St. Michael's Church, Mücheln

The large, quarry-stone church of St. Michael is located in the St. Micheln district of Mücheln, above the village on a shell-limestone plateau. The origins of this church go back to 1128, when Bishop Otto von Bamberg made a sojourn in the area around Mücheln on a missionary trip to the north and determined that a church dedicated to St. Michael should be built there. St. Michael's Abbey in Bamberg, which was Otto's favourite endowment and which still houses his grave today, is located on a hill above the town, and thus so too is the village church in St. Micheln, which was probably completed in around 1180.

The first thing one is struck by inside the church is a huge, Romanesque triumphal arch. The church interior decor is otherwise rather simple, and almost everything that you see today used to belong to churches in the surrounding Mücheln area, which fell victim to coal mining in the 1960s and 1970s. When, in 1968, all Zorbau’s residents had to leave their village, and the church of St. Peter was prepared for demolition, some St. Micheln residents, together with the head of the demolition team, took the initiative to bring the church stalls, a pelican font stand, a medieval door, a painting of the Last Supper and a Renaissance pulpit to St. Micheln. Today, all of these items can be seen in the church, where they are used and decorate the church interior.

72 steps lead up to the bell tower, which offers visitors beautiful views over the Querfurt Plateau, the Geisel Valley and the city of Mücheln.

Opening hours: Visits are possible with prior registration. Admission is free.