Unesco World Heritage Site The Convent of St John Müstair

The history of the Convent of St John extends back to the time of Charlemagne, over 1200 years ago. The Frankish king was crowned emperor by Pope Leo III in 800, thus becoming the first medieval ruler of the Western world. Local folklore, according to which the religious community was founded by Charlemagne himself between 780-90, has been confirmed by recent archaeological research and the dendrodate 775.

St John’s was founded as a monastery and converted into a convent in the 12th century. Benedictine nuns still live in the convent today.

At the 1983 meeting of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, the Convent of St John was elevated to a World Heritage Site. It is the most important church building in Switzerland from the period before the turn of the millennium, with the largest preserved cycle of frescoes from the Early Middle Ages.
The Carolingian wall paintings show the influence of Late Roman imagery. They completely cover the walls of the triapsidial church with pictorial bands showing scenes which give the interior of the church the appearance of a shrine clad in valuable wall hangings. The two Swiss art historians Josef Zemp and Robert Durrer must have thought they were dreaming when, in 1894, they discovered the representations of Absalom, David’s son over the Late Gothic church vaulting, the first of a unique cycle of frescoes from the Carolingian era. Starting above the vaulting with the Story of David from the Old Testament, the cycle continues below in a pictorial band depicting the Story of Christ and extending across five registers along the walls: Christ’s Youth, the Passion and the Resurrection. Around 1200 the east section of the church was redecorated with wall paintings. Scenes from the life of the patron saint, John the Baptist as well as of the martyr St Stephen and the Apostles St Peter and St Paul are depicted as dynamic slender figures in vibrant colourful tones. These Romanesque frescoes have become partly detached from the Carolingian ones underneath, thus revealing a majestic depiction of Christ in Majesty in the vaulting of the central apse from the period around 800. Since the late 15th century the nave of the church has been spanned by net vaulting resting on round pillars. The parapet of the nuns’ gallery in the west bay, built at the same time, is made of cast stone; in contrast, the Early Romanesque baptismal relief – which was probably used as altar furniture – and the life-sized figure of Charlemagne, which was made shortly after his canonization in 1165, are made of stucco.

Among other important elements of the convent complex are the Chapel of the Holy Cross, located in the south-eastern corner of the grounds, darting back to the first period of construction; further, the Early Romanesque bishop’s residence (1035), the courtyard with the gate tower with its figurative decoration, and the domestic buildings from medieval times, as well as the Planta tower (958) with its characteristic singe-pitch roof edged with swallowtail battlements. This unusual, over 1000-year-old, tower houses the new museum of the Benedictine nuns of Müstair. It offers us a glimpse into the cloister , the refectory and dormitory as well as into a historical nun’s cell. Displayed in its rooms, together with other artefacts, are fragments of stained glass church windows from the 8th century, frescoes that have become detached from the walls of the convent church, Carolingian basket-work tiles made of Laas marble as well as extremely high-quality medieval and baroque sculptures.

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