The Old Tower and the Legend of the Three Living and the Three Dead
In the castle park in Gondelsheim, a municipality between Bruchsal and Bretten, there is an old tower on a hill. This tower is the oldest building in Gondelsheim and the last remnant of the high medieval fortified church. It was built in the 12th or 13th century and destroyed during the Thirty Years’ War. Afterwards, the tower was given a new church in the Romanesque style, which was demolished again in 1857. However, the tower remained intact, defying not only the war but also the demolition of the nave. The octagonal tower with a square floor plan has undergone repeated structural changes. Today, the tower is crowned with battlements that were added in the 19th century. A special highlight, discovered in the 1960s, are the 14th-century frescoes inside the tower. These depict the cycle of the apostles and the legend of the three living and the three dead, which originated in the Orient. The legend tells of three kings who, while hunting on horseback through the forest, come across three coffins with half-decayed corpses. These corpses reveal themselves to be their fathers, who admonish them with the words: “What we were, you are – what we are, you will be.” In doing so, they want to warn their sons of their fate and point out that they should carefully consider their attitudes and their lives in view of the Last Judgment and be aware of their mortality. The tower, which was named Monument of the Month for February 2009 by the Baden-Württemberg Monument Foundation, was restored between 2009 and 2010, but unfortunately cannot be viewed from the inside. Today, along with Douglas Castle, which is only a stone’s throw away, it is a landmark of Gondelsheim that has a truly mystical aura due to its location.
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