Old parish church Feldkirch-Tosters
The former Roman Catholic parish church Feldkirch-Tosters is located at Tostner Burgweg 54 in the Tosters district of the municipality of Feldkirch in the Feldkirch district in Vorarlberg . It is consecrated to Saint Cornelius and, as a branch church of the new Feldkirch-Tosters parish church, belongs to the Feldkirch deanery in the Feldkirch diocese . The building is a listed building .
history
The church of St. Corneli was probably built in the 11th century. The first document in which this church is mentioned is the protective bull of Pope Alexander III. from 1178, which shows that Tosters was in the possession of the Schänis convent in Switzerland at that time . In the beginning the church was looked after by a priest from Moors . But when the Counts of Montfort donated a lordly beneficiary at the parish church in Feldkirch (for the use of hereditary land), this beneficiary also took care of St. Corneli in Tosters before 1730. The first male deficit and pastor of Tosters was Heinrich Ritter von Ems , who owned a house as a chaplain next to the Johanniterhaus in Feldkirch . From 1620 the pastor of Tosters had a house near the Feldkirch parish church - that is, in Herrengasse. It was not until 1828 that the right of patronage passed to Tosters himself and the pastor had lived in Tosters since 1836, so still a good way from St. Corneli. Because this path was quite difficult for both the residents and the pastor of Tosters in winter, a “new” parish church was built in Tosters in 1879, which meanwhile - almost 100 years later - had to give way to a new building.
In St. Corneli there were three brotherhoods: In 1618, Pastor Arbogast Müller founded the alms brotherhood , which was under the protection of Our Lady and Saints Cornelius and Cyprian and was founded - as it says in the brotherhood book - “because of the poor and poor at that time troubled times, and especially because a terrible comet star appeared on May 7, 1618 ”. In addition, the Rosary Brotherhood was introduced in 1666 and the Sacred Heart Brotherhood in 1846 .
Despite the two church patrons Cornelius and Cyprian, St. Corneli has always been a place of pilgrimage to Mary. The above-mentioned Rosary Brotherhood held a procession to St. Corneli on the first Sunday of the month and on the old Feasts of Our Lady and celebrated a mass at the brotherhood altar. The legend also goes back a long way, according to which our Lady is said to have stayed at the millennial Tostner yew. In fact, the Black Madonna of Einsiedeln was brought from Einsiedeln to St. Gerold during times of war. As a result of this legend, the bark of the yew tree was repeatedly cut off for medicinal purposes. For a long time there was a statue of the Madonna from around 1500 in a glazed shrine by the yew tree. She was the victim of a theft in 1950. And finally, the great devotion to Mary found expression here again in the 19th century, when Pastor Weißhaar had a Lourdes grotto built in the presbytery in 1889 , which was supposed to commemorate the grotto in which the little Bernadette had appeared eighteen times in 1858.
But the Saints Cornelius and Cyprian were also the destination of many pilgrimages. For example, the Rankweiler Häusle chronicle of 1746 reports:
- "Eating is well known when there is rainy weather in the area or when there is a great deal of troubles to sigh the whole neighborhood, Ranckhweil should go to St. Cornely with the holy miracle cross in order to obtain fertile weather. The weather has always been better. Anno 1700 true patter Victor Halbeysen from St. Victorsberg ain religious parish vicary on our dear women mountain. At the same time there was a great deal of treasure. Procesion is started with the holy miracle cross on St. Cornelly at Dosters. It wouldn't be Wolckhen biting the sky after the service. Meltter Patter goes before the Althar and embeds the people with the holy Cornely and Ciprinay with the addition: 'Going away from this orthosis you didn’t give us a rain. Six miracles, instantly the gleaming sky is covered with clouds. Those who went with the procession were soaking wet, bit the procession in turn came to our dear women mountain. "
The “millennial yew” near St. Corneli
On the northern wall of the cemetery at St. Corneli there is a yew tree, which is considered to be the oldest tree in Vorarlberg and one of the oldest in Austria. This natural monument has a circumference of more than five meters at the foot, which already indicates its venerable age. Based on a legend that tells that the Mother of God stopped by this yew on the way from Einsiedeln to St. Gerold, the bark of the tree was said to have healing properties for all kinds of diseases. This caused many believers to cut off the bark, which over time seriously damaged the yew tree. Because a lightning strike also caused great damage, one had to reckon with the death of the tree. A renovation of the “thousand-year-old yew” at the beginning of the 90s now ensures that this tree will be preserved for many more years.
Church cartridge
The old parish church of Tosters is commonly called St. Corneli, and yet it actually has two church patrons, namely Cornelius (251-253) and the bishop of Carthage and church writer Cyprian (d. 258). The common patronage of these two saints can only be understood from church history.
Before Cornelius became Pope, the papal throne was vacant for 15 months. During this time a certain Novatian held a leading position in the Roman community. When Bishop Cyprian of Carthage addressed a question to Rome as to how he should face the resumption (reconciliation) of those Christians who had fallen away during the Christian persecution under Emperor Decius, he received a reply from Novatian in which the latter had a thoroughly moderate, mild attitude recommended. Novatian, however, seemed to have high hopes of becoming Pope. When, soon afterwards, Cornelius was elected Pope, who was also generous towards the re-admission of the apostates, Novatian suddenly turned harshly against him and even demanded their excommunication. The Novatian schism thus seemed to have arisen more from personal than dogmatic differences. At the Synod of Carthage Novatian was expelled from the Church and the measures for the reconciliation of the apostates were regulated, with Cyprian always supporting Cornelius, although the latter was not always unchallenged.
The persecution of Christians was still not over in the third century; under Emperor Gallus (251-253) Cornelius was exiled to Centumcellae , where he probably died of natural causes. Bishop Cyprian, however, was banished in the course of the persecution of Christians from Emperor Valerian (253-259) and beheaded on September 14, 258 in Carthage.
Cyprian is considered to be the patron of the plague, Cornelius is called upon against cramps and epilepsy and is one of the four marshals revered as helpers in need (together with Antonius the Hermit, Hubertus and Quirinus).
Cornelius and Cyprian are very unusual as church patrons in Vorarlberg. The veneration of these two saints took off at the beginning of the 9th century when Emperor Charles the Elder was envoys . Size Relics of St. Cyprian brought them from Carthage to France, where some time later they moved to the abbey church of St. Cornelius came to Compiégne. Emperor Charles's embassy also included Duke Hunfried von Churrätien , who resided in what is now Rankweil from 807 and played a key role in the founding of the Schänis monastery in Switzerland. It is possible that the Schänis monastery came into possession of relics of St. Cornelius and Cyprian through Duke Hunfried. Tosters, on the other hand, was owned by the Schänis monastery at the latest from the 11th century and could have received relics from there for the Church of St. Corneli and assumed the patronage of these two saints.
Building history
The first construction of St. Corneli is likely to date back to the 11th century. The sources reveal almost nothing about the first centuries of its existence. In 1990 archaeological investigations were carried out which gave an idea of what the Gothic church might have looked like. This previous building was significantly smaller than the current one, the foundations of a high and a side altar as well as a triumphal arch could be exposed. The reveals of the Gothic pointed arch windows were reconstructed and are still visible today on the outer wall of the choir. Further excavations allowed conclusions to be drawn about the even smaller Romanesque predecessor building, which probably had a straight choir closure, a wall altar and also a tower.
The church underwent its major redesign and enlargement in the 17th century. At that time, the nave was demolished and rebuilt, the sacristy was expanded, the tower was raised and the gallery was installed. Thorough restorations took place in 1789 and 1989.
architecture
The outer
The old parish church of St. Corneli is a simple rectangular building. The choir has drawn in a little and has a 3/8 end. The nave, choir and the tower built on to the south have gable roofs. On the east side of the tower is the sacristy, a single-storey building under a pent roof. The wood-framed window is still glazed with slug panes and protected by a grille. Above, in the half gable, the half-timbering was left visible. The year 1676 on the eastern outer wall of the sacristy proves that this was a later extension. Right next to it, on the outer wall of the choir, another detail of the architectural history of this church can be read: the original smaller, Gothic windows can still be seen in the quarry stone masonry of the choir.
On the west side of the tower there is also a pent roof, under which there is a low, arched side portal and next to it a small brick ossuary. The location of the ossuary on the south side of the church is not chosen by chance, but rather the usual one for both charnel houses and ossuary. The idea behind this is that the ossuary is the meeting place of the poor souls who are supposed to be very close to salvation; they need light and warmth, and for them Christ is the sun, the light of life. An ossuary was mostly necessary because of the small size of the medieval cemeteries; exhumation has created space for the newly deceased. Usually only the skulls were kept in an ossuary. T. were labeled with the name of the deceased.
The tour around the church leads through the small walled cemetery and past the corners of the building, which are decorated with painted stones, to the main entrance, which is located on the plain western gable side. This portal is also protected by a pent roof. The wooden doors, with a Tuscan shed pilaster as a blow bar, are surrounded by a chamfered stone frame. To the left of the door, a small, wide rectangular window with plug-in grilles provides a view of the interior.
The inner
The interior presents itself as a hall with a flat ceiling over a surrounding cornice and a hollow. A round triumphal arch leads over to the single-bay choir with groin vault. The nave and choir have arched windows with glazing from 1890. The west gallery was built in 1685; the mighty wooden pillar that supports it still bears this date. The twelve apostles with their attributes are depicted on the parapet of the gallery. These images are from the 18th century.The attributes refer either to the martyr's death of the respective apostle, such as the St. Andrew's cross , the so-called crux decussata , to which it was tied, and in Jacobs Minor the fulling rod, which is used by the cloth millers Plate on a long staff with which he was killed; or they recall a certain event in salvation history, such as the heart of Thomas, which reminds us that the "unbelieving Thomas" only wanted to believe in the resurrection of Christ when he could put his fingers in Jesus' wound on the side; or they bring to mind an important event in the life of the apostle, as in the case of John, who was supposed to drink a cup full of poison as a punishment for not wanting to sacrifice to the Greek goddess Artemis. But he struck the sign of the cross over the goblet, the poison escaped in the form of a snake, and he could drink it undamaged. The apostle crosses, which were created around 1690 and were exposed again during the last renovation, also commemorate the twelve apostles. A general distinction is made between 24 different cross shapes; this variant is derived from the merging of the Greek letter "Chi", ie the first letter of the word "Christos", and the simplest form of a cross. The wreaths around these crosses can be seen purely as a decorative motif or as a reference to the martyrdom of the apostles.
The martyrdom of St. Cyprian has the ceiling painting by Martin Häusle (1903–1966) from 1953 as its content. Cyprian was beheaded in Carthage in 258 during the persecution of Christians by Emperor Valerian . According to legend, he is said to have given the executioner five gold pieces at the place of execution, because the executioner opened the gate of heaven for him. Häusle is one of the most important representatives of sacred painting in Vorarlberg. In this scene he masterfully expresses the grief of the bystanders in the ecstatic, but also restrained and internalized gestures. In doing so, however, he does not persist in the depiction of suffering, but lets out hope again, hope in death, symbolized by the angel floating down, holding the martyr's crown for Cyprian. In the left part of the painting there is a self-portrait of Martin Häusle.
Both the Stations of the Cross and the large murals have an early Classicist frame and are dated to around 1790.
In the pictures of the Stations of the Cross, the consistently blood sweating depicted Christ is striking. The blood sweat of the Lord is only mentioned in the Gospel of Luke, and here only in the Mount of Olives scene: “And when he was afraid, he prayed even more fervently. And his sweat became like drops of blood falling down on the earth ”( Lk 22:44 ). On the one hand, this picture was supposed to illustrate the amount of sweat that was shed. On the other hand, the Old Testament idea of the atoning effect of the blood of the sacrificial animal might play a role and, connected with this, the conviction that there is no forgiveness of sins without bloodshed. In this way the painter anticipated the atonement character of the death of Jesus on his way of suffering in part.
The mural on the left shows the birth of Christ; an adoring shepherd, St. Joseph and ox and donkey surround the scene. The depiction of ox and donkey is based on the Old Testament passage in Isaiah 1: 2 f . back: “Listen, you heavens, listen up, you earth, for the Lord says: I raised sons and made them great; but they have become unfaithful to me. The ox knows its owner and the donkey its master's manger. Israel does not recognize, my people have no understanding. ”Often these two animals are also interpreted allegorically: the ox, which was considered a clean animal, is supposed to symbolize the people of the Jews, the donkey as an unclean animal is supposed to symbolize the people of the heathen.
On the mural the opposite side you see a resurrection of Christ : in a halo of Christ soars the sarcophagus , the symbol of death. In the longitudinal walls of the nave confessionals with blown triangular gables and a small dentil frieze integrated. They were probably made soon after the middle of the 17th century, as can also be assumed based on an event in the history of the parish. In 1640, Prince-Bishop Johann IV. Visited Tosters , after which the then pastor of Tosters, Arbogast Müller, received a list of twelve episcopal directives. Among other things, it was ordered that in the future confessions could no longer be heard in the sacristy, except for poenites who are hard of hearing. Then these confessionals were built in. This is still the ancient, two-part form of confessionals, otherwise the three-part form that is still used today was chosen in the 17th century.
The pulpit from around 1720 is also part of the church's furnishings. It has a four-way curved pulpit and a sound cover. The "ribbon work" with which the entire pulpit is covered continues to a certain extent on the railing in the intertwined ribbons that end in acanthus leaves. The parapet of the pulpit is adorned with a coat of arms, on the underside of the sound cover you can see the dove of the Holy Spirit, which is supposed to inspire the priest at the sermon. The pulpit is crowned by a statue of the Archangel Michael.
The choir arch crucifix is also from the time soon after the church was enlarged in 1676, i.e. from the end of the 17th century. The ends of the cross show winged angel heads, at the lower end an angel head on a cloud. These angels indicate that a depiction of the cross is hardly ever intended as a mere abstraction of the historical facts of Christ's death on the cross; rather, it always means belief in the resurrection. So the dead Christ is not simply depicted hanging here on the cross, but also the hope of salvation and the expectation of the parousia, i.e. the return of Christ at the final judgment.
The left side altar was donated by the Tostner pastor Sebastian Stutzenberger (1677–1701) in 1693. He chose the following inscription: “DOM Sacratissimi rosarii reginae, SS Sebastiano proto martyri et Antonio Eremitae in debiti amoris et obsequii tesseram hanc aram posui Sebastianus Stutzenberger SS theologiae candidatus loci huius parochus licet indignus MDCLXXXXIII.” Translated accordingly: “I, Sebastian Stutzenberger , Candidate of holy theology, an unworthy local priest, had erected this altar in honor of the most holy rosary queen, St. Sebastian, the first martyr, and Antony the Hermit, to whom I owe love and whose example I follow. "
Both side altars show a similar structure. Above the predella with the inscription tablet, the reredos are bordered by Corinthian columns with shaft rings, cherub heads and fruit pendants. In the middle stands Mary with the baby Jesus and the scepter in a halo. She put her foot on the snake. This representation of Mary of Victory (Maria victrix) as an expression of overcoming evil and victory over the "enemies" of the Catholic Church was promoted by the Jesuits, the Franciscans and the Rosary Brotherhoods. The statue of the Virgin Mary does not belong to the original structure, but is an addition from the 18th century. It is surrounded by medallions with the secrets of the rosary; The three times five joyful, painful and glorious secrets are contrasted in color. The name "rosary" denotes the idea that the prayer exercise is a wreath of spiritual - according to later symbolism mostly white, red or gold-colored - roses in honor of the Mother of God. Similarly, Saints Dominic and Catherine of Siena (19th century) kneel right and left at the feet of Our Lady. The Dominicans devoted themselves increasingly to the veneration of Mary and have also been very committed to the cultivation of the rosary. Two more statues of saints stand under volute arches, which Stutzenberger already mentioned in the inscription: St. Sebastian, his namesake, and Antonius the hermit with pig and bell. The Antonite Canons' monasteries always took special care of the sick. The bell was intended on the one hand to warn the healthy of the plague, on the other hand to announce the arrival of Antonius, who healed many sick, to the plague sufferers. The pig indicates the privilege of the Order of Anthony to breed pigs.
The top picture in the blasted gable of the altar shows the Archangel Michael. As a fighter against evil, Michael is often portrayed as a dragon slayer, but here the devil himself is clearly and unmistakably meant. The crowning glory of this altar is a medallion with God the Father.
The right side altar is donated by the Feldkirch parish priest Johann Baptist Frey. His inscription, written in 1687, reads:
- " Deo Jesu Deiparae Mariae et Post Divos Templi Veteris Cornelium Cyprianum Recens electis novi Templi Patronis Charissimis meritissimis Angelo Custodi, Joanni Bapitistae, Josepho Liborio, Antonio Et Francisco Xaverio hanc ARAM novam Fieri dicarique fecit Joann. Baptista FreyCanonicus curiensis, Protonot. Apost. Vicarius Foraneus Parochus Veldkirchij, Anno Sal MDCLXXXVII. "
This means:
- “ Johann Baptist Frey, Canon of Chur, apostolic protonotary, parish vicar from Feldkirch, has this new altar especially outstanding after the expansion of the old and construction of the new church, which is consecrated to Jesus, the Son of God and Mary, and Cornelius and Cyprian and meritorious guardian angels, John the Baptist, Josef Liborius, Antonius and Franz Xavier. "
The patron saint of the founder, John the Baptist, crowns the altar this time, the guardian angel also mentioned in the top picture is flanked by Antonius of Padua with the infant Jesus and Francis Xavier with the cross. The altarpiece shows St. Joseph with the baby Jesus and his attribute, the lily, as a sign of purity. In addition to the inscription, the Frey family is immortalized on this altar by their coat of arms with the cardinal's hat. During the excavations that preceded the recent renovation of this church, two graves were found in the area of the presbytery. Since in post-medieval times it was reserved for high dignitaries, benefactors of the church and priests to be buried so close to the altar, it is reasonable to assume that the two dead are Joseph Tschol and Sebastian Stutzenberger, whose epitaphs on the presbytery walls are preserved. Stutzenberger wrote the text for his epitaph eight years before his death: “At the famous Altar of the Virgin to the Rosary, I chose to be covered with this marble after death. The viewer who reads this and will soon follow me may ask God here while I am being purified in the flames for a long time. I, Sebastian Stutzberger, parish priest 1693. "
Another important shepherd of the parish of Tosters is immortalized on the opposite wall of the presbytery. Joseph Tschol (1661–1677), during whose tenure this church underwent major changes and enlargements. It was he who introduced the Rosary Brotherhood here in 1666 . On his epitaph it says: “ The Reverend Joseph Tschol, shepherd in St. Corneli, who lived and watched for the sheep as long as he lived, has now fallen asleep in the Lord on January 26th, 1677. The sheep wish him after work Rest until the last trumpet sounds, then he shall be led to the right hand of God like Joseph, Psalm 79. "
Next to this epitaph, a round arched door leads into the sacristy. The door leaf, decorated with fruit festons, dates from the time of the major renovation of the church and thus from the time of Joseph Tschol. During the last renovation in 1990, the Lourdes grotto in the apse was removed and an altar from the church in Beschling / Vorarlberg from around 1700 was set up there as a high altar . The altarpiece, however, comes from the left side altar of that parish church of Tosters, which had to give way to a new building. However, this altarpiece may have been here in St. Corneli in earlier times. It shows an ascension of Mary, Mary floats on clouds, accompanied by angels, towards God the Father, who receives her with open arms, surrounded by the light of the Holy Spirit. The top picture shows a very rare, popular representation: a "holy walk" . Well inspired by stories from the apocryphal Gospels from childhood, a stroll by Mary, Joseph and Jesus is shown here. Also worth mentioning are two remains of the frescoes, which were also uncovered in 1990 and possibly date from the 16th century. The small excerpt from an “Adoration of the Magi” is located in the presbytery, to the left of the high altar, and two coats of arms, which up to now could not be assigned to a donor family, are embedded in the west wall of the church next to the portal. However, these coats of arms were discovered on the north side of the chancel. They have surrounded the base of a lavabo below a sacrament house.
For several hundred years, St. Corneli has been firmly anchored in the religious consciousness of the population as a place of pilgrimage. Only the architecture of the choir and a few details give an idea of the various construction phases of this church. Inside, the impression of the space and furnishings offer the relatively uniform image of the time around 1700.
literature
- Georg Dehio (first name); Gert Ammann u. a. (Arrangement): Feldkirch . In: Diess .: Vorarlberg ( The Art Monuments of Austria ). Verlag Anton Schroll, Vienna 1983, page 191, ISBN 3-7031-0585-2 .
Web links
- Old parish church on the Feldkirch-Tosters parish website
- Old parish church of Tosters: To the Hll Cornelius and Cyprian
Individual evidence
- ^ Vorarlberg - immovable and archaeological monuments under monument protection. ( Memento from May 28, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) . Federal Monuments Office , as of June 26, 2015 (PDF).
Coordinates: 47 ° 14 ′ 37.5 " N , 9 ° 34 ′ 25.8" E