Corpus Vitrearum Switzerland: The Stained Glass in Canton of Thurgau

The canton of Thurgau is home to a large number of important stained-glass windows, ranging in date from the Middle Ages to the present day. In a project of the Corpus Vitrearum Switzerland and the Vitrocentre Romont, this heritage was recorded, studied and published between 2016 and 2021. In accordance with the current guidelines of the Corpus Vitrearum International, stained-glass windows up to the present day were included for the first time.

Preliminary work, especially on the stained glass from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, was completed in 2016. From 2017 to 2021, the documentation and art-historical research of the stained-glass windows – important historical witnesses that adorn both sacred and secular buildings and also form an important part of the collection of the Thurgau Historical Museum – took place. The project was realized in collaboration with the Historical Museum Thurgau and the Department for the Preservation of Monuments of the Canton of Thurgau.

Research Outputs

The results of the research have been published in the database vitrosearch and in two book publications, both presented on 9 June 2022 at Frauenfeld Town Hall:

Keller, S., & Kaufmann, K. (2022). Die Glasmalereien vom Mittelalter bis 1930 im Kanton Thurgau (Corpus Vitrearum Schweiz, Reihe Neuzeit, Bd. 8). Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter. Book order / Download pdf

Amt für Denkmalpflege des Kantons Thurgau (Hrsg.). (2022). Licht- und Farbenzauber – Glasmalerei im Thurgau (Denkmalpflege im Thurgau, Bd. 23). Basel: Schwabe. Book order

On the occasion of the project’s conclusion, an international conference «Glaskunst im Museum. Kontextualisierung, Inszenierung und Storytelling» was held in Frauenfeld on 5 November 2022. The event was organized in cooperation with the Historical Museum Thurgau. Programme

Furthermore, Thurgau Tourism and the Museums of Thurgau have designed the map «Gläserne Welten» and the digital tour «Heilige Frauen der Glasmalerei» both of which invite visitors to discover stained glass in Thurgau.

Project duration: 2016–2021