St. Michael (Altenstadt)
The St. Michael basilica was built between 1180 and 1220 as the parish church of the original settlement of Schongau in Upper Bavaria, later known as Altenstadt . The late Romanesque tuff stone building is almost completely preserved or restored in its high medieval shape.
history
Altenstadt , the old Schongau, was a military rest station and a stacking and transshipment point for merchants on their way from Augsburg to Tyrol and Italy in the High Middle Ages . The wealthy citizens therefore decided at the end of the 12th century to build a spacious new parish church . No documents have been received on the construction process. Some wooden beam remains could be dendrochronologically dated between 1165 and 1177.
The simple, monumental architecture of the basilica without a transept refers to direct models in Northern Italy . The new building was probably carried out by a northern Italian-Lombard hut, at least the builder was familiar with the Italian models (e.g. S. Savino in Piacenza ). Altenstadt also shows clear similarities to the Basilica of St. Peter in Straubing in Lower Bavaria . Both churches were subordinate to the bishop of Augsburg.
When the settlement was moved to the Umlaufberg of the Lech in the early 13th century, Alt-Schongau lost its importance. The church continued to serve as a parish church for the predominantly rural residents of the "old town" of Schongau. Major modifications were not made for financial reasons alone. The baroque , which otherwise covered the sacred buildings of the “Pfaffenwinkel” with its rich decorative forms, remained almost without any influence here. In 1717, however, the altar of the pilgrimage church on Hohenpeißenberg was moved to the basilica.
In 1671 the north tower partially collapsed. Originally they wanted to completely remove the bell tower, but two years later commissioned the Wessobrunn master Hans Ganne (n) bacher to rebuild it in the old form.
The art-loving King Ludwig I commissioned the Munich architect Friedrich von Gärtner with the restoration in 1826 . On this occasion, Gärtner closed the side apses and used the rooms as a sacristy and bell house. At the end of the 19th century, some neo-Romanesque furnishings were added, such as a new high altar , a pulpit and the choir stalls .
The neo-Romanesque changes were reversed during the restoration in 1961/63 and the interior was brought closer to the high medieval state. By lowering the floor, the original pillar bases are now visible again. The side apses were also opened again. As a replacement, a modern sacristy was added in the south, but the roof area does not rise above the old churchyard wall.
On October 9, 1965, Pope Paul VI signed and sealed . the document by which the Basilica of St. Michael was elevated to the rank of papal minor basilica . The public announcement of this award by Bishop Josef Stimpfle took place in 1966.
In 1993/94 St. Michael could be completely renovated again. The dome of the apses was exposed as stone, and the room was given a new coat of paint and a new floor. The sanctuary was refurbished by Reinhold Grübl . In 1998 the new organ from Link in Giengen an der Brenz was added.
architecture
The basilica is the only vaulted sacral building from the late Romanesque period in Bavaria. The church is approx. 40 m long, 18.65 m wide, the central nave is 13.2 m high and 6.7 m wide.
The exterior is clearly structured. In the east, the two towers (32 m) flank the main apse, which in turn is accompanied by the side apses. The regular tuff masonry has no plastering. The restrained architectural structure consists of cornices, pilaster strips , the " German band " and round arch friezes. The towers have double or triple sound openings on the two upper floors, which are supported by columns. The nave and the apses are illuminated by arched windows.
Two portals lead into the interior. The west portal with its columns and arches shows in the tympanum a warrior fighting a dragon. One can interpret this representation as a struggle of good against evil. (1 Petr 5). Similar representations can also be found on other sacred buildings of this time. On the outside there are two pillars that originally stood on two lions. The sculptures were removed in 1826; one of the lions has been preserved in Schongau in the niche of a department store facade.
The north portal has a fine leaf decoration on the capitals and on the lintel. The papal coat of arms in the tympanum is reminiscent of the elevation to the Basilica minor in 1966. In front of the portal there was a Romanesque ossuary until 1910 .
inner space
Since the last renovation, the wall surfaces have been painted light with a painted block pattern. The pillars and apses, however, were left or exposed as stone.
Six massive pairs of pillars separate the naves and support the ribless cross vaults , which are separated by wide belt arches. The eastern nave yoke serves as a sanctuary and is separated and raised by five steps. The two pillars of the sanctuary, which bear the weight of the towers, have a cross-shaped floor plan for structural reasons. The other ten pillars have a quatrefoil floor plan: four semicircular columns are placed in front of their square core. The inner bulges continue as a service to the belt arches, whose fighters show mythical animals and masks. The capitals have Corinthian decorations in the notch-cut technique (stylized foliage, rosettes, stars), which "misunderstand the ancient capital structure" (Pörnbacher), but enrich the room image decoratively. Probably for reasons of perspective, the pairs of pillars are not exactly opposite each other.
Half of the arched windows in the upper storey were walled up in 1583. At that time, the roofs over the side aisles had to be raised at a steeper angle due to the snow load.
Furnishing
The best known and most important work of art in the basilica is the Great God of Altenstadt . The monumental, 3.20 m high Crucified Christ stands, flanked by Maria and Johannes (copies, originals in the Bavarian National Museum in Munich), on the modern rood screen above the choir entrance. The work of art was created at the beginning of the 13th century and also shows northern Italian influences. Instead of the crown of thorns, the Redeemer wears a gold ring, so he is represented as the King of Christ.
The Way of the Cross in the south aisle is modern and was created by Josef Henselmann from Munich. The tombstone for the Rottenbuch provost Georg Siesmair (died 1628) is also set into the wall here.
The former choir arch crucifix from the mid-16th century hangs in the northern apse. The southern apse houses a statue of Our Lady (around 1330), which was given to the parish as a loan from the Bavarian National Museum.
Frescoes
In the choir and in the nave some Romanesque and early Gothic frescoes preserved or exposed. In the right (south) side ship can be seen above the baptismal font the crucifixion, in chorus the Archangel Michael as a weigher of souls and preaching. On the inside of the west wall in 1994 when the old organ was removed, an eight-meter-high representation of St. Christopher was uncovered (around 1200).
Baptismal font
The original font has also been preserved from the time the church was built . The archangel Michael , the Madonna and Child, Saint John the Baptist and the baptism of Jesus are carved out as reliefs on the chalice-shaped bowl .
organ
The organ was built in 1998 by Orgelbau Link as Opus 1057. It has 29 registers on two manuals and a pedal . The disposition is:
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- Coupling : II / I, I / P, II / P
- Playing aids : Pleno on and Pleno off as kicks
- Comments: sliding drawer , mechanical play and stop action
literature
- Georg Hager: The Romanesque church architecture of Swabia . Munich 1887.
- Anna Landsberg: The Romanesque architectural ornamentation in southern Bavaria . Munich 1917.
- Georg Paula , Stefanie Berg-Hobohm : District Weilheim-Schongau (= Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation [Hrsg.]: Monuments in Bavaria . Volume I.23 ). Lipp, Munich 2003, ISBN 3-87490-585-3 .
- Karl Pörnbacher: Basilica of St. Michael Altenstadt (Schnell & Steiner Art Guide No. 31). Regensburg 1934 (used 13th edition, 2000), ISBN 3-7954-4092-0
- Gottfried Weber: The Romanesque in Upper Bavaria . Pfaffenhofen 1985, ISBN 3-7787-3258-7 .
Web links
- http://www.altenstadt-st-michael.de/ Internet presence of the parish with pictures and history
Individual evidence
- ^ Diocese of Augsburg
- ^ Mourning Maria and Johannes, unknown artist. Retrieved October 3, 2019 .
- ↑ Bavarian organ database online
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Baden-Württemberg: Our Lady in Constance 1955 | St. Martin in Weingarten 1956 | St. Georg in Walldürn 1962 | St. Vitus in Ellwangen 1964 | The Visitation of the Virgin Mary in Birnau 1971 | St. Martin in Ulm-Wiblingen 1993 | St. Georg in Ochsenhausen 2019
Bavaria: Vierzehnheiligen in Bad Staffelstein 1897 | St. Anna in Altötting 1913 | Assumption of Mary in Ettal 1920 | Cathedral of St. Peter and George in Bamberg 1923 | St. Alexander and Theodor in Ottobeuren 1926 | St. Mauritius in Niederalteich 1932 | St. Ulrich and Afra in Augsburg 1937 | Assumption of Mary in Tuntenhausen 1942 | Most Holy Trinity in Gößweinstein 1948 | St. Peter and Alexander in Aschaffenburg 1958 | Assumption of the Virgin in Ingolstadt 1964 | Collegiate Church of the Old Chapel in Regensburg 1964 | St. Emmeram in Regensburg 1964 | St. Michael in Altenstadt 1965 | St. Lorenz in Kempten 1969 | Assumption of the Virgin in Waldsassen 1969 | St. Benedikt in Benediktbeuern 1972 | St. Peter in Dillingen 1979 | Holy Cross and Assumption of Mary in Scheyern 1979 | St. Martin in Amberg 1980 | St. Margaretha in Altenmarkt 1982 | St. Jakob in Straubing 1989 | The Visitation of the Virgin Mary in Marienweiher 1993 | Maria Brünnlein in Wemding 1998 | St. Martin in Landshut 2001 | St. Vitus and Deocar in Herrieden 2010
Berlin: St. Johannes in Berlin-Neukölln 1906 | St. Hedwig Cathedral in Berlin-Mitte 1927 | Maria Rosary Queen in Berlin-Steglitz 1950
Hessen: St. Marcellinus and Petrus in Seligenstadt 1925 | St. Mary, Peter and Paul in Ilbenstadt 1929 | St. Peter in Fritzlar 2004 | St. Valentinus and Dionysius in Kiedrich 2010
Lower Saxony: St. Godehard in Hildesheim 1963 | Mary Mother of the Seven Sorrows in Bethen 1977 | St. Clemens in Hanover 1998 | St. Cyriakus in Duderstadt 2015
North Rhine-Westphalia: St. Gereon in Cologne 1920 | St. Ursula in Cologne 1920 | Assumption of Mary in Kevelaer 1923 | St. Viktor in Xanten 1937 | St. Severin in Cologne 1953 | Visitation of the Virgin Mary in Werl 1953 | St. Martin in Bonn 1956 | St. Potentinus, Felicius and Simplicius in Steinfeld 1960 | St. Apostles in Cologne 1965 | St. Maria in the Capitol in Cologne 1965 | St. Suitbertus in Düsseldorf-Kaiserswerth 1967 | St. Lambertus in Düsseldorf 1974 | St. Andreas in Knechtsteden 1974 | St. Vitus in Mönchengladbach 1974 | St. Margareta in Düsseldorf-Gerresheim 1982 | St. Ludgerus in Essen-Werden 1993 | St. Kunibert in Cologne 1998 | St. Quirinus in Neuss 2009 | St. Ida in Herzfeld 2011 | St. Laurentius in Wuppertal 2013
Rhineland-Palatinate: St. Matthias in Trier 1920 | Imperial and Mariendom in Speyer 1925 | St. Peter's Cathedral in Worms 1925 | St. Maria am See in Maria Laach 1926 | Our Lady in Marienstatt 1927 | St. Martin in Bingen 1930 | St. Salvator in Prüm 1950 | Our Lady in Trier 1951 | St. Paulin in Trier 1958 | St. Kastor in Koblenz 1991 | St. Severus in Boppard 2015
Saarland: St. Wendalinus in St. Wendel 1960 | St. Johann in Saarbrücken 1975
Saxony: Holy Cross in Wechselburg 2018
Coordinates: 47 ° 49 ′ 20.9 " N , 10 ° 52 ′ 20.3" E