Deanery Church of the Assumption (Žatec)
The Deanery Church of the Assumption (also Dean Church ) ( Czech Děkanský kostel Nanebevzetí Panny Marie ) is a listed church building in the North Bohemian town of Žatec (Saaz). The sacred building was first erected as a Romanesque building in the 13th century and then rebuilt as a Gothic hall church in the 14th century. It stands in the center of the city on Hostalek Square, directly behind the Priest's Gate, the former main entrance to the city. The church belongs to the Roman Catholic diocese of Leitmeritz . She bears the patronage of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary , which is celebrated as a solemn festival on August 15th. In earlier times the Portiuncula Festival was also celebrated on August 2nd.
history
Presumably, when the place "Satzi" was first mentioned in 1004, a church was already there. Today's Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary stands on the site of an originally late Romanesque basilica from the early 13th century (construction began in 1206).
In the middle of the 14th century (construction began in 1336), the construction of a new Gothic church began, with the foundations and masonry of the Romanesque building being incorporated into the new building in the lower area of the towers on the west facade. In the years 1340–1370, builders from around the Prague building works of the cathedral builder Peter Parler also took part in the construction of the church . The Gothic masonry is preserved in the surrounding walls of the church, the presbytery (choir room), the bell tower and the sacristy.
In 1380 the foundation stone for the south tower (bell tower) was laid. This tower was only half finished, the upper part for the bells was made as a wooden tower.
In the years 1724–1728 the octagonal chapel of St. John of Nepomuk added on the south side.
In 1738 the church fell victim to a city fire, with all bells destroyed. The dean, the school and numerous town houses were also affected. Then around 1740 the reconstruction of the baroque west facade began as a double tower facade, probably with the help of Octavio Broggio. Due to an expert opinion by the builders Octavio Broggio from Leitmeritz and Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer from Prague , the installation of the bells in one of these towers was rejected and the expansion of the previously unfinished bell tower was suggested. As a result, the originally wooden bell tower was replaced by the massive south tower between 1767 and 1773 (master builder Johann Paul Losch from Saaz). The bells that were cast in Prague in 1768 were hung here in 1773.
In the years 1833 to 1836 the north and south cemetery walls next to the church were removed.
In 1840 the church was damaged again by fire, in particular the roof, parts of the church vault and the helmets of the west tower facade were affected. The external renovation of the church was carried out in 1857/58 by master mason Anton Grim (1811–1868), the helmets of the double towers were renewed and the church roof was re-covered. Then in 1866 the interior renovation of the church began.
In the years 1893 to 1898 the church was rebuilt ("modernized") in the historicizing style of neo-Gothic , which largely lost the medieval character of the church. The southern portal has been raised, some stained glass windows have been raised (that is, extended downwards) and a neo-Gothic frieze has been placed on the outside wall of the church. New entrances were built into the north and south vestibules and new floor panels were laid. The church was consecrated again on September 18, 1898 by Father Aloysius Hanel.
In 1927, five new bells, which had been cast in the Herold bell foundry in Komotau , were consecrated and installed in the bell tower.
In the years 1993-1994 the exterior of the church was renovated, the subsequent reconstruction in the years 2004 to 2007 served to secure the vaults and the renovation and painting of the interior, including the vaults. Since June 3, 2007, the deanery church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary has been open to the public again.
architecture
The building is a Gothic hall church with a main nave and two narrow side aisles with ribbed vaults. The church has a presbytery (choir) with ribbed vaults and a polygonal apse, an entrance hall and a sacristy on the north side of the church. On the west side of the church there is a baroque two-tower facade with the main portal and a triangular gable above it between the towers.
On the south side of the church is the bell tower, which is structured by pilasters at the corners and has a bellied tower dome. In the south-west corner of the church there is a polygonal chapel of St. John of Nepomuk, in which there is a crypt. It is provided with outer and inner wall pillars and a vaulted dome with a lantern.
The wall paintings in the church and in the presbytery are by L. Reimboth. The frescoes in the cupola of the Nepomuk Chapel with scenes from the life of St. Johannes von Nepomuk created Josef Anton Gentsch (Jentsch).
The fragmentary fresco on the wall of the south portal (1747) was repaired in the 19th century. The glass windows in the church are from the late 19th century. and were carried out by the Tschörner company based on designs by Prof. Baum.
Equipment of the church
Altars
The main altar with the early baroque statues of St. Peter and Paul , St. Norbert , St. Augustine , St. Sigismund and St. Wenzel is by Veit Styrl (1670), the altar painting of the Assumption by Anton Stevens von Steinfels (1668, restored in Vienna in 1838), above are the paintings of St. Norbert and God the Father. The side altars were replaced by four neo-Gothic altars as part of the renovation (1894):
- Anne altar with baroque painting of St. Anna (1699)
- Katharinen altar with early baroque painting of the beheading of St. Catherine (1661)
- Altar of Mary with a baroque painting of Our Lady of Sorrows (1737)
- Trinity altar with painting by Wilhelm Kandler (1866)
The altar of St. Josef was removed during this renovation and not put back up.
Statues
On the pillars in the nave are the early baroque statues of St. Christophorus (1664), St. Vitus (1665), the Madonna (1664), St. Joseph (1664) and St. Sigismund (1665) by Veit Styrl, as well as a life-size early Baroque calvary (1666) on a newer base (with an inscription for those who died in the First World War ).
The pewter baroque baptismal font by J. Götzer dates from 1716. The pulpit with the time wheel of eternity from 1890 was restored in 1936.
The Stations of the Cross (1949/50) made of linden wood (gold-plated) were carried out under Archdechant Gerlak Josef Mazal by the academic sculptor František Rada (1910–1979), the gilding work by Ladislav Kozáni from Jihlava . The donors Gerlak Mazal and Josef Bedřich are realistically portrayed in the last (14th) station as Joseph of Arimathäa and Nicodemus .
organ
The Gothic church was already equipped with an organ in the 14th century. The first organ whose builder is known sounded in the church in 1629. It was the work of the organ builder Jacob Schedlich from Joachimsthal . At the end of the 17th century, the organ builder Johann Caspar Neumann from Tetschen is mentioned, who worked in various cities in Northern Bohemia. Andreas Franz Kohout, who worked in Saaz from 1716 to 1726, is named as organist.
A larger two-manual organ was ordered by the city in 1727/28 and installed by the organ builder Johann Wenzel Starck from Elbogen . Between 1829 and 1830 this organ was divided into two symmetrical wings by the organ builders Franz and Josef Gröbl from Kaaden , with a new console and new mechanics. The baroque appearance is changed into a classical one. In 1872 the organ was restored by the organ builders Ferdinand and Karl Guth from Aussig .
In 1889 the organ building company Heinrich Schiffner from Prague installed a new organ in the church. Later modifications were carried out by the organ builders Rieger from Jägerndorf and the Hauser company from Turn near Teplitz . In 1993 a renovation was carried out by the Prague organ workshop Vít Čespíro.
The organ of the Saaz deanery church is one of the large and high-quality romantic organs. It is maintained as a technical monument and also used for concerts.
Dean at the deanery church "Assumption of Mary"
The pastors or deans of the main Saaz parish church came from the royal Premonstratensian monastery of Strahov . After 1420 the pastors were Hussite , then Utraquist and later Protestant . By an edict from Emperor Ferdinand II , the city became Roman Catholic again from 1622 . In 1710 the dispute over the patronage and collatur right between the city of Saaz and the Strahov monastery was decided in favor of the city, ie the city's magistrate had the right to appoint the deans of the city parish church. List of deans:
- 1536–1578 Matthäus Lausky († 1578), Protestant dean
- 1585–1593 Valentin Schubar († 1594), Protestant dean
- 1607–1609 Zacharias Bruncwik († 1633), Protestant dean
- from 1622 P. Balthasar, administrator
- 1628 P. Andreas Mirecus, first Roman Catholic. Dean since 1420
- 1633–1635 P. Tobias Stampach († 1647),
- 1657–1670 P. Laurentius Johann Molitoris († 1670),
- 1778–1780 P. Raimund Melzer († 1780)
- 1780–1804 P. Liber Leopold Schirl (1747–1804)
- 1804–1831 P. Theophil Franz Singer (1760–1831)
- 1832–1861 P. Norbert Josef Oßwald (1801–1868)
- 1862–1865 P. Aegidius Christof Kaiser
- 1865–1870 P. Casimir Gebauer († 1870)
- 1870 - after 1902 P. Aloysius Josef Hanel (* 1829)
- until 1945 P. Ignaz Josef Preiß (1870–1966), Archdechant
- 1945–1956 Gerlak Josef Mazal (1863–1962), Archdechant
- 1956–1964 Ignác Stodůlka (1903–1964), administrator
- 1964–1969 P. František Kolář (1915–1980), administrator
- 1969–1998 P. Hroznata Jan Svatek, Dean
- since 1998 Father Augustin Josef Špaček, administrator
Statues on the church
Above the main entrance on the west side of the church are the statues of St. Judas Thaddäus and St. Johannes Nepomuk arranged. There is a sculpture of St. Norbert and the city coat of arms, on the southern outer wall of the Nepomuk Chapel the sculpture of Anna selbdritt (St. Anna, Maria and Jesuskind).
Most of the statues next to the church were created in the years 1728–1729 by the Saaz sculptor Johann Karl Vetter. South of the church are the statues of St. Maria Magdalena , St. Johannes Nepomuk, St. Peter and Paul, St. Norbert, the Immaculata , St. Judas Thaddäus and St. Francis of Assisi , on the north side of the church the statues of St. Wenceslas and St. Afra .
In the rectory (deanery), a building from the 18th century. Next to the church, frescoes from the life of St. Nepomuk by Franz Siard von Nossek have been preserved in the hallway , and on the outer wall there is a wall sculpture of St. Nepomuk.
use
The church is used as the parish church, the masses take place on Sundays at 8 and 10 a.m. Father Augustin Josef Špaček, O. Praem, has been the administrator since 1998 . The deanery church is now one of the architectural treasures of the city of Žatec.
literature
- Adolf Seifert: The history of the Saaz city dean church. Saaz 1898, 97 pp.
- Adolf Seifert: The city of Saaz in the 19th century. Saaz 1902, 580 pp.
- Karl Tutte: The political district of Saaz. Saaz 1904, 918 pp.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Vrabcivzatci - Deanery Church Žatec (Czech) (accessed on October 22, 2015)
- ↑ Hrady.cz - Deanery Church Žatec (Czech) (accessed on October 22, 2015)
- ↑ Regional Museum - Deanery Church Žatec (Czech) (accessed October 22, 2015)
- ↑ Vyletnik - Deanery Church Žatec (Czech) (accessed on October 22, 2015)
- ↑ Parish office Žatec (Czech) (accessed on October 22, 2015)
- ^ Adolf Seifert: The city of Saaz in the 19th century, Saaz 1902.
Coordinates: 50 ° 19 ′ 52.5 ″ N , 13 ° 32 ′ 35.1 ″ E