during the work, and during the excavations, the so-called “Ellwang Reliquary” was discovered - the casket for jewelry presumably belonging to Rishilda of Provence .

January 18, 1964, on the occasion of the 1200th anniversary of Ellwangen, the church of St. Vita received the title of Lesser Papal Basilica ( Basilica minor ) from Pope Paul VI .

In 1992-1999 The next extensive restoration of the church was carried out, with the strengthening of the damaged foundations and the restoration of the chapel of St. Michael in the west tower.

• Ellwangen Abbey
• Principality of Ellwangen

• Otto Beck: Die Stiftsbasilika St. Vitus in Ellwangen - Führer durch ein sehenswertes Gotteshaus. Kunstverlag Josef Fink, Lindenberg 2003, ISBN 3-89870-005-4 .
• Bruno Bushart: Die Basilika zum heiligen Vitus in Ellwangen. Ellwangen 1988.