St. Blasien Cathedral

Coming over the hills from Bernau or Todtmoos into St. Blasien, you do not expect this sight: in a narrow Black Forest valley rises a green dome that looks more like Rome than the high Black Forest. St. Blasien Cathedral, locally called the "Black Forest Cathedral", is the former abbey church of one of the wealthiest Benedictine monasteries in south-west Germany. When it was consecrated in 1783 it was the third-largest domed church in Europe, and its dome, spanning 36 m, is still among the largest on the continent.

History: fire, Habsburgs and a concrete dome

A fire in 1768 destroyed the medieval abbey church. Prince-Abbot Martin Gerbert used the disaster for an ambitious project: instead of a traditional Baroque church, he had the French architect Pierre Michel d'Ixnard design a centrally planned building modelled on the Pantheon in Rome, an early example of Neoclassicism in Germany. Gerbert also had political aims. St. Blasien belonged to Further Austria, and in 1770 he had the remains of 14 early Habsburgs moved here from Basel and Königsfelden in Switzerland, among them Gertrud of Hohenberg, wife of King Rudolf I. The abbey was meant to become the dynasty's burial place and so be politically untouchable.

It did not help much. In 1806 St. Blasien passed to Baden, and the monks moved to St. Paul im Lavanttal in Austria, taking their library and treasury with them. Factories moved into the monastery buildings. In 1874 a fire broke out in a spinning mill and the wooden dome collapsed. The inner dome was only rebuilt between 1910 and 1913, as one of the first domes made of reinforced concrete. The decorative dome you see from below hangs from it.

What to see

• The rotunda: 20 Corinthian columns, each 18 m tall, carry the dome. The geometry is the point: the 36 m diameter exactly matches the height of the space.
• The ceiling painting: At the centre of the dome, Walter Georgi's painting of 1912 shows the Assumption of Mary. It replaced a work by Johann Christian Wentzinger lost in 1874.
• The colour white: For the 200th anniversary in 1983 the interior was given its bright, almost cool finish. Heavily criticised at the time, it is now widely admired.
• The façade: Four Doric columns, 15 m tall, support the portico, framed by two 30 m bell towers.
• St. Blaise Fountain: On the cathedral square stands a bishop figure from 1714 by the Villingen sculptor Anton Josef Schupp.

Worth knowing

During the exterior renovation in 1985, workers found numerous bullet holes from the Second World War in the dome's copper roof. And the name "cathedral" is strictly speaking wrong: St. Blasien was never the seat of a bishop, so as an abbey church it should really be called a minster.

Visiting (as of October 2026)

• Opening hours: April to October 8:30–18:30, November to March 8:30–17:00. Admission is free.
• Services: No sightseeing during Mass or events, so avoid Sunday mornings.
• Tours: The one-hour tour is for groups only, booked through the parish office, from €70 for up to 30 people, also in English and French. No tours on Sundays or public holidays.
• Concerts: The International Cathedral Concerts run in summer. In 2026 tickets cost €15 on Tuesdays and €20 on Saturdays.

Allow 30 to 60 minutes for the cathedral and square. Add a concert or a walk in the Alb valley and it becomes half a day.

Getting there

The cathedral is at Fürstabt-Gerbert-Straße 16. From Freiburg or Titisee take the B 500 towards Waldshut as far as Häusern, then it is about 4 km further. From Switzerland you reach the same road via Waldshut. There is a step-free entrance, but it is closed in winter because of snow sliding off the roof.

Tripto tip

Time your visit so you walk across the square towards the façade in the afternoon sun. In the evening the cathedral and square are lit up. If you like water, continue to Lake Schluchsee, just a few kilometres to the north.