Burgheim Church
The Burgheimer Kirche (formerly also St. Peter) in Burgheim, a district of Lahr in the Black Forest , is one of the oldest churches on the right of the Rhine . Today's church building with choir tower mostly dates from the 12th century, but goes back to a church founded in the early 7th century. Until the late 15th century, the Burgheim church was the town church of Lahr, although it was located far outside the town walls. Then she lost this position to the collegiate church, which is closer to the city .
history
The Romans probably built a manor ( villa rustica ) here, which is proven by numerous finds, including the plinth of a Roman well found during excavations.
Later here who settled Alemanni that a Adelshof built, whose master is the Christian faith has turned. Some of the Alemannic box graves that were found date from this time, the orientation of which deviates significantly from the church axis. The Alemannic row grave field to be developed from this must have existed before the church was built. One of these box graves bears an incised cross on the inside (!), A reference to a beginning Christianity.
After the Frankish conquest, the Alemannic noble court developed into a royal court. At this time the first church was probably built on this site. Archaeological traces indicate that the church was first built in the early 7th century. From the founding of the nearby Schuttern monastery in 603, some researchers deduce that there was already a Christian ruler's own church in the area , which could have stood on the site of the current church. It was one of the first stone churches on the Upper Rhine .
The extensive destruction of this first church and the looted grave sites point to the invasion of the Hungarians in 938. Only 100 years later could a new church be built on the old foundation walls.
A consecration of the church took place on 25 July 1035 by the Strasbourg Bishop William I (1028-1047 tenure). The first written mention of the church can be found in the ordination certificate. As a patron has been St. Peter used, d. H. the church was consecrated first to the Virgin Mary (patroness of the diocese of Strasbourg) and then to St. Peter.
During the war of the Zähringer against the diocese of Strasbourg, this church was destroyed again, the rebuilding took place around the year 1120.
In 1455 the church was significantly expanded and expanded, but in 1492 the Burgheim church lost its position as a parish church and became a branch church. The baptismal font was dismantled and taken to the Lahr collegiate church.
The church lost importance over the years. Part of the church was separated by a brick wall and used as a storage room. Demolition was already being considered in 1840. It is thanks to the initiative of the teacher Wilhelm Hockenjos that the church was saved. The church was renovated through the efforts of a citizens' initiative and in 1844 a regular evangelical service was held in the eastern part of the church.
During the renovation in the middle of the 19th century, however, large parts of the medieval painting were destroyed and the conservator of the Baden regional church was able to determine during a visit in 1905: “... and created a cold, newly whitewashed, desolate and meaningless room from it, which perhaps below his plaster still holds interesting things. "
In 1953 an excavation campaign took place under the direction of Winfried Knausenberger , which was continued by Arnold Tschira . During these excavations, numerous graves and the altar of the early church were discovered inside the church . This altar is one of the oldest known altars. Most of the graves date from the Merovingian era , four of which were graves of the church's founders. Roman spoils were also discovered that had been used as components of the plate graves. On the outside of the church there are numerous tombstones that were discovered inside the church.
In the course of the renovation in 1953 after the excavations, the separated western part was returned to church use.
Construction phases
Several phases of construction can be identified on the church building, with the oldest stone foundations dating from around the year 600. Furthermore, plate graves and sarcophagi , which are even older, as well as the remains of a Roman well that was used until around 160 AD were found. A previous wooden church is possible, but not proven, but the fountain indicates a Roman Villa Rustica or station, similar to the one in nearby Friesenheim . The more easterly military road leading past the church suggests this idea, then a temple could have stood in the same place as early as Roman times.
Around 600 to 1035
During the excavations in the church, the foundations and an altar of a single-nave church with a round apse from the 7th century were found. The building was destroyed by the Hungarian invasions in 938 and then poorly restored. A passage in the deed of foundation also refers to this church, in which the words ab antquis paribus refer to the benefice for the operation of the house of God, which has existed since ancient times .
1035 to 1120
An extended Romanesque church building with an east and a west apse was built on the foundations of the previous church. The consecration certificate from 1035 refers to this building. The portal was in the south wall of the building, a fragment of the lintel (a stone decorated with the eagle symbol of the Evangelist John ) is missing, but a photograph still exists. This church was destroyed in the battles of the Lords of Zähringen against the Strasbourg bishops (probably in 1078).
1120 to 1455
After the year 1100, a church in the Romanesque style was built on the foundations of the previous building. Instead of the round apse in the east, a rectangular choir was added, the west apse was omitted entirely in favor of a larger nave. The upper part of the tower was added to the building by the middle of the 12th century. In a fighter of Tower Arcade an inscription is engraved, which refers to the consecration of the church by Bishop William of Strasbourg in 1035th
1455 until today
In 1455 the church was significantly expanded to the west, for which the original west wall was torn down. The portal was moved to the new west wall. The renovation was carried out in the Gothic style, the Romanesque windows were bricked up and Gothic tracery windows were inserted in the north and south sides of the church. The choir received a three-part window in the south. Furthermore, paintings were made using fresco technique .
Consecration certificate
The certificate of consecration is kept in the St. Gallen Abbey Library. The consecration certificate attached as pages 155/156 in the collective volume Codex 1394 is a copy, probably from the 11th century. The parchment was originally folded four times and has a size of 36 × 28.5 cm; the text in Latin is continued on the reverse.
In the text, the consecration of the church is witnessed and the witnesses of the act of consecration and the priests involved are named. The tithe belonging to the Church from ancient times is affirmed. In addition, the tithe of two other places is added. Legal acts that are still open are addressed and the secular greats are named as witnesses. Then the date of consecration, July 25, 1035, is given according to various counting systems. The feast of the apostle St. James , which was also the day of St. Christopher, was chosen as the day of consecration . Finally, the relics placed in the altar are listed in detail.
The mention of Archbishop Berthold von Besançon in the document, who is titled as the sole Archbishop: "... et omnium sanctorum peticione solo nomine archiepiscopi Beihtolti ..." (... at the request of the sole Archbishop Beritolt ...) is striking. This archbishop was installed in Besançon by Emperor Heinrich II , but was not recognized by the local chapter . He could not assert himself and was expelled from Besançon. This prominent mention in the ordination certificate can be but one donor stem suspect.
Graves
After the excavations in 1953, a plan excavation was carried out in 1955 under the direction of Winfried Knausenberger, during which a total of 25 graves from the Merovingian era were discovered inside and on the sides of the church. 11 of the graves are inside the church, the remaining 25 graves are on the north and south sides of the church building. The predominant orientation of the graves is the same as the church axis, but some deviate significantly from it, so they seem to be older than the oldest church building.
The graves were bordered on the sides by hewn stone slabs, two slabs each on the long sides and one each at the head and foot. Two of the graves stand out among the burial sites for their more meticulous manufacture and the use of Roman spolia. Almost all of the graves were destroyed by medieval burials or grave robberies, but some remains of grave goods were still found.
Grave nos. 10, 19 and 1
A woman's grave on the wall of the first church, which is listed as grave number 10 in the excavation plan, was particularly well preserved. In this grave a child was laid over the deceased, whose grave goods thus escaped grave robbery. This grave can be described as undisturbed. It was built very carefully using Roman spoilers , the stone slabs are carefully grouted on the inside and the floor is covered with slabs from a Roman heating system . Numerous valuable grave goods were found in the grave, of which a golden disc brooch in the shape of a quatrefoil set with silver rivets and almandines is particularly noteworthy.
Picture 1 shows objects from grave no. 19, which was located outside the church on the southern church wall. With 1 is a silver disc brooch with impressed cross marks, with 2 are bronze buckles and strap tongues with silver sheet inlays, which belonged to a shoe set.
Figure 2 shows objects from grave no.1, which is axially symmetrical to grave no.10. This grave was destroyed, but grave goods were still found there, such as the head of a golden robe pin marked with 1 and decorated with almandines with 2 designated bone ridge.
Merovingian sarcophagus
A remarkable find from the excavations is a Merovingian sarcophagus of Burgundy origin. Remnants on the outer wall of the sarcophagus suggest an earlier open installation. The thesis is put forward that this is the sarcophagus of the founder of the church building from 1035, placed in the western apse. According to the description at the exhibition of the sarcophagus in the Museum Villa Jamm Lahr in 2006, the sarcophagus dates from the 7th century and, as was common at that time, was used for several burials in different centuries. It is said to be the only Merovingian stone sarcophagus found east of the Upper Rhine.
Frescoes
In the 15th century the church was richly painted using the fresco technique . Parts of the wall paintings are still preserved today in the choir and the western part of the main room, in the central part of the main room they were removed around the middle of the 18th century. The wall paintings have suffered badly over the centuries and are for the most part heavily faded.
The barrel vault of the choir shows Christ enthroned, surrounded by the symbols of the four evangelists , below (at the base) the twelve apostles are depicted on the north, south and back . The surviving pictures in the western part of the main aisle essentially represent biblical scenes and scenes from the stories of saints. The inner reveals of the added Romanesque windows are decorated with Gothic tendril and flower patterns.
exhibition
Lahr-Burgheim, 50 years of church archeology, October 1 - December 30, 2006 in the Museum Villa Jamm, Lahr
credentials
- ^ Report by the conservator Kirchner of June 29, 1905 to the Ministry of Culture in Karlsruhe. Quotation from Reimar Sommer in Bernhard Würfel and the Elders of the Second Collegiate Parish (ed.): 1035–1985 950 years of Burgheim church “St. Peter “, Ernst Kaufmann, Lahr, 1985
- ^ From the certificate of consecration archived in St. Gallen. Transcription and translation by Hubert Kewitz in Bernhard Würfel and the Elders of the Second Collegiate Parish (Ed.): 1035–1985 950 years of Burgheim Church “St. Peter “, Ernst Kaufmann, Lahr, 1985
- ↑ Karl List in Bernhard Würfel and the Elders of the Second Collegiate Parish (Ed.): 1035–1985 950 Years of Burgheim Church “St. Peter “, Ernst Kaufmann, Lahr, 1985, p. 43 ff.
literature
Special literature
- Niklot Krohn, Gabriele Bohnert: Lahr-Burgheim. 50 years of church archeology. BAG-Verlag, Remshalden 2006, ISBN 3-935383-94-0 .
- Niklot Krohn: Church buildings and church graves from early medieval Alamannia as archaeological evidence of the nobility way of life and Christian institutionalization: Lahr-Burgheim, St. Peter - Dürbheim, "Häuaslesrain" - Kichrdorf, St. Martin. unpublished Dissertation Freiburg 2004.
- Steffi Karius-Berg: A Merovingian grave in the church of St. Peter von Lahr-Burgheim. In: Yearbook Geroldeckerland , Vol. 29, 1987, p. 65 ff. Ortenaukreis (Ed.), Verlag Ernst Kaufmann, Lahr.
- Pastor Bernhard Würfel and the Elders of the Second Collegiate Parish (Ed.): 1035–1985 950 years of Burgheim Church “St. Peter " . Ernst Kaufmann, Lahr, 1985
- G. Fingerlin: Merovingian noble graves in the St. Peter's Church in Lahr-Burgheim. In: Archäologische Nachrichten aus Baden , Issue 35, 1985, pp. 23–35.
- E. Bader: Late Gothic tombstones in the Burgheim church. In: Die Ortenau , Vol. 34, 1954, pp. 38–43.
- M. Eimer: The Burgheim church tower as an architectural model. In: Die Ortenau , Vol. 26, 1939, pp. 105-108.
- G. Binder: The advocatus de Lare and his tomb at the Burgheim church. In: Die Ortenau Vol. 18, 1931, pp. 145–148.
- G. Binder: The inscriptions of the Burgheim church. In: Die Ortenau , Vol. 12, 1925, pp. 151–155.
- K. Christ: Dated inscriptions from Burgheim near Lahr. In: Die Ortenau , Vol. 11, 1924, p. 74.
General literature
- Kurt Klein: Land around the Rhine and Black Forest. The Ortenau in past and present, Morstadt, Kehl 1980 ISBN 3-88571-011-0
- Dieter Kauß: At home in the Ortenau district. Stadler, Konstanz 1989, ISBN 3-7977-0165-9
Web links
Coordinates: 48 ° 20 ′ 51 ″ N , 7 ° 52 ′ 52 ″ E