Basilica of the Mother of Mercy (Maribor)
The Basilica of the Mother of Mercy is a Roman Catholic church building of minor basilica rank in Maribor , Slovenia . It is looked after by the Franciscan Order .
Location and architecture
The north of the Drava located basilica in neo-Romanesque style is the work of Viennese architect Richard Jordan . The construction management was carried out by the court architect Josef Schmalzhofer from Vienna. The two-story Franciscan monastery to the south of the church building was also realized by Jordan and Schmalzhofer.
The three-aisled basilica has two mighty church towers on its front, each 58 meters high. The interior of the church was also designed by the architect Richard Jordan. The pulpit designed by him shows reliefs with images of the Latin church fathers Gregory , Hieronymus , Augustine of Hippo and Ambrosius of Milan . On the roof of the pulpit there is a statue of John the Baptist . The high altar with the miraculous image of the Mother of Mercy consists of 17 different types of marble. There are also six side altars in the church. The organ from 1900 is the work of master organ builder Josef Brandl from Marburg. It was restored in 1992.
Image of grace, Mother of Mercy
The miraculous image of the Mother of Mercy was brought to Graz for repair by a Countess Stubenberg in 1746 . There it is said to have caused a first miracle healing . The miraculous image was then in the castle chapel of Schloss Freybühel in Hengsberg for a year until the Countess donated it to the Minorite Church of Maribor in 1747. When the Minorite monastery was closed in the course of the Josephine reforms, the miraculous image first came to the Capuchin Church of Maribor and from there to the Basilica of the Mother of Mercy.
history
The Basilica of the Mother of Mercy stands on the site of the former Capuchin Church, which was built in the 17th century at the instigation of Count Jakob Khiesla. Due to the growing number of believers, the Franciscan Father Kalist Heric initiated the construction of a larger church. Construction work began in 1892 and the new church was consecrated by Bishop Michael Napotnik on August 11, 1900 . On November 7, 1906, Pope Pius X raised it to the rank of a minor basilica, which is reminiscent of a plaque designed by the academic sculptor Viktor Gojkovič above the main portal. Today, the Basilica of the Mother of Mercy houses the Marian Parish, which the Franciscans look after, in the Maribor deanery of the Archdiocese of Maribor .
literature
- Martin Stangl: Richard Jordan - sacred buildings . Diploma thesis, University of Vienna 1999
- Michael Napotnik: The basilica of St. Mary, Mother of Mercy, in the Grazervorstadt zu Marburg . (Marburg 1909)
Web links
- Website of the Basilica of the Mother of Mercy (Slovenian)
Coordinates: 46 ° 33 ′ 36.4 " N , 15 ° 38 ′ 59.5" E