The Essen Cathedral Treasury (
German: Essener Domschatz) is one of the most significant collections of religious artworks in
Germany. A great number of items of treasure are accessible to the public in the treasury chamber of
Essen Minster. The
cathedral chapter manages the treasury chamber, not as a museum as in some places, but as the place in which liturgical implements and objects are kept, which continued to be used to this day in the service of God, so far as their conservation requirements allow.[1]
During the
Ruhr Uprising in 1920, the entire treasury was smuggled out to
Hildesheim in secret, from which it was returned in 1925.[2]
During the
Second World War the Treasury was taken first to
Warstein, then to
Albrechtsburg in
Meissen and from there to
Siegen, where it was sealed in Hain tunnel to protect it from
aerial bombing. After the end of the war it was found there by American troops and brought to the State Museum in
Marburg, and later to a collection of displaced artworks in
Schloss Dyck,
Rheydt. From April to October 1949, the Essen Cathedral Treasury was displayed in
Brussels and
Amsterdam and after that it was brought back to Essen.
In 1953 the Treasure was displayed in an exhibition in the
Villa Hügel.[3] In 1957 the Treasure became the property of the then newly established
Diocese of Essen. The Treasury Chamber was first made accessible to the public without charge in 1958 at the wish of the first Bishop of Essen,
Franz Hengsbach.
The Treasury had to be closed from 15 September 2008 until 15 May 2009 for a structural extension. The Treasure was displayed as the opening exhibit of the
Ruhr Museum in the former coal washery of the
Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex from 20 October 2008 until 8 February 2009 with the tagline Gold vor Schwarz (“Gold in Black”). The new display of the Cathedral Treasure was opened on 15 May 2009, which was over seventy percent larger than the previous space and improved in line with the latest ideas in
museum education.
Collection
The collection is exceptional in its completeness because only a few pieces of the Abbey's Treasure, such as the golden shrine of St Marsus, have been lost in the course of time, and particularly because the liber ordinarius survives, in which the
liturgical use of the objects is laid out. The Essen Cathedral Treasury contains several artistically significant works, particularly from the
Ottonian period, such as:
A golden crown, which is claimed to be the
Childhood Crown of Otto III, but is generally dated to the eleventh century. It is, at any rate, the oldest surviving lily crown.
The Theophanu Gospels, an eleventh-century manuscript with a gilt cover and carved
ivory plate in the middle.
A cross-shaped reliquary for a
Holy Nail, gifted by Theophanu.
The
Golden Madonna, the oldest sculpture of
Mary in western art (kept in the Minster).
A two metre tall Seven-armed
candelabrum from Ottonian times (kept in the Minster)
In addition to the Ottonian artworks, valuable objects from later times also belong to the Cathedral Treasury, such as the Bust of Marsus and sixteen
Burgundianfibulae from the fourteenth century.[4] Several manuscripts also belong to the Cathedral Treasury, including the Great Carolingian Gospels (Ms. 1) of linguistical and artistic significance, the Liber Ordinarius of Essen (Ms. 19), and the
Necrology of Essen (Ms. 20).
There is also a vitrine in the Treasury with loaned items from the Diocesan Museum, such as the
crosier,
mitres,
pectoral crosses and rings of the deceased Bishops of Essen.
Alfred Pothmann. "Der Essener Kirchenschatz aus der Frühzeit der Stiftsgeschichte." In Günter Berghaus (ed.): Herrschaft, Bildung und Gebet. Gründung und Anfänge des Frauenstifts Essen. Klartext-Verlag, Essen 2000,
ISBN3-88474-907-2, pp. 135–153.
Jan Gerschow. "Der Schatz des Essener Frauenstifts bis zum 15. Jahrhundert. Zur Geschichte der Institution." In Das Münster am Hellweg 56, 2003, pp. 79–110.
Klaus Gereon Beuckers and Ulrich Knapp. Farbiges Gold. Die ottonischen Kreuze in der Domschatzkammer Essen und ihre Emails. Domschatzkammer Essen, Essen 2006,
ISBN3-00-020039-8.
Birgitta Falk, Thomas Schilp, and Michael Schlagheck (edd.). ... wie das Gold den Augen leuchtet. Schätze aus dem Essener Frauenstift (= Essener Forschungen zum Frauenstift. Bd. 5). Klartext-Verlag, Essen 2007,
ISBN978-3-89861-786-4.
Birgitta Falk (ed.). Gold vor Schwarz. Der Essener Domschatz auf Zollverein. Catalogue of the exhibition in the Ruhr Museum, Essen (20 October 2008 - 11 January 2009). Klartext-Verlag, Essen 2008,
ISBN978-3-8375-0050-9.
Ina Germes-Dohmen. "Nach Umbau und Erweiterung. Der Essener Domschatz präsentiert sich mit neuem Konzept und Design." In Das Münster am Hellweg 62, 2009, pp. 150–155.
^Lydia Konnegen, Verborgene Schätze. Der Essener Münsterschatz in Zeiten des Ruhrkampfes, in Das Münster am Hellweg 58, 2005, pp. 67–81.
^Museum Folkwang Essen zeigt in Villa Hügel Kunstwerke aus Kirchen-, Museums- und Privatbesitz: Essener Münsterschatz; Wandteppiche der Sammlung Krupp; Gemälde, Skulpturen alter und neuer Meister; vom 10. Mai bis 30. September 1953. Essen 1953.
^Birgitta Falk, "Die sechzehn französisch-burgundischen Agraffen im Essener Domschatz", in Birgitta Falk, Thomas Schilp, Michael Schlagheck (edd.): ... wie das Gold den Augen leuchtet. Schätze aus dem Essener Frauenstift (= Essener Forschungen zum Frauenstift. Bd. 5). Klartext-Verlag, Essen 2007,
ISBN978-3-89861-786-4, pp. 215–241; Susanne Conrad, "16 Agraffen aus dem Essener Domschatz", in Jahrbuch der rheinischen Denkmalpflege 42, 2011, pp. 240–243.