Monastic Island of Reicheneau - UNESCO: World Heritage

2. Discription of the Church and Monastery Constructions
Today the construction of the former abbey at Mittelzell
consists of the Minster of St. Mary and Mark and the baroque
monastery in the North (for the early construction relicts
see paragraph 3b). The oldest parts of the monastery
church still preserved are the transept and chancel of the
Carolingian cruciform-basilica (consecrated in 816). Adjacent
is a polygonal Gothic choir in the east and treasurechamber
and sacristy to the side; the latter standing on Carolingian
foundation walls. The nave with its two aisles and
its arcades of stocky pillars dates to the 12 th century. Its remarkable
wooden roof in the shape of a barrel vault – open
today but presumably planked over in former times – was
built in 1236/37. In the West transept and apse of the Markuskirche
(St. Mark’s Church, consecrated 1048) adjoin. The
western apse is integrated into a richly structured early Romanesque
tower accompanied by porticos whereas the walls
of the nave and transept are poorly structured as is characteristic
for the early Middle Ages. Several of the very large
Carolingian window openings in the transept are still preserved.
Wall-paintings of the 14 th –16 th century in the chancel,
and the open-work St. Mark’s Altar (around 1470) in
the St. Mark’s Choir are furnishings from monastic times,
which are still preserved today. The treasure-chamber contains
substantial parts of the Minster Treasure of Reichenau,
namely relic shrines of the 14 th –15 th century (among
others the St. Mark’s Shrine), a pyxis from the 5 th century, a
large marble jug in a Gothic metal setting from the late
classical antiquity (from the “Wedding at Cana”), a Byzantine
pectoral cross from the 9 th century with a crucifix-relic
(proven to have been on the Reichenau since 923) and numerous
other pieces of gold-work and vestments from the
14 th –17 th century. The three-sided monastery south of the
church, built around 1605/10, serves as a town hall and
vicarage today. An extension at the northern end of the
western transept includes substantial remains of the Carolingian
western wing, on the outside of which cloister-oriented
arcades are still visible. The foundation walls of the
older monastic churches and the early medieval monastic
construction have been archeologically investigated and are
in part still accessible, yet remain largely undisturbed and
preserved in the soil. In the 15 th century the monastery precincts
of Mittelzell were surrounded by a wall. Here further
domestic offices, residential and administrative buildings
are preserved, among others the former Office (an old-age
16