Scots Monastery — Attraction in Regensburg

The Schottenkirche St. Jakob (Scots Church of St. James) in Regensburg is a 12th-century Romanesque church famed for its fascinating north portal. Founded by Celtic missionaries from Ireland, the church shows northern influences in its art and architecture.

The exterior of the Schottenkirche is difficult to see as a whole, due to tall trees on the north side and private buildings on the west and south sides. It is a basilica-style church with three aisles, twin east towers, and a two-story westwork.

The east end and its towers date from 1100-20; the rest of the church and the cloisters from c.1150-85. The square east towers are plain and topped with pointed roofs. The west end is also plain, decorated only with Lombard bands around the top and Greek crosses incised in the gables.

The most interesting aspect of the Schottenkirche is certainly the "Schottenportal," the large and elaborately carved north portal dating from about 1180. It has been badly blackened by pollution but is protected from further damage by a large glass enclosure installed in 1999.

The tympanum above the north portal has busts of Christ, St. James and St. John. The six archivolts are undecorated but terminate in sculptures of seated bears (left) and lions (right) that face the viewer. The six jambs on each side alternate between: 1) columns carved with foliage and geometrical designs and topped with capitals of foliage with faces; and 2) grooved jambs left mostly plain except for awkwardly kneeling human figures carved at the top and bottom.

In a wonderfully mind-bending image worthy of M.C. Escher, the figure on the inner bottom right jamb grasps the two solid grooves and pulls them around his neck like a scarf. The figure at top center right plays a stringed instrument, the one at bottom right holds a T-shaped staff associated with hermits, and the inner figure at top left holds a vessel draped with...

An old Romanesque monastery with a wonderfully impressive gate.

This Romanesque beauty is to the west of the old town of Regensburg and has a magnificently grotesque gateway. The interior of the church still preserves much of the old Romanesque feel and it is quite different to the high Gothic of the cathedral or the Baroque splendour of other churches in the town. It is often quite quiet and well worth visiting if you enjoy...

Diese hochromanische Kirche mit ihrem mysteriös-urtümlichen Nordportal ist das Ergebnis mehrerer Missionarswellen von 'iroschottischen' (im Volksmund des Mittelalters 'Skoten' genannt) Mönchen, die sie vor der sog. 'Arnulfinischen' (nach 920), aber noch innerhalb der zweiten Stadtmauer (nach 1300) auf dem Areal eines Vorgängerbaus errichteten. Dieser Neubau war unter dem Benediktinerabt Gregor (1156-85) geplant und letztlich gegen 1180 abgeschlossen worden. Zu diesem Zeitpunkt fungierte die Kirche mit dem benachbarten Schottenkloster als Basis für die weitere Missionierung des Römischen Reichs deutscher Nation durch die Ordensbrüder. Die fesselnde Klerikalarchitektur kann zur Sommerzeit übrigens mithilfe geführter Touren (8€; Infos auf der Webpage) genauer unter die Lupe genommen werden. Bereits wegen des recht düsteren, rundbogigen Eingangsportals samt seinen ominösen Menschenfratzen oder grotesken Tieren ist das total...