Barbaraberg

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Baroque facade of the former pilgrimage church of St. Barbara above the confluence of the Way of the Cross

The Barbaraberg with a way of the cross and the remains of the former pilgrimage church St. Barbara belongs to the Speinshart Abbey, two kilometers southwest in the Upper Palatinate district of Neustadt an der Waldnaab .

history

Remains of the wall of the earlier church in the foreground

Traces of settlement from prehistoric times can be found on the Barbaraberg. In pre-Christian times there was a Slavic cemetery with 161 documented graves.

A Romanesque hall church from around 1000 is archaeologically secured. It is reported that already at the end of the 14th century pilgrimages to the "Church of St. Barbara" and to the carved wooden image of St. Barbara took place. In 1508 a "capella sancte barbarian in monte" is documented. During the Reformation these pilgrimages were banned and after the abolition of the Speinshart Monastery in 1556 the chapel began to deteriorate. In 1661, at the instigation of the Kemnath pastor Balthasar Grosch, the chapel was rebuilt and decorated with the miraculous image that had been found buried in a stable. The Speinshart Monastery provided services and the pilgrimages were revitalized.

Under the abbot Dominikus von Lieblein, between 1741 and 1756 in honor of St. Barbara built a church in the Rococo style. The consecration was carried out on August 26, 1756 by the Regensburg auxiliary bishop Freiherr von Stingelheim. He also donated a relic of St. Barbara. The plan for the building came from the Speinhart Premonstratensian canon Hugo Strauss. He had studied architecture at the University of Prague . The church building was laid out in the shape of a cross and had five altars. At the corners of the arms of the cross there were two-storey side rooms that were used as oratorios. The barrel vault of the central nave was decorated with pictures from the life of St. Barbara. Above the entrance to the church is the coat of arms of Abbot Dominikus von Lieblein. The ensemble was also used as the monastery's summer residence. The pilgrimages to the Barbaraberg were resumed and in 1760 a Barbaraberg prayer brotherhood was even founded.

In the course of the secularization , the St. Barbara's Church was closed and sold in 1803. The miraculous image and the barbarian relics remained on site, the rest of the furnishings were sold to other parishes. The church in Erbendorf received two altars, another altar went to Kirchendemenreuth and the pulpit to Parkstein . The entire ensemble with summer residence and the Berghof located there was sold to the Prussian Colonel Johann Konrad Freiherrn von Malsen for 13,243 fl . The church interior was converted into a barn. The high altar was sold to the church in Bärnau under von Malsen . Because of the damage to the roof, the crossing dome and the interior were demolished in 1888. In 1914 the church was partially cremated by a lightning strike. The statue of Barbara in the gable of the facade, which has been headless since then, is a reminder of this.

In 1919 the Munich Cathedral Chapter Dr. Michael Hartig removed the remains and had a small chapel built, which was consecrated in 1921. Originally he wanted to build a rest home for the diocesan priests of Munich here. However, the association founded for this purpose dissolved in 1929. He then donated the buildings to the Speinshart Monastery, which still owns them today. According to canon law, the building is a "private chapel owned by the monastery".

The exterior was renovated in 1976/77, followed by interior restoration from 1992 to 1994. The still splendid façade is left of the church, to the right and left of it are buildings that used to be used for the overnight stays of the monastery members and later for agricultural purposes. Sparse remains of the walls of the earlier church are still preserved.

literature

  • Gustl Motyka: Speinshart Monastery - an Upper Palatinate Premonstratensian monastery since 1145. Pinkser Verlag, Mainburg 1987. P. 46–47.

Web links

Commons : Barbaraberg  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Biography Hugo Strauss


Coordinates: 49 ° 47 ′ 31.8 "  N , 11 ° 50 ′ 59.3"  E