Gsteig Church

The Gsteig church in Gsteigwiler dates from the 12th century. It has been a listed building since 1965.

local community

Church with a wooden bridge

There is no village with the name Gsteig , which often leads to confusion. The Gsteig Church is the church of the Gsteig parish. This consists of the communities Wilderswil , Gsteigwiler , Gündlischwand , Lütschental and Saxeten and, together with the parish Interlaken-Matten and the parish Bönigen-Iseltwald, belongs to the parish of Gsteig-Interlaken, one of the largest Reformed parishes in the canton of Bern .

Historically, the parish of Gsteig was larger and it also included Bönigen (branch church 1957), Interlaken (with a former monastery or castle church as a branch church), Iseltwald (branch church 1939) and Matten bei Interlaken (parish hall 1979). The Lauterbrunnen community split off from Gsteig on the occasion of the Reformation in 1528.

The church with the rectory and the tavern is on the ground of the political community of Gsteigwiler next to the only medieval bridge (1738) over the Lütschine , which at this point forms the political border with Wilderswil. Originally the group of houses stood alone in a wide hallway. The village of Wilderswil has meanwhile expanded to the site of the church.

History and furnishings of the church

The church was built in the 12th century on the site of a previous church and was dedicated to St. Consecrated to Michael . As an object of regional importance (B object), it has been under federal monument protection since 1965. The last renovation in 1974/75 included the uncovering and restoration of the wall paintings.

The wall paintings include images from four centuries, beginning with the 14th century. It is unusual that one of the masters is known by name. It is Master Diebold, who around 1470 received letters of recommendation three times from the Bern Council . He also carried out wall paintings in the Barefoot Monastery in Bern, which no longer exists today. Nothing has survived from an order for the Meiringen church either, so that the paintings in Gsteig represent the last testimony to this master. Diebold died in 1473. The fragments in the nave and in the choir show the Incarnation of Christ and the Adoration of the Three Kings as well as scenes from the Passion. They were applied using the al-secco technique .

Two windows in the nave contain stained glass that were donated by officials primarily for the renovation in 1673/74.