Radically simple and unique

The design for the newly built bishops’ burial site at Sülchenkirche in Rottenburg am Neckar won third prize in the Geplant+Ausgeführt 2020 competition. The burial chapel is characterized by its minimalist, modern, and mystical design. At its center stands a large, unadorned block of Gauinger travertine, which serves as an altar.

The late-Gothic Sülchen cemetery church in Rottenburg am Neckar was built between 1447 and 1454 and has served as the burial site for the bishops of Rottenburg since 1869. During a renovation project from 2011 to 2017, experts discovered, beneath the foundations of the late-medieval church, the remains of a pre-Romanesque predecessor church from the 9th century featuring a triple-apse choir. It is believed that beneath this earlier church lie further remains of an even older predecessor church dating from the 6th or 7th century.

The burial tradition at this site can be traced back even further—all the way to the origins of Christianity in southern Germany. This means that for around 1,500 years, this site has served as a Christian burial ground and place of worship. Upon completion of the excavations and restoration, this served as the occasion to showcase the exposed architectural foundations and archaeological finds, as well as to integrate a new bishop’s burial site.

The design for this was created by Cukrowicz Nachbaur Architekten ZT GmbH in Bregenz, Austria. A staircase in the floor of the church leads to the first landing, where the exposed foundations can be viewed. Here, visitors can also view display cases containing small individual objects, including grave goods. One flight of stairs further down is the bishop’s burial chamber, which is accessed through a tall portal. This is the central point of the complex and the new foundation for the existing nave. The burial chamber is designed as a prayer room with a ceiling height of 3.94 meters, with the bishops’ tombs on two superimposed levels forming the side walls of the space.

Upon entering the new burial chamber, the altar immediately catches the eye. A four-metric-ton block of local Gauingen travertine—a limestone from the quarry in Gauingen, a district of the municipality of Zwiefalten in the Swabian Alb—is illuminated by a spotlights on the ceiling. This single ceiling light makes the surface of the massive stone block glow almost white. All the light seems to emanate from it. The only other element is a slender, freestanding cross made of patinated brass, set into the floor.

The 28 burial chambers are arranged in two superimposed rows along the long walls and enclosed by simple square slates measuring 86 x 86 x 6 centimeters. Engraved on the polished slabs are the names, titles, and dates of birth, episcopal consecration, and death of the bishops of the Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart. The slate used is Holzmaden Posidonia slate from a slate quarry near Holzmaden, a small municipality in the foothills of the Swabian Alb in the Esslingen district of Baden-Württemberg. As a dark, slightly textured STEIN, the slate remains discreetly in the background.

Lenz Steinmetz GmbH from Alberschwende, Austria, processed the slabs, machine-engraved the inscriptions into the gravestones, and then gilded them. On the back of the slabs, with their longevity in mind, there are instructions for handling, securing, and sealing the grave slabs. Another distinctive feature is the construction of the interior walls: The walls, ceiling, and floor are constructed using rammed earth, including the same soil—up to 1,500 years old—that was excavated from the Sülchenkirche. The recovered material was thus returned to its original site and once again forms the surroundings of the burial sites.

This construction method resulted in a monolithic structure whose layered formation process corresponds to the structural composition of sedimentary rocks. Using simple means and radical reduction, the architects created a space with a unique atmosphere. Michael Mayer, the architect in charge from Cukrowicz Nachbaur Architekten ZT GmbH, summarizes the simple design of the altar as follows: “Set within the surroundings of compacted cemetery soil, the altar’s geometric form serves as the symbolic center of the chapel. Its geometric tranquility and clarity mark the culmination of the descent into the burial ground. The altar stands as a symbol of Jesus Christ. The STEIN’s brightness allows it to act as a reflector, bathing the surrounding graves in soft light. We chose Gauinger travertine because, as a local Stein, it is, so to speak, connected to this historic site. Moreover, with its calm texture, it blends seamlessly into the timeless surroundings as a central element.”

A Challenge Weighing Several Tons

The stonemason and sculptor Harald Straub from Rottenburg am Neckar was responsible for transporting the Gauinger travertine block to the burial site. Straub has been engaged in restoration stonemasonry work at the church for many years and is known to those in charge as a reliable and skilled craftsman. A rectangular opening with base dimensions of 231 x 122 centimeters is integrated into the clay ceiling of the burial chamber; it can be lifted using a special crane. This opening is actually intended for lowering deceased bishops into the crypt from above. Harald Straub also used it to lower the travertine block into the burial chamber.

The stonemason recalls: “This task was very challenging, because the natural stone—weighing four metric tons and measuring 122 x 120 x 106 centimeters—is very heavy and quite bulky. I had carefully surveyed the area where the altar was to be placed beforehand. In addition, the crypt’s ceiling was supported by numerous swiveling metal struts, as it had to bear the weight of the four-metric-ton altar and a four-metric-ton crane. Ultimately, I was assisted by a professional company that owned this heavy-duty crane. The altar was suspended from the crane and slowly lowered—with about one centimeter of clearance on either side—onto four heavy-duty hydraulic rollers, which were then used to slide the altar into the correct position.”

The travertine block had been prepared in advance at the quarry: the top surface was finely polished, and the four sides were finely sandblasted. In addition to inspecting the stone and overseeing its transport, Harald Straub’s task was to carve five crosses into the surface. The five crosses symbolize the stigmata of Jesus Christ on the cross. They were carved into the top of the STEIN: four at the midpoints of the side edges and one in the center. “That’s all there is to it—it’s a very simple block,” Straub summarizes, “but it’s still a special piece of work.”

Award-Winning Design

Cukrowicz Nachbaur Architekten ZT GmbH also received recognition awards for the Sülchenkirche Bishop’s Burial Chapel in 2019 and 2020, both at the German Architecture Prize (DAP) ceremony and as part of the Baden-Württemberg State Prize for Building Culture. According to Vicar General Stroppel, by reducing itself entirely to space, earth, and light, the bishops’ burial chapel conveys a powerful impression of the Christian celebration of burial in the faith of the Resurrection.

The jury of the 2020 Baden-Württemberg State Prize for Building Culture summarized its assessment as follows: “Radical abstraction has led here to a space in which the mystery of transience and resurrection becomes palpable, without resorting to intrusive symbolism.” For Harald Straub, the award came as a complete surprise: “I was truly delighted to win third prize in the GEPLANT+AUSGEFÜHRT 2020 competition, and the certificate now hangs in my workshop,” the stonemason explains proudly, adding: “Moreover, working in this church has always been and continues to be something special for me, because my great-grandfather also worked here at the Sülchenkirche as a stonemason.”