The dome church of St. Blasien was constructed after a fire destroyed its predecessor, a two-towered baroque church, in 1768. The then reigning prince abbot, Martin II. Gerbert, was able to realise his idea of a domed church despite a lot of resistance.
In 1770, Prince Abbot Gerbert had the remains of 14 Habsburgs moved from Switzerland to St. Blasien, making the new dome church the Habsburg tomb. In 1783, the new church was consecrated. In the following years, the church was faced with great misfortune. Following the dissolution of the convent - the so-called secularization - the church was pillaged. Everything, including the organ made by the master organ builder Andreas Silbermann, was ripped out and destroyed. The dead Habsburgs were also removed from their tombs and taken to Austria. In 1874, the church was destroyed by a fire. Rebuilt by simple means, it was consecrated a second time in 1913. A large scale renovation project was undertaken from 1981-1983. With some limitations, it was possible to rebuild the church the way the Prince Abbot Martin Gerbert had once envisaged it.
Today, it is the parish church for the catholic community in St. Blasien. There are regular tours through the Blaise Cathedral. The schedule can be found in the tourist information programme. Every summer, international concerts take place in the cathedral with artists from all over the world – cultural pleasure at its finest.
The cathedral is wheelchair accessible with a designated entrance on the left side.
Cathedral tours
Cathedral tours are held all year round on Fridays at 2:45 pm. Meeting point for the cathedral tours is at the tourist information centre.
Between 1 May and 31 October, the cathedral tours take place on Wednesdays at 10:45 am and on Fridays at 2:45 pm. Meeting point for the cathedral tours is at the tourist information centre. The tours start on the hour.
There are no cathedral tours on public holidays.
Prices:
Visitors without a visitor card € 3.00, visitors with a visitor card € 2.00. Free tour of the cathedral for visitors with the Red Inclusive Card.
