Barefoot Monastery Zurich
The Barefoot Monastery was a Franciscan monastery , a barefoot and begging order , in the city of Zurich . It belonged to the Upper German (Strasbourg) Franciscan Province, Provincia Argentina , and was in the Diocese of Constance . The monastery can be traced back to 1247/48 and was abolished in 1524.
location
The Barfüsserkloster was on the south-eastern edge of the old town immediately behind the city walls near the Neumarkt or Kronentor at the end of the Neumarkt and the Lindentor at the exit of the Kirchgasse. In the east the area was bounded by the city wall and the Hirschengraben, in the northwest by the houses on Neumarkt and in the southwest by the alley of the lower fences. The orientation of the buildings from southeast to northwest is likely to have been determined by the course of the Wolfbach .
history
founding
There are no written sources about the establishment of the Barfüsserkloster. In the chronicle of Johannes Stumpf it says: "Disen Munchen des Barfoterordens also built a closter in the place of Zürych by the burgers, which I don't find a jar number, but it was already in place in 1240. " And Heinrich Bullinger writes: "The Barfüsserkloster is not long after the preacher monastery was raised and buwen around the year 1240, with the help of the burgers and the fee ." This information suggests that it was founded around 1238, which was probably initiated from Constance; the Franciscan order was founded in Italy in 1210, and from 1221 onwards numerous monasteries were built north of the Alps.
Relations with the nobility
The question of the sponsorship remains open in view of the sparse source material. Several nobles rather than a single one can be assumed as the founder . The Zurich Barfüsser were closely related to the nobility from the area such as the Counts of Kyburg and appeared as their witnesses or even seals. Relationships also existed with the Regensbergers , as Ulrich I von Regensberg (1230–1281) was buried in the church of the Barfüsserkloster. However, the nature of these relationships is not known.
There were also good contacts to leading families and influential politicians in Zurich. Jakob (1247) and Rudolf Mülner (1287), Heinrich Bilgeri (1324) and Mayor Rudolf Brun (1349) were among the caretakers of the monastery .
Venue for gatherings
The monastery has been the scene of meetings of national importance several times. In 1310, King Henry VII documented this in the presence of numerous bishops and nobles, and in 1336, after the overthrow, the Brunsche guild constitution was invoked here and Brun was elected mayor. The monastery also offered space for public meetings and advice on legal transactions for citizens.
From a political point of view, the Franciscans stood on the side of the people and represented a certain power factor within urban politics. Even from 1350, after the importance of the Barefooters declined, the good relationship with the city continued. The monastery area was still used for meetings.
organization
Only sparse sources are available about the organization of the monastery. The monastery superior was the Guardian , who was assisted by a Vice Guardian. Lecturers held the office of teachers. There were also several religious for the operation and administration of the monastery property.
Burials
There are no sources for a cemetery at the Barfüsserkloster; one is only mentioned in the late Middle Ages. The first burial place is probably that of Ulrich von Regensberg from 1281. Around 1300, the Barfüsser accepted more and more foundations for burials, also for lay people. Several of them have survived from the first half of the 14th century, so in 1416 Anna Gloggnerin donated 23 pounds to the convent and asked to be buried here and in 1450 the knight Gotfried Escher bought a burial place in front of the altar; His two sons Johannes and Heinrich and his grandson Jakob († 1524) were also buried here.
The cemetery was on the western corner of the church, and several burials were discovered there in 1936. After the Reformation the cemetery was transformed into a square. An ossuary mentioned in 1484 stood on the northwest corner of the nave.
Women's pastoral care
Around 1300 the convent began to buy houses in the vicinity of the monastery and to accommodate single women in them. In this way, a beguinage was created between the upper and lower fences . The women mostly came from the countryside from the lower classes of the population. In addition, the Zurich Convention supervised religious orders outside the city walls, including the Wyden monastery in the Rapperswil rulership - the dissolution of the so-called Wydenklösterli was confirmed on December 21, 1521 by brother Jörg Honer on behalf of the custodian.
Foundations and donations
Donations and foundations increased rapidly during the 13th century. The earliest document dates from 1273: Heinrich Kiseling gave the monastery a house on the Barfüsser Hofstatt. In the 14th century the convent began to acquire more real estate, for example in 1353 a house from Rudolf Brun was acquired on Neumarkt. In the 15th century there was a considerable expansion of goods, properties and lands. The vineyards represented the largest share of the monastic property in terms of area; the total area of the parcels stretching from Zollikon to Höngg should have been around 50,000 m². This can be used to calculate the yield: According to this, in 1513 each of the six members of the order must have consumed 2.3 liters of wine per day.
reformation
Like the preachers and the Augustinians , the Zurich Franciscans do not seem to have been fundamental opponents of the Reformation , but they were opposed to Zwingli . On April 12, 1523, after the imbis , another 40 men gathered in the church. There are no reports on the further course of events or the abolition of the monastery. On December 3, 1524, after the abolition of the monasteries in Zurich, the remaining Augustinian and preacher monks came to the longitudinal wing of the Barfüsser monastery and received a pension. At the same time, the monastery received a new carer. Due to the presence of the monks, the books in the library were better protected than in other monasteries, and the book storm of 1525 probably only affected the liturgical books here. On his death, the former priest Enoch Metzger OFM bequeathed them to the Grossmünster Abbey Library, where Conrad Pelikan worked, who received the books in 1535 and inventoried them in his catalog, so that today 46 volumes are known.
On May 14, 1526, the council decided to demolish the seven altars of the Barfüsserkirche. The main altar came to the Grossmünster , where it was used to build the new pulpit . The choir stalls were brought to St. Peter in 1527 with the stalls from the other Zurich monasteries .
church
The church was built in the middle of the 13th century. It was a flat-roofed three-aisled pillar basilica , connected to the north was a rectangular choir with a flat wooden ceiling. What is striking is the combination of great length, narrow spaces between the nave arcades and low height.
The outlines of the eastern choir wall are still clearly visible on the rear wing of the upper court building. As can be seen on the Murer map, the main entrance was on the southwest side facing the cemetery. The three ships were separated from each other by mighty rectangular pillars. The arches were square, the masonry plastered. The sacristy was connected to the eastern wall of the choir.
former church, view from the southwest, around 1830
Floor plan of the church with posts in the center line to support the intermediate floor, which was installed later, around 1833
Church from the southwest, engraving by Franz Hegi 1833
Choir around 1835
Monastery complex
Parallel to the church, but on the other side of the Wolfbach, was the main building, a mighty rectangular wing that housed the refectory , among other things . In the middle, a transverse wing connected it to the church. The north-western part of the cloister was integrated into the cross passage . To the northwest of the cross passage was the outer courtyard, through which the Wolfbach flowed.
Longitudinal tract
The longitudinal wing consisted of two brick floors, above which was a lower wooden upper floor. It housed the summer refectory, which was used by the city for receptions, and the brothers' chambers. The kitchen was probably in an extension on the side against the city wall. In the 19th century, the area facing the Hirschengraben was filled up by five meters, and the ground floor became a cellar. It is conceivable that the foundations of the kitchen extension are still in this filling. A smaller refectory is said to have been located on the former ground floor.
Transverse tract
The transverse wing consisted of two parts that can still be seen today. The shorter wooden part connected to the longitudinal wing, bridged the Wolfbach and connected the convent house with the northwestern part of the cloister. Today it is housed in the stairwell.
In the right part adjoining the church, today part of the upper court, seven arched windows have been preserved. In the basement there are still remnants of the construction of the monastery, including a bricked-up Romanesque window on the narrow side facing the stream.
Cloister
Cloister to NE
Cloister to NW
Eastern corner
South corner
The cloister, which is still preserved today, lies on a terrace that was raised about 4 to 5 m against the Wolfbach. It is unclear whether the cloister mentioned in 1259 was in the same place. As can be seen on the Murer map, the north-eastern part was not connected to other buildings, but was free. The cloister from the late Middle Ages had a square floor plan and on each side 16 two-part pointed arched windows with tracery , a total of 64.
Masswork arcades
When the upper court was built in 1837, all sixteen arcades of the north-west wing and seven of the north-east wing were demolished; they were given to the Antiquarian Society as a gift. Six or eight of them were built into the box building on the Lindenhof in 1852/54 .
After the fire in the theater in 1890, twelve arcades were removed, nine of which were moved to the state museum as a row of windows in room 25 . In 1858/59 four copies were installed in the northeast wing and probably another four in the northwest wing. In 1960 a further eight arcades were built in copies in the north-west wing and the four original ones restored.
Convent building
Froschauer printing company
In 1527 the council allowed the printer Christoph Froschauer to set up his printing shop in the rooms of the former Barefoot Monastery; a lease was signed on August 24, 1528 and extended by three years in 1546, in respect of sing gwerb, the common town of vil praise and rum . In 1551 Froschauer acquired the former buildings of the St. Verena monastery on Froschaugasse and set up his printing works there.
Chairman
The chairman's office on the Müllerplan from 1793, geosted
Location and function of the buildings, based on the Müller plan
The chairman's office, drawing by Paul Burkhard
The chairman's office around 1704, illustration by Hans Heinrich Bluntschli
The chairman's office was created in 1533 after the abolition of the monasteries and administered the surpluses of the eleven new monastery offices, which consisted mainly of grain and wine. After Froschauer moved out of the monastery premises in 1551, the rooms were occupied by the chairman's office. Kornschütten and Trotten had been set up in the monastery church since 1535. In 1553 and 1554, further grain chutes and rooms for storing barrels were set up in the church and the western cloister, several living and working rooms were set up in the longitudinal wing facing the Hirschengraben, and in 1555 a «bathroom». The southwest long choir was provided with a staircase.
In 1700/01 three more floors were added to the church, the roof was re-covered and the sacristy was demolished. It was replaced by a new building that was later converted into a casino. In 1710 the hall in the longitudinal wing was renewed, the largest payments went to the painter Johann Melchior Füssli , who added various coats of arms and theological sayings. In 1793 the house was covered with a new hipped roof. From the Reformation until 1833 the church served as the town's granary. If the monastery buildings were still recognizable as such, the renovations and new buildings of the 19th century brought about fundamental changes.
19th century
Casino
In 1806, the Assemblee-Gesellschaft acquired part of the building of the former Barefoot Monastery, the "Trottkeller", northeast of the old cloister. According to plans by Hans Caspar Escher , a new building in a strictly classical style was built for 40,000 francs , which was considered one of the most beautiful buildings in the city. In 1874 the city bought back the casino and converted it into a higher court in the following years . After the renovation from 1874 to 1876, only the outer walls of the side wings remained. The rooms of the casino - a large concert hall, a small ballroom, a foyer and two small salons - were used by different groups.
Casino: drawing by Hans Caspar Escher, 1805
Etching by Franz Hegi, around 1814
Drawing by Franz Schmid , 1839
chancellery
From 1812, rooms for the Federal Chancellery and the chairman were set up in the longitudinal tract in the former summer refectory, the kitchen extension was demolished and access was relocated to the Hirschengraben side.
In 1824/25, the large convent hall fell victim to another major renovation. In addition, the facade was redesigned according to plans by Hans Conrad Stadler and the area on the Hirschengraben side was filled up by several meters so that the previous ground floor became a cellar. The north-western part was rebuilt in 1833.
Supreme Court
Since most of the rooms were vacated by the abolition of the chairman's office in 1833, the government council decided to rebuild or convert the part facing Neumarkt to accommodate "government colleges". These modifications lasted until 1840. The annex above the Wolfbach was also removed, the brook partially covered and the coats of arms painted by Melchior Füssli whitewashed. The High Court Chancellery moved into the new building in 1835. In 1839 the wing was increased by one floor and in 1839/40 the longitudinal wing was also increased by one floor and rebuilt.
The shorter part of the former connecting wing between the theater in the former church and the longitudinal wing, which adjoins the main building, was only rebuilt and given a new facade. The longer part was completely demolished and rebuilt in 1837 according to plans and under the direction of Ferdinand Stadler . The basement rooms and the partition wall to the stairwell in the shorter part have been preserved. In contrast to the original building, the new transverse wing did not extend to the theater building, but was widened to the width of the short wing. For this purpose, the entire north-west and half of the north-east wing of the cloister were demolished. The new building was occupied in 1837 and increased by one storey in 1967.
After the introduction of the jury, the interior of the transverse wing was redesigned and the rooms were divided differently.
1874–1876, the former casino was converted into a cantonal higher and jury building; of Escher's elegant building, only the two wings with the arched windows remained, over which an upper floor was built. Instead of the pillar portico , a massive three-storey middle section was built in the longitudinal wing in 1880. Only traces of the original interior have been preserved, such as the railing in the stairwell of the central wing. The last old furniture from the jury room was removed in 1970/71.
20th century
In 1936 the north-east wing of the cloister was increased by one floor. The Staatskellerei building was extended into the area of the former nave. During this work, remnants of the foundation walls from churches and theaters (see following chapter) were removed. Two human skeletons were found below the level of the cloister.
In the gap between the former church and the shortened transverse wing, the early classicist courtyard portal from the St. Urban property at Stadelhoferstrasse 23 was inserted instead of the previous sheet metal gate. In 1984 the gap between the longitudinal wing and the north-east wing of the cloister was closed with a single-storey library wing.
The stock theater
The desire to have their own theater in the city led to the establishment of a theater company in October 1830, which in 1832 asked the government council to provide a suitable building. The "Actiengesellschaft for a theater and museum building in Zurich" was founded to finance this; the share issue was published in December 1832. The president was Lieutenant Colonel Karl Georg Bürkli, a member of the Grand Council, who later played the flute, double bass and timpani in the orchestra. On November 17, 1832, the association bought the former church of the Barfüsserkloster at auction, and the purchase contract was signed in January 1833. In 1834 the building was converted according to plans by Louis Pfyffer von Wyher, but no increase was permitted.
The former pre-choir area and the front part of the nave served as a stage, the middle third was expanded into a semicircular auditorium with rising seats. The foyer was in the rear and cloakrooms and side rooms were in the rear aisles. Along the walls of the ship, four galleries rose vertically one above the other. The renovation was completed in 1834 and the theater with its 800 seats was officially opened on November 10th.
The first director was Charlotte Birch-Pfeiffer , who headed the theater until 1843. Richard Wagner, who lived in exile in Zurich, conducted several performances of his operas Der Fliegende Holländer and Tannhäuser in the Aktientheater between 1852 and 1855 . The theater was lit by candles until 1855, when a chandelier with 60 gas lamps was purchased. Finally, the orchestra musicians' candles were replaced.
The Aktientheater 1839. Aquatint by Franz Hegi
Floor plan of the Aktientheater
Well, today at the Predigerkirche. On the right is the entrance to the theater
The fire
The building burned down on New Year's Eve of 1890. The fire broke out in a wooden container in the attic around 9:30 p.m. before the performance was over. The fire brigade only managed to protect the surrounding buildings; practically nothing could be saved from the theater itself. People were not harmed.
The stock theater that burned down on January 4, 1890
Fire ruin, view from the east
in March 1890, looking north
Entrance section, January 7, 1890
The demolition work dragged on until the spring of 1890. The state cellar was later built on the site of the former church choir . The Staatskellerei was founded in 1862 by decision of the government council and with the signature of the then state clerk Gottfried Keller . In 2002 the winery was closed and the rooms are used by the higher court. The rest of the site is empty and serves as a parking lot.
On January 18, 1890, the general assembly of the Theater-Aktiengesellschaft decided to build a new theater next to today's Sechseläutenplatz . The city theater opened on September 30, 1891 and was renamed the Opera House in 1961 .
New excavations
Since 2007 excavations have been taking place to the southwest of the cloister below the former choir. Results are not yet available.
See also
literature
- Regine Abegg, Christine Barraud Wiener, Karl Grunder: The art monuments of the canton of Zurich, old town on the right of the Limmat, sacred buildings. New edition Volume III.I, Society for Swiss Art History , Bern 2002, ISBN 978-3-906131-86-3 .
- Urs Amacher: The brotherhoods at the Zurich mendicant monasteries . - In: Mendicant Orders, Brotherhoods and Beguines in Zurich: Urban Culture and Salvation in the Middle Ages , ed. by Barbara Helbling u. a. - Verlag Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Zurich 2002, pp. 265–277. - ISBN 3-85823-970-4 .
- Erwin Eugster: History of the Barefoot Monastery . - In: Mendicant Orders, Brotherhoods and Beguines in Zurich: Urban Culture and Salvation in the Middle Ages , ed. by Barbara Helbling u. a. - Verlag Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Zurich 2002, pp. 44–55. - ISBN 3-85823-970-4 .
- Thomas Germann: Zurich in Time Lapse, Volume II, Werd, Zurich 2002, ISBN 3-85932-332-6 .
- Ulrich Helfenstein: Barefoot Monastery Zurich . - In: Helvetia sacra , Section 5: The Order of St. Francis . - Francke, Bern 1978, vol. 1 pp. 300-308.
- Sigmund Widmer : Zurich - a cultural history, volume 3; Artemis, Zurich 1976, ISBN 3-7608-0682-1 .
- Dölf Wild: On the building history of the Zurich Barfüsserkloster . - In: Mendicant Orders, Brotherhoods and Beguines in Zurich: Urban Culture and Salvation in the Middle Ages , ed. by Barbara Helbling u. a. - Verlag Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Zurich 2002, pp. 56–68. - ISBN 3-85823-970-4 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Sigmund Widmer: Zurich - a cultural history, volume 3; Artemis Verlag, Zurich 1976, p. 37.
- ↑ Die Kunstdenkmäler des Kantons Zürich, New Edition Volume III.I, Bern 2002, ISBN 3-906131-03-3 , p. 194.
- ↑ Die Kunstdenkmäler des Kantons Zürich, New Edition Volume III.I, pp. 196–197.
- ^ Sigmund Widmer: Zurich - a cultural history, volume 3; Artemis Verlag, Zurich 1976, p. 38.
- ↑ Die Kunstdenkmäler des Kantons Zürich, New Edition Volume III.I, pp. 197, 210.
- ^ Website of the legal sources foundation of the Swiss Jurists' Association: Legal sources of the town and rule of Rapperswil (with the farms Busskirch / Jona, Kempraten and Wagen) , accessed on April 10, 2013.
- ↑ Sigmund Widmer: Zurich - a cultural history, Volume 3, p. 38.
- ↑ Martin Germann: The Reformed Abbey Library at the Großmünster Zurich in the 16th century and the beginnings of the modern bibliography: Reconstruction of the book inventory and its origin, the book layout and the library room, with edition of the library catalog from 1532/1551 by Conrad Pellikan ; Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1994 ( contributions to books and libraries ; 34), ISBN 3-447-03482-3 , pp. 153–155 and register p. 358.
- ↑ Die Kunstdenkmäler des Kantons Zürich, New Edition Volume III.I, pp. 199–202.
- ^ The art monuments of the canton of Zurich, new edition, Volume III.I, p. 200.
- ↑ a b Die Kunstdenkmäler des Kanton Zürich, New Edition Volume III.I, pp. 205, 206.
- ↑ Die Kunstdenkmäler des Kantons Zürich, New Edition Volume III.I, p. 208.
- ↑ Die Kunstdenkmäler des Kantons Zürich, New Edition Volume III.I, pp. 212–213.
- ↑ Die Kunstdenkmäler des Kantons Zürich, New Edition Volume III.I, pp. 215–218.
- ↑ a b Die Kunstdenkmäler des Kantons Zürich, New Edition Volume III.I, pp. 220–221.
- ↑ Walks in Zurich in: Zürcher Lokalverzeichnis, accessed on September 17, 2017
- ↑ Staatskellerei
- ↑ Die Kunstdenkmäler des Kantons Zürich, New Edition Volume III.I, pp. 220–222.
- ^ Thomas German, Zurich in Time Lapse Volume II, Werd-Verlag Zurich 2002.
- ↑ Information from the Head of the Urban Archeology Department, Zurich.
Coordinates: 47 ° 22 '18 " N , 8 ° 32' 48" E ; CH1903: 683687 / 247349