Station: [10] The Face in the Side Aisle and the Painting of St. Sebastian

In the rear of the church, it’s worth looking up at the western side aisle. There, beneath the base of the vault, a small painted head looks down at you. It dates back to the time the church was built. It is believed to be a self-portrait of the master builder.

His name has long been forgotten. Yet his face has been gazing down for more than 500 years at the people who marvel at his work. One can hardly imagine a more beautiful signature.

A small diamond-shaped coat of arms of the Lords of Daun also dates from the same period. It has been preserved at the base of a vault rib in the nave. Thus, the mark of the family that commissioned the church remains present in stone to this day.

On the south side of the church hangs a painting that is particularly important to the history of this town: the painting of St. Sebastian. It is two and a half meters high and painted with resin-based oil paints on spruce wood. It was likely created around 1570, during the Renaissance. The painting is composed of several panels.

In the upper section, you can see the Resurrection of Christ and his Transfiguration on the mountain. Below that is the actual family portrait. On the left stands Count Sebastian von Daun-Oberstein in magnificent armor, together with his three sons. On the right, you can see Countess Elisabeth with her two daughters. All of them have their hands clasped in prayer.

Pay special attention to the eldest son, Philipp Franz. You can recognize him by his triple gold necklace. You may have already come across his name on the tombstones. He is buried in front of the altar of this church.

During his lifetime, Philipp Franz did something that shaped the city’s future. In 1609, he issued the first guild regulations for agate cutters. And as early as 1603, he provided a building site for a grinding mill free of charge. It probably wasn’t entirely selfless. But it worked.

So it’s fair to say that part of Idar-Oberstein’s later rise to prominence as a gemstone town was set in motion by a man whose family portrait still hangs here in the Felsenkirche today.