According to Die Welt, the dean of the Evangelical parish in the city of Ulm, Ernst-Wilhelm Gohl, ordered the removal of the wooden figurines of the three wise men from the local cathedral, one of which, according to a long-standing tradition, is depicted as dark-skinned. According to the dean, the "hypertrophied features" (full lips, "awkward physique"), which the carver of the 1920s endowed the magician Melchior with, "from a modern point of view look unambiguously racist." Now the nativity scene in Ulm's Gothic cathedral, which is recognized as the tallest church in the world, is in danger of being left without the main characters.
"The triumph of delirium", "a ridiculous admiration for the so-called public opinion" - write indignant residents of Ulm to the editorial office of Passauer Neue Presse. “We were speechless when we heard about this,” the bishopric of Passau said.
Black magician removed from den in Ulm Cathedral
"It is clear that the representation of the sorcerer as a man with a dark complexion has nothing to do with the ideology of racism," said Clemens Nek, spokesman for the bishopric of Regensburg. "This is how centuries-old traditions are being destroyed because of absurd attempts to modernize them." It is possible that by Christmas the dean will come to his senses and the figures will return to their place - but with "explanatory plates and accents."
Dossier "RG"
In the Gospel there is neither a description of the Magi, nor their names, which they then received in the Western European tradition. In the Cathedral of Ulm, they claim that the figurine of a dark-skinned magician in their nativity scene refers to Melchior, although in medieval sources he is usually called a Persian. But the Moor, starting from the XII century, most often depicted Baltasar - "King of Ethiopia". This image was especially fond of the artists of Northern Europe of the 15th century. However, sometimes Kaspar was painted in black, who brought healing myrrh as a gift to the Infant. Rumor called him a healer and patron of pharmacists. It is believed that this is the origin of the popular German brand "Mauritanian Pharmacies", which today also fell into disgrace.
