Saint Martin's Church, Romanesque church in Zillis-Reischen, Switzerland

Saint Martin's Church is a Romanesque aisleless church in the village centre of Zillis, built between 1096 and 1114. Its nave has a saddle roof, a Gothic vaulted chancel added in 1509, and a tower with an octagonal spire on the south side. The flat wooden ceiling consists of 153 painted square panels, and the nave walls contain Cipollino marble.

Excavations and coin finds show a Roman-era settlement here, and a first church was built around 500. A second church, mentioned as ecclesia plebeia in 830, was given by Emperor Otto I to Bishop Waldo of Chur in 940. The present nave and southeast tower were built between 1109 and 1114, and the painted wooden ceiling was installed in that period. In 1509 Andreas Bühler added the late Gothic vaulted choir, and between 1530 and 1535 the village joined the Reformation.

The ceiling's 153 panels are arranged in 9 rows of 17, and the current order follows Erwin Poeschel's 1939 art-historical reconstruction rather than the original layout. The 48 border panels show an ocean with sea monsters and, in the four corners, angels as the four winds; the 105 inner panels depict the life of Christ and seven scenes from the life of Saint Martin of Tours.

The ceiling is best seen in daylight, since the nave windows are clear glass and the painted panels sit in shadow. Since 1990 the congregation has met elsewhere in winter, except at Christmas, because the heating installed in 1940 caused moisture and temperature swings that damaged the panels. The church is an active Reformed parish church, so visits may coincide with services.

The 48 border panels form an ocean of wave bands, filled with hybrid sea monsters as symbols of evil; only the four corner panels stand on solid ground, where angels personify the four winds and announce the Last Judgment. Three panels show ships from the story of Jonah.