A Romanian monument in Baden-Baden (corrected posting)
Christopher Rollason
minutes ago proved illegible for some readers (I made a technical
error which I have now corrected).
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A Romanian monument in Baden-Baden: the Sturdza chapel
A mere half-an-hour's journey from Strasbourg and its European
institutions, Baden-Baden can itself claim to be a cameo of European
culture. The marble magnificence of the Roman-Irish baths and the
opulence of the casino testify to the secure place in history of a
town which was chosen by Brahms as his favoured residence, where
Berlioz conducted the premiere of his 'Beatrice and Benedict', and
where Dostoyevsky, aided by his personal experiences at the casino,
wrote his novel 'The Gambler' at breakneck speed to pay off a debt.
Less well-known among Baden-Baden's attractions, but deserving of
greater attention from visitors, is the Sturdza Chapel (in German,
'Stourdza-Kapelle'), a monument to the mid-nineteenth-century culture
of what was to become Romania. The exploring visitor who climbs up the
slopes of the Michaelsberg hill through the lush green woods a little
way above the casino and the Trinkhalle will stumble on an imposing
red sandstone edifice in the shape of a Byzantine-style church, topped
by a cupola with a golden cross and fronted by a neoclassical portico
with Ionic capitals.
This building was constructed on the orders of Prince Mihail Sturdza,
who ruled the principality of Moldavia from 1834 to 1849. In the wake
of the liberal revolution of 1848 - an event which, for Moldavia and
Wallachia, formed part of a long process that culminated in the union
of the two territories as Romania and, finally, full independence from
the Ottoman Empire in 1878 - Sturdza was forced into exile. Resources
were not lacking, and Sturdza - described by the historian Vlad
Georgescu as 'a man of European culture' ('Istoria romanilor',
Bucharest: Humanitas, 1992, p. 153) - established himself in the West
and became the owner of four residences - two in Italy, one in Paris
(73, rue Varenne, near the Matignon; the building survives to this
day), and one in Baden-Baden.
In 1863, Sturdza's son - also called Mihail - died at the age of 17,
in Paris. The bereaved father decided to endow a chapel in
Baden-Baden, to be dedicated in perpetuity to his son's memory: it
would contain a vault in which no-one was to be buried but the
immediate members of the Sturdza family themselves (the two Mihails,
father and son, the Princess Smaragda and the couple's daughter
Maria). This provision has been scrupulously observed ever since:
today, all four members of the family, and they alone, repose in the
crypt. The building, designed by the German architects Leo von Klenze
and Georg Dolmann, was completed in 1866.
The interior of the chapel is superb. The walls are of crimson-hued
marble. The altar is flanked by a gold altarpiece with representations
of the Four Evangelists; before it are laid out the Romanian Orthodox
Bible and numerous icons of great value. On entering, the visitor is
greeted to right and left by two groups of statuary of the finest
Carrara marble, representing, respectively, young Mihail accompanied
by his titular protector, the Archangel Michael, and his grieving
parents together with the Virgin Mary; the first group is by the
Italian Rinaldo Rinaldi, the second by the French sculptor Thomas
Gabriel. Adorning the walls are dignified portraits of all four
Sturdzas, by another French artist, Alexis Pérignon, as well as
frescoes by the painter Wilhelm Hauschild of Munich. The carpets on
the marble floor, and the priestly vestments on display, were
specially made in Romanian monasteries and convents, and are fine
examples of the creative tradition associated with those communities.
The overwhelming impression is one of a self-respect and dignity that
does not deny its opulence but remains at all points within the bounds
of good taste.
Today, the Sturdza chapel is the property of the municipality of
Baden-Baden. It is looked after by the Parish Council (Pfarramt) of
the Romanian Orthodox Community (Stourdzastrasse No 2, right next to
the chapel), whose representative will show visitors the building (by
appointment or on ringing the bell). This fine building is most
certainly one of the less-publicised gems of a town that abounds in
interest: the discerning traveller could do worse than investigate
this monument to a nineteenth-century princely family, the joint work
of German, French and Italian artists under Romanian supervision,
which stands in Baden-Baden's beautiful park as a visible testimony
to the actual and potential contribution of Romania to the wider
European culture.
Further reading (in Romanian): Preot Radu Mironovici, 'O ctitorie
romaneasca in Germania', _Magazin Istoric_, March 1995
Christopher Rollason, September 1998
_ _
Christopher Rollason
Metz, France
roll...@francenet.fr
'But I can't think for you,
You'll have to decide'
Bob Dylan, 1964
Hanns KREHBIEL
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> A Romanian monument in Baden-Baden: the Sturdza chapel
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A painting of it by Max Beckmann can be seen at the Hamburg Kunsthalle
within a special exhibit of Beckmann's landscapes.
krehbiel