Prince portal at Bamberg Cathedral

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The prince portal on the north side of the nave

The prince portal at the Bamberg Cathedral is next to the Adam Gate , the grace or Marie gate and Veit door of one of the four major portals of the Bamberg Cathedral of St. Peter and St. George. The richly decorated entrance is located in a porch on the north aisle and dates from the 13th century.

Building history

The exact production time of the prince portal is discussed in the research literature, but it is assumed that it was built around 1230. This knowledge is based on the entire construction history of the newly built cathedral , which unequivocally identifies the porch as a supporting wall for the portal on the north aisle wall .

Who created the entrance is not yet known and it is not clear from previous finds. However, it is assumed that there were two workshops whose artists must have been involved in decorating the portal. In research, a distinction is made between a younger and an older sculpture school:

“The sculptural decoration of the Gnadenpforte and the choir screen reliefs, the figure of Adam at the Adamspforte and parts of the prince's portal come from the older Bamberg workshop. The latter was completed by the younger sculptors, so that both styles are represented side by side. "

According to the current state of research, it can be assumed that the older workshop created the pairs of figures of the left robe and the three inner ones of the right robe. The rest of the design of the prince portal is assigned to the younger workshop.

The Fürstenportal was examined by building research in the early 1990s. Manfred Schuller was able to prove that it and the associated figures were involved in the construction progress of the entire cathedral building and thus did not result from a subsequent opening. The portal got its current name through its function. Use was reserved for high clergymen, whose office as bishops made them worldly lords, i.e. princes. The tradition of the name goes back to the 18th century and therefore does not guarantee whether and which name the portal had at the time of construction. The prince portal is only opened for special processions today.

Building description

The prince portal is located on the north side of the nave in a risalit-like porch, the access to which is granted by an outside staircase. The construction follows the type of columnar step portal , for which the massive porch was necessary. This funnel-like design, paired with its decor, makes the arched portal, which is decorated with sculptures, more spacious. Viewing the portal follows the narrative thread from left to right, which forces the viewer to choose between salvation (left) and damnation (right). The pictorial program of this cycle is represented by the pair of figures from Ecclesia and synagogue , the richly decorated columns and the depiction of the Last Judgment on the tympanum.

The originals of the Fürstenportal are no longer attached due to the weather; copies are in their place.

Tympanum

Last Judgment representation of the tympanum

The tympanum of the prince portal is attached above the lintel . It shows the representation of the Last Judgment with Jesus Christ as judge with outstretched hands, who is seated centrally on a throne. Next to him kneel Mary and John the Baptist , who look up at him and hold his feet. In the middle of the two, as a representation of the resurrection, two dead rise from their coffins. Seen from the left of Jesus Christ from the beholder are the blessed who appear to be facing Jesus Christ. Three angels hold the instruments of passion, the cross, lance and crown of thorns, in their hands. Two other angels bring a king up. At the lower left edge there are three figures with their hands folded in prayer. On the right side of the Judge Christ the damned are depicted. In contrast to the group of the blessed, the faces of the six figures are depicted here bizarre and grimacing. Among them are also a king, a pope, a bishop and a curmudgeon who holds his wallet tight. A chain holds the damned together and is held in place by a naked devil who pulls the group away.

Ecclesia and Synagogue

The prince portal with Ecclesia (left), synagogue (right) and the trumpet angel in the arched area

The representation of Ecclesia and synagogue are the personifications of the old covenant (synagogue for Judaism) and the new covenant (ecclesia for the church). The figures portrayed as women have stood opposite each other since the high Middle Ages, including on the prince portal of Bamberg Cathedral.

The Ecclesia stands upright and triumphant under a canopy on the side of the blessed. As an attribute, she wears a crown on her head, as a sign of victory over the Old Covenant and originally a chalice in her right hand (for the sacrificial death) and in her left hand a staff of the cross (for the resurrection of Christ). The hands and thus also the chalice and cross staff have been lost.

On the side of the damned is the figure of the synagogue, also under a canopy. She is marked with a blindfold (as blindness before the recognition of the Messiah Jesus Christ), a broken staff in her right hand and her left hand with slipping tablets of the Law of Moses.

columns

The prophets with the apostles on their shoulders in the left robe

Both on the left and on the right side of the entrance door there are a total of eleven pillars and, with their arched shape, form the pillar step portal. The shafts of the columns are not uniformly decorated, but designed as a smooth, fluted or twisted column and divided by a shaft ring halfway up. From the height of the shaft ring, six of the columns are alternately erected as half-columns. Before the columns merge into the archivolt , they are closed with capitals . The décor of the capitals depends on their type: while those of the half-columns are decorated with a dove, the rest are decorated with ornamentation. The twelve minor prophets are enthroned in the garment of the half-columns ( Book of the Twelve Prophets ). On their shoulders they carry the disciples of Jesus, the twelve apostles : Peter , Andreas , Jakobus the Elder. Ä. , Johannes , Philippus , Bartholomäus , Thomas , Jakobus d. J. , Simon Zelotes , Judas Thaddäus , Judas Ischarioth . In the arched field, to the right of the tympanum, there are two more sculptures: Abraham ( Abraham's lap ), in whose lap there are five blessed and the trumpet angel .

iconography

The imagery of the prince portal is a narrative that begins with the figure of Ecclesia and ends with the figure of the synagogues. The Allegory following image series begins with the life and ends with death. In addition, the position in which the church represented itself is clearly visible. Between life and death, the Last Judgment is at the center , which admonishes the viewer to follow the right path. In addition to the juxtaposition of Ecclesia and Synagoga, the sculptural sculptures of the columns are also part of the story:

“The portal program of the prophets with the apostles standing on their shoulders also broadens the idea of ​​the sequence of stages. The hierarchy simultaneously expresses the sequence and progress of the three ages of salvation history: Old Testament, New Testament and the New Era after the Last Judgment. "

influence

In research, the work of the younger workshop is subject to constant comparison with the furnishings in Reims Cathedral. Since the construction time can be dated to about the same as that of Bamberg Cathedral, the assumption that the younger sculptors came from Reims is justified. In addition, the works of the younger workshop are characterized by the influence of French Gothic. The Fürstenportal in particular makes the transition from the older workshop to the younger one clear:

"As is well known, the so-called younger sculptor's workshop in Bamberg Cathedral created a series of sculptures that directly embraced the style of French high-Gothic sculpture that was recently developed at Reims Cathedral and implemented it in the same high quality."

literature

  • Aloys Butzkamm: Christian Iconography. To understand medieval art. 2nd Edition. Bonifatius GmbH, Paderborn 2001.
  • Walter Hartleitner: On the polychromy of the Bamberg cathedral sculpture. (= Writings from the Faculty of Humanities and Cultural Studies of the Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg. Volume 5.) University of Bamberg Press, Bamberg 2011.
  • Achim Hubel : The younger sculptor's workshop in Bamberg Cathedral. Reflections on the narrative form and the interpretation of the sculptures. In: Stephan Gasser, Christian Freilang, Bruno Boerner (eds.): Architecture and monumental sculpture of the 12th-14th centuries Century. Production and reception, commemorative publication for Peter Kurmann on his 65th birthday. Bern 2006.
  • Hans-Christian Feldmann: Bamberg and Reims: The sculptures 1220-1250. On the development of the style and meaning of the sculptures in the new building of the Bamberg Cathedral built under Bishop Ekbert (1203–1237) with special consideration of the sculptures on the transept and west facade of Reims Cathedral. Verlag an der Lottbek, Hamburg 1992.
  • Nina Rowe: Synagoga Tumbles, a Rider Triumphs: Clerical Viewers and the Fürstenportal of Bamberg Cathedral. In: Gesta 45 (2006), No. 1, pp. 15-42 ( access from JSTOR ).
  • Robert Suckale : The Bamberg Cathedral Sculptures. Technique, block treatment, viewability and the involvement of the viewer. In: Munich Yearbook of Fine Arts. Third episode. Volume 38, 1987.
  • Manfred Schuller : The prince portal of Bamberg Cathedral. Bayerische Verlagsanstalt, Bamberg, 1993.
  • Dethard von Winterfeld: The cathedral in Bamberg. Volume 1. The building history up to completion in the 13th century. Gebr. Mann Verlag, Berlin 1979.
  • Dethard von Winterfeld: The cathedral in Bamberg. Volume 2. The findings, design and construction technology. Gebr. Mann Verlag, Berlin 1979.
  • Werner Zeißner, Josef Urban: The Bamberg Cathedral. Cathedral and mother church. 2nd Edition. Archive of the Archdiocese of Bamberg, Bamberg 2007.

Web links

Commons : Fürstenportal at Bamberg Cathedral  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Cf. Dethard von Winterfeld: The cathedral in Bamberg. Volume 2. The findings, design and construction technology. Gebr. Mann Verlag, Berlin 1979. p. 58.
  2. ↑ Werner Zeißner, Josef Urban: The Cathedral of Bamberg. Cathedral and mother church. 2nd Edition. Archive of the Archdiocese of Bamberg, Bamberg 2007. p. 18.
  3. ↑ See Walter Hartleitner: On the polychromy of the Bamberg cathedral sculpture. (= Writings from the Faculty of Humanities and Cultural Studies of the Otto Friedrich University of Bamberg. Volume 5). University of Bamberg Press, Bamberg 2011. p. 90.
  4. ↑ Manfred Schuller : The prince portal of the Bamberg cathedral. Bayerische Verlagsanstalt, Bamberg, 1993.
  5. ↑ Cf. Dethard von Winterfeld: The cathedral in Bamberg. Volume 2. The findings, design and construction technology. Gebr. Mann Verlag, Berlin 1979. p. 58.
  6. ↑ See Hans-Christian Feldmann: Bamberg and Reims: The sculptures 1220–1250. On the development of the style and meaning of the sculptures in the new building of the Bamberg Cathedral built under Bishop Ekbert (1203–1237) with special consideration of the sculptures on the transept and west facade of Reims Cathedral. Verlag an der Lottbek, Hamburg 1992. p. 37.
  7. ↑ Hannelore Sachs, Ernst Badstüber, Ernst, Helga Neumann: Dictionary of Christian Iconography. 10th edition. Schnell & Steiner GmbH, Regensburg 2012. pp. 44-45. 297-298.
  8. ^ Robert Suckale: The Bamberg Cathedral Sculptures. Technique, block treatment, viewability and the involvement of the viewer. In: Munich Yearbook of Fine Arts. Third Series, Volume 38, 1987, p. 51.
  9. ↑ See Achim Hubel: The younger sculptor's workshop in Bamberg Cathedral. Reflections on the narrative form and the interpretation of the sculptures. In: Stephan Gasser, Christian Freilang, Bruno Boerner (eds.): Architecture and monumental sculpture of the 12th-14th centuries Century. Production and reception, commemorative publication for Peter Kurmann on his 65th birthday. Bern 2006, p. 475.

Coordinates: 49 ° 53 '27.06 "  N , 10 ° 52' 57.23"  O