Alfeld Latin School
The Latin School is a historic half-timbered house in Alfeld , Lower Saxony . With its rich picture and architectural decorations, it is an outstanding example of the Weser Renaissance . The house was built in 1610 and has been restored several times. Today it is home to the Alfeld City Museum .
history
As an institution, the Alfeld Latin School dates back to the Middle Ages and documents the early importance of the archdeaconate church of St. Nicolai . When the old school building had become dilapidated around 1600, Superintendent Bartholomäus Sengebär called for a collection of monetary and material donations for a new building. The representative building was completed after just ten years. The inscription and the image program were likely to have been significantly influenced by the superintendent. As a Latin school , the institute primarily served the training of future clergy, lawyers and doctors. In the 19th century it housed a teachers' college . It has been a museum since 1928.
architecture
The two-story building with a gable roof stands on a sandstone substructure . The compartment is made of red bricks and is not plastered. The upper floor protrudes slightly. The windows are arranged in pairs. The truss planks run exclusively vertically and horizontally. All wooden surfaces and struts are decorated with writing and carving and colored. Andreas Steiger from Hildesheim is named as a master builder and carver .
Image program
The architectural jewelry unfolds the worldview and the educational canon of the time of construction. Over 100 allegorical , mythical and historical figures are depicted in rectangular relief images, which are supposed to represent all dimensions of the human : senses and arts, morals and virtues, science and faith.
In addition to angels and caryatids, the pictorial program includes :
| West side | East Side | South side | North side |
|---|---|---|---|
| ovid | Adam and Eve | John | Joshua |
| Solomon | Seth | Matthew | Ehud |
| Tibullus | Enoch | Markus | Shamgar |
| David | Jacob's dream | Luke | Gideon |
| Marcellinus | Jacob's dream | Christ | Jephta |
| Judith | Noah | John the Baptist | Samson |
| Euterpe | Eleazar | Timothy | Eli |
| Polyhymnia | Pinhas | Peter | Micha |
| Urania | Abyatar | Stephen | Levi |
| Clio | Abraham | Paul | Uriah |
| Calliope | Isaac | Aaron | Martin Luther |
| Erato | Sem | Cunt | Philipp Melanchthon |
| Thalia | Joseph | Zacharias | Galen |
| Melpomene | Moses' salvation | Apollos | Hippocrates |
| Terpsichore | Moses with the Commandment Boards | Simeon | Tribonianus |
| geometry | Aaron | Tertullus | Bartolus |
| astronomy | Isaiah | Saul | Sense of sight |
| grammar | Jeremiah | David | reason |
| rhetoric | Ezekiel | Solomon | Sense of taste |
| arithmetic | Daniel | Josafat | Sense of smell |
| music | Micha | Hezekiah | sense of touch |
| dialectic | Nahum | Joschiah | Hearing |
| moderation | Hosea | ||
| wisdom | Joel | ||
| justice | Amos | ||
| bravery | Obadja | ||
| patience | Jonah | ||
| Faith | Zechariah | ||
| hope | Habakkuk | ||
| love | Zefaniah | ||
| Haggai | |||
| Malachi |
inscription
A Latin inscription runs around the four sides of the building at middle wall height . The text uses the image of the ladder to heaven and at the same time plays with the affinity of schola ("school", pronounced skola ) and scala ("ladder, stairs"). Starting on the portal side, the inscription reads:
| text | translation |
| GEN 28 CAP | Genesis chapter 28 |
| VIDIT ISAACIDES PORRECTAM AD SIDERA SCALAM, | The son of Isaac saw a ladder raised up to the stars, |
| PERQUE HANC ANGELICOS IRE REDIRE CHOROS. | and go back and forth to her angelic choirs. |
| ECCE TYPUM! | See, a role model! |
| QUID ENIM SCHOLA? | Because what is the school? |
| QUID NISI MYSTICA SCALA, | What else but a mystical ladder |
| CUIUS APEX SALVA ET RELIGIO ET REGIO EST? | whose tip is a healthy religion as well as a healthy country? |
| ORDO MAGISTRORUM HIC DESCENDIT, CAPTUI ADAPTANS DOGMATA, | The teaching position descends here, adapting the teaching to the capacity, |
| UT ASCENDAT CARA IUVENTA GRADUS. | so that good youth may climb the stairs. |
| CUR, AIS? | Why do you think? |
| EUSEBIA UT VIGEAT, | That the fear of God blossom |
| THEMIS UTQUE TRIUMPHET, | and that justice triumphs |
| SCEPTRA FORIS TENEAT PAX, HYGIEIA DOMI. | that peace outside and health at home keep the scepter. |
| HINC SUADENTE MINISTERIO PLAUDENTE SENATU | It was therefore on the advice of the Ministry and with the applause of the Senate |
| URBIS SUMPTIBUS HAEC CONDITA SCALA FUIT. | this ladder was founded from the city's income. |
| SUM DEUS, DILECTE PARENS, | Most High God, beloved Father, |
| FAC DIVITES FRUCTU SCALAM, URBEM, | make the ladder and the city rich in fruit, |
| ET POPULUM HUNC SOSPITET ALMA SALUS 1610 | and let this people keep this people good salvation. 1610 |
Web links
- Detailed picture documentation (Raymond Faure)
- Information about the building and the museum (alt-alfeld.de)
- Interpretation of the image program (Martin Teske; PDF; 15 kB)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Teske (PDF; 15 kB)
- ↑ alt-alfeld.de ; there is also an overview of the restorations
- ↑ ibid.
- ↑ after
- ↑ after
- ↑ after
- ↑ after
- ↑ two representations
- ^ Ri 17 EU
- ↑ Acts 24.1 EU
- ↑ Emended : Some letters are ambiguous
- ↑ Gen 28, 10-12 EU
- ↑ Conjecture from EUSERIE (?)
Coordinates: 51 ° 59 ′ 9.8 " N , 9 ° 49 ′ 34.4" E