Saint Barbara, multipurpose patron saint

Recently I received a beautiful statue of Saint Barbara for my birthday. I already posted the attached photo on social media when I hung the statue near my workstation in my stone room. With a sturdy dowel and hook by the way, because the 50 cm long cast iron statue weighs about 9 kilograms. The statue was cast in Germany, at the Babcock Giesserei in Oberhausen (closed in 2012), presumably to a design by sculptor Joseph Enseling. Herewith some more background on Barbara, because who was she really?

Saint Barbara is best known as the patron saint of miners and geologists, but there is quite a bit more history and culture in her story.

Solitary confinement

Barbara († December 4, 306?) is a Christian saint and martyr. She lived in the 3rd century AD in Nicomedia, the capital of the Roman province of Bithnia (Asia Minor). She was the only child of Dioscuros, a high-ranking and wealthy man. Her father adored her, had her taught in the best schools of arts and sciences and wanted to strengthen her faith in the Roman-Greek gods.

To protect her from foreign influences (among others, many young men vying for her hand), her father locked her in a luxurious lodging in a tower. But precisely because of her solitude, Barbara began to think seriously, becoming increasingly convinced that the ancient gods were only a hollow imitation. Unbeknownst to her father, she became acquainted with the teachings of Christ and was baptized. At that time, followers of Christianity were severely punished.

You’d expect better from your own father

Dioscuros planned to marry Barbara off to a very wealthy man in order to increase the family fortune. After returning from a long trip, Barbara explained to her father that she was a Christian and did not want to marry. She had already removed the various images of pagan gods from her living room and replaced them with crucifixes. Dioscuros was overcome with anger. He turned his daughter over to the Roman proconsul Martianus, a high court judge, for assessment of punishment. Martianus first tried to turn her away from her faith with friendly persuasion, but when that failed, he had her whipped and thrown into prison. Because of the strength of her faith, her wounds healed immediately.

The next day, Barbara was ordered by Martianus to offer sacrifices to the pagan gods. When she refused, she was horribly mutilated and sentenced to death by the sword. Barbara went to her place of execution in joyful ecstasy: with her enthusiasm for her true faith. Her last wish was that through her experience God would help all who faced and were unprepared for sudden premature death. The barbarian father was so enraged that he himself cut off his daughter’s head! Immediately after Barbara’s death, a terrible thunderstorm struck. As punishment for his monstrous crime, Dioscuros was killed by lightning.

Protectress against lightning and fire

Barbara is counted among the fourteen helpers in distress. Based on her life story, Saint Barbara is considered a protector against fire and lightning and sudden death. Barbara was adopted as the patron saint of miners, probably because the mining profession at that time faced many dangers to life. Miners were also a large part of those for whom she prayed in the hours of her own death. Miners later developed the use of gunpowder to explode rocks, which resembled thunderclaps and lightning bolts. This led to their need for special protection against accidents through the use of explosives.

But Barbara is also the patron saint of several other dangerous professions. Of artillerymen, infantrymen, telegraphers, genists, engineers, firefighters, architects, farmers, roofers, masons, construction workers, bell founders, metal casters, blacksmiths, stonemasons, carillonneurs, cooks, hatters, butchers, prisoners, girls, dying, towers, fortresses, tunneling, geologists and explosives disposal. A rather multifunctional patron saint, then!

Barbara worship

There are many churches, mines and works of art named after or created in memory of St. Barbara. For example, the Barbara Cathedral in Kuttenberg (Bohemia) built between 1388 and 1518 in the old silver town. The cathedral was built around a pre-existing Barbara altar in an area where there were many Barbara altars. For centuries, Kuttenberg has had St. Barbara on its coat of arms. Barbara above the crossed hammer and mallet, the classic symbol of mining. Mine names often indicated wishes and hopes; both in Freiberg and Marienberg there was a mine named “St. Barbara Bonanza.” There is also the “St. Barbara Good Hope Vein” in the Harz Mountains on the German-Austrian border. In the Netherlands, there is the Basilica of St. Agatha and St. Barbara, a Roman Catholic church in Oudenbosch. The church was built between 1867 and 1880 and was elevated to basilica in 1912. At major tunnel bores in the Netherlands such as the Noord/Zuidlijn in Amsterdam and the Victory Boogie Woogie Tunnel in The Hague-Rijswijk, a statue of Barbara was placed by the tunnel builders.

About 200 images of Barbara exist today, ranging from Gothic to Renaissance to Baroque. Saint Barbara is usually represented as a young woman with crown and martyr’s palm. In addition, her attributes include a sword (with which she was killed), a ciborium, a peacock feather, a tower with three windows (allusion to the Holy Trinity) and a cannon. There are woodcuts, copper engravings, stained glass, brush drawings, sculptures and paintings. One of the most famous depictions of St. Barbara is on wood and was painted by Hans Holbein The Elder.

In southern Limburg in the Netherlands, the feast of St. Barbara, as patron saint of miners, was one of the most important holidays of the year and for a long time a day off. Unfortunately, with the mine closure in Dutch Limburg, this came to an end. She is, however, commemorated every year on her dying day, December 4.

All over the world and especially in historic mining areas, the legend of Saint Barbara lives on, and so recently she has been watching over me and my workplace.