Kolonat

Kolonat stands in Würzburg as a statue of an Irish priest linked to the city’s early Christian history. He arrived around 686 with Kilian, a bishop, and Totnan, a deacon. Together, the three missionaries preached Christianity along the Main River, where Germanic traditions, Roman gods, and Christian beliefs still mixed.

The missionaries converted Duke Gozbert before a dispute over his marriage brought danger. Gailana arranged their deaths while they prayed, around 689. Their remains later received a formal burial from Burkard, Würzburg’s first bishop, about sixty years after their martyrdom. Relics rest in Neumünster’s crypt, while a rock crystal shrine in the cathedral displays their heads.

During the Kiliani pilgrimage week, a procession carries the three heads through Würzburg. Their statues also appear above the Scherenberg Gate at Marienberg Fortress and in St Burkard’s choir stalls. The story combines historical details with legends preserved in eighth- and ninth-century passion narratives.