The 1,050-year-old Romanesque Collegiate Church of St. Cyriacus in Gernrode welcomes its guests and visitors to the services, devotions, concerts and events of the Protestant congregation as well as to the Catholic Masses and ecumenical or national gatherings. There is also the opportunity to take part in expert church tours.
In 959 Margrave Gero founded a free and secular women’s monastery here as right hand Otto I. His daughter-in-law Hathui was the first abbess to manage the fortunes of the abbey. Over the centuries, the church was further expanded and rebuilt. In 1870 the church was extensively renovated by the restorer Ferdinand von Quast and today it is largely in Romanesque style.
A special feature of the Collegiate Church is the three-nave east crypt. It replicates the cross shape and is the oldest part of the church. Margrave Gero is said to have placed the forearm relic of Saint Cyriacus of Rome in a niche. Even today, the space is used for ecumenical worship. Worth seeing is also the artfully designed wooden beamed ceiling above the Byzantine-style nave galleries in the nave. Here the 24 ladies of the monastery are said to have stood opposite each other and sung in the antiphon in the Mass. The remains of the abbey buildings and the cloister can be found in the abbey courtyard. Part of the monastery building today allows groups and holidaymakers to stay overnight in the shadow of the church towers.
Gernrode’s most important work of art is the Holy Sepulchre, which was built in the southern aisle before the First Crusade. North of the Alps, it is the oldest preserved replica of the tomb of Christ in Jerusalem and has an antechamber and a main chamber. This architecture was included in a game of passion, which has been revived in Gernrode for several years after a manuscript from 1502. Inside and outside, the Holy Sepulchre is decorated with relief ornaments of stucco of excellent quality, which represent the stages of Easter history. After the reopening in 2013, in addition to display panels and a short documentary, there will be the opportunity to take a look at the Holy Sepulchre as a small group with a special tour.
