The neo-Gothic buttresses

Long after the completion of the late Gothic choir (1536), the buttresses, which are up to 12 metres high, were erected between 1754 and 1929. They were created in the course of the Romantic enthusiasm for the Middle Ages together with other neo-Gothic components on the choir, the chapel pillar superstructures (1779-1784) and the tracery parapets (1750-1780). Their architectural and ornamental forms are based on the Gothic architectural style of the cathedral, but show in details a free creative use of it.

Originally, flat stone slabs covered the choir pillars, as can still be seen on three buttresses on the north side. 

Little is known about the creation of the neo-Gothic components, as there are only a few documents and plans from the period.

The ten choir buttresses, which were realised over a period of almost 200 years, are all designed differently. They differ in size, shape and decorative details. Some of their designs have been handed down. They were created by stonemasons and architects from the Freiburg Münsterbauhütte (Alexander Riescher, Hieronimus Hügle, Josef Wanner, Bernhard Müller) and by the Freiburg artists Christian Wentzinger (1710-1797) and Franz Sales Glaenz (1810-1855).

What is striking is the ruinous condition of the centrepieces. The damage was not caused by the bombing of Freiburg during the Second World War, as is often assumed. The cause is the non-weather-resistant slab sandstone. For this reason, the Münsterbauhütte had to remove many loose parts as early as the 1930s and in 1963/64 during extensive stabilisation work. As the buttresses were rejected soon after their completion as "clumsy and stylistically unsuitable superstructures", they were not restored in the past. 

The Münsterbauhütte now faces the particular challenge of gradually restoring this unique architecture. The first step has been taken with the 13/14 South extension from 1853 on the south-east corner, which was completed in 2024.