Filial church St. Erhard (St. Paul)
The branch church St. Erhard in St. Paul im Lavanttal , usually called Erhardikirche for short , is located at the foot of the collegiate hill, separated from the monastery by the road . It is consecrated to St. Erhard von Regensburg .
Building description
The medium-sized church building has a single nave. The floor plan of the original Gothic complex, which was built around 1400 and first mentioned in a document in 1405, is well preserved. The building consists largely of mortared quarry stone masonry, only a few parts are made of bricks. The choir has the same width and height as the nave and a 5/8 end . The two-tiered buttresses of the choir suggest that it was vaulted from the start . The windows are large and ogival; some of them are still two-lane; inside they are changed to a rectangular shape.
The tower is on the west side of the church. It has a square floor plan, six storeys and is covered with a medium-pitched pyramid helmet. It is entered from the nave, the ground floor has a groin vault.
The nave is three- bayed and has a groin vault over consoles. In the western half of the nave there is a Gothic gate with a profiled wall on the north and south walls. The south is walled up, the arch relief with the Lamb of God from the 15th century remains visible. Next to the northern gate there is a stone holy water kettle, marked 1511. The windows are closed on the inside with a rectangular shape, this baroque change took place from 1623 to 1625 under Abbot Hieronymus Marchstaller . During this time, a singing gallery was also built on the west side, which can be reached via a wooden spiral staircase. The year 1624 and HASP can be read on the two baluster columns that support the vault of the gallery . Under Marchstaller, the choir and nave were (newly) vaulted, and the floor was raised by around 63 cm. This resulted in a significant change in the spatial impression. A painter, presumably Lorenz Gabler , painted the vaults. These were probably whitewashed during the restoration in 1864. At that time the ceiling painting was created in Neo- Raphael style, which shows three singing angels.
In 1985/86 the outer walls were again given the scratch-plaster decor as it was reconstructed during the restoration: diamond blocks on the tower and the nave, a running dog frieze on the tower and an arched frieze on the nave and choir.
Side chapels
There is a square side chapel on the north and south sides. They connect to the gates to the east. They were built under Abbot Albert Reichart (1677–1727), who also carried out numerous building projects in the monastery. The stucco work on the cross vaults is dated to around 1690 and was probably made by Johann Peter Wittini . They show flowers, leaves, fruits and buxom putti . The wall altar in the south side chapel is also stuccoed. The altarpiece shows the death of St. Joseph, the top picture shows St. Michael. They are dated to around 1790. In the cartouches on the ceiling there are five pictures in folk freshness. They were probably created in the course of a renovation in 1777. The Völkermarkter Franz Xaver Heigel is believed to be the painter .
In 1985/86, the outside of the chapels received the baroque painted pilaster decor, as it was made around 1700, but was later whitewashed.
Frescoes
On the outside of the south-east wall of the choir there is a late Gothic fresco around three meters wide, which has been badly damaged by pecking the plaster and inserting a grave slab. The representation is not clearly visible. Stylistic comparisons with the donor fresco in the St. Paul Collegiate Church suggest that Thomas von Villach was the painter . In the representation, Christ is assumed before Pilate , as well as the saints Magdalena and Dorothea. A man's head can be seen in the corner of the border, analogous to the donor fresco in the collegiate church.
A good part of the frescoes in the interior of the church were only discovered during the renovation in 1975/76.
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On the inside of the north wall there is a large fresco with Christ on the cross in front of a wide landscape. The cross has shifted a little to the right and is inclined downwards. St John stands under the cross, and Mary behind this. The creator of the picture kneels between the two, reduced in size. The three-line inscription at the lower edge of the picture is mutilated, the year 1527 is clearly visible. The composition and the folds of the robes of Mary are reminiscent of the work of Wolf Huber , although Huber's own work is excluded here.
On the south side there are remains of a large fresco from the mid-16th century: God the Father can be seen above, garlands and angels above. The founder is shown on the right, accompanied by a Franciscan intercessor.
In the choir there are a number of frescoes by different painters:
- On the north side at the bottom left is the depiction of St. Anne herself with the Saints Joseph and Zacharias from around 1533.
- Next to it, framed in an ornament ribbon, Mary with the infant Jesus and Saint Dorothea, kneeling in front of them is the secular donor.
- The sacrament niche that is now walled up is painted over with a half-length figure of a Man of Sorrows.
- There follows a seated holy bishop in a green robe with a book. In the depiction from the 16th century, St. Erhard, the church patron, is assumed.
- Around the end of the choir runs a frescoed band that contains the twelve apostles in clover-leaf arcades. Below this there is a narrow strip with prophets from the Old Testament.
Facility
The high altar was donated by Eugen Baron d'Albon in 1913. It is a Gothic winged altar and comes from Val Gardena . In the middle shrine there are statues of the church patron Erhard, flanked by a holy bishop , possibly Norbert and Pope Gregory the Great . Two events from the life of St. Benedict are depicted on the side wings: on the left the rescue of Placidus from the water by Maurus, on the right the death of St. Benedict.
At an angle to the triumphal arch are two identical late Baroque side altars. The large altarpieces (on the left the Mother of God with the Child and the 14 helpers in need , on the right Saint Catherine on clouds) are flanked by volute pillars that slope outwards. Gilded statues stand on their plinths: on the left Pope Gregory the Great and a young Benedictine, perhaps Placidus of Subiaco , on the right the Saints Agnes and Lucia. Above the altarpiece there is an essay picture, on the left St. John Nepomuk , on the right St. Margaret; to the side of the picture on the volutes sit angels. The main cornice is richly profiled and decorated with numerous foliage bandwork ornaments. On the altar table there is still a framed painting: on the left Saint Anne with Maria and Joachim, on the right the thorn-crowned head of Christ. The side altars come from the same nameless master who extended the high altar in the collegiate church around 1730.
The altar of the north side chapel has two Corinthian columns on the side of the main picture, as well as gable curves in the top picture. The altar used to be labeled 1711 . The altarpiece shows the death of St. Joseph and is signed S. Scharlinger . The altar of the southern chapel is stuccoed and, like the other stucco work in the church, probably comes from Johann Peter Wittini. The altarpiece shows a Sacred Heart with the donors, is labeled Fibinger 1942 and is classified as amateurish. The top picture shows the Archangel Michael.
Old graveyard
To the east and behind the church to the south is the old cemetery. A tombstone dated November 11, 1784 on the north wall is the oldest evidence of the existence of the cemetery. On the south side of the churchyard wall is the grave plaque for Prince Abbot Berthold Rottler . It is a cast-iron, gothic plaque in a Biedermeier niche building with a pointed roof gable. On the side of the cemetery wall there are the names of 37 monks on three marble tablets who were buried here until 1863, 33 of whom came from St. Blasien to St. Paul in 1809. Some more grave stones are walled on the outside walls of the church, the most recent dating from 1875. On the north wall is an al fresco painted sarcophagus with the emblems of a bricklayer or builder whose inscription is no longer readable, however.
history
The Erhardikirche was first mentioned in a document in 1405 as a parish church. Like the St. Paul market, it was sacked by the Cillians in 1432 and 1446 when the monastery became involved in the disputes between the diocese of Gurk and the Cillians. After that, the church fell into disrepair and was only renovated under Abbot Hieronymus Marchstaller from 1623 to 1625. The rededication took place on April 19, 1626. Shortly before 1700 the two side chapels were built.
A comprehensive renovation took place in 1864. The baroque high altar was dismantled in 1880 and is now lost. The high altar of the collegiate church was located here until 1935. Then today's high altar was erected. After the abolition of the monastery by the National Socialists and the associated closure of the collegiate church, the Erhardikirche served as a parish church from 1940 to 1945.
A comprehensive restoration took place in 1975/76. The interior was restored and the roof repaired. The nave got a new natural stone floor. The frescoes in the choir area, which have been known since 1935, have been exposed. The church stalls were renewed, the baroque pulpit from around 1730 was removed. A vestibule was installed at the entrance. A popular altar was erected. The re-inauguration took place on October 31, 1976. An extensive exterior restoration took place in 1985/86.
supporting documents
- Karl Ginhart : The old parish church of St. Erhard. In: Karl Ginhart (Ed.): The art monuments of the Benedictine monastery St. Paul in Lavanttal and its branch churches. (= Austrian Art Topography Volume XXXVII). Schroll, Vienna 1969, pp. 449–457.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e Ulrich Harb: On the construction and restoration history of the St. Erhard branch church . In: Carinthia's treasure house. State exhibition St. Paul 1991. 900 years of the Benedictine monastery. Volume II contributions . ISBN 3-85378-377-5 , pp. 583-587.
- ↑ a b c Dehio Handbook Carinthia . 2nd Edition. Schroll, Vienna 1981, ISBN 3-7031-0522-4 , pp. 592f.
- ↑ a b c d e f P. Laurentius Kull: The Filialkirche St. Erhard in St. Paul. Public collegiate high school of the Benedictines in St. Paul im Lavanttal, annual report on the school year 1990/91, pp. 61–64.
- ^ Karl Ginhart: The old parish church of St. Erhard. In: Karl Ginhart (Ed.): The art monuments of the Benedictine monastery St. Paul in Lavanttal and its branch churches. (= Austrian Art Topography Volume XXXVII), Schroll, Vienna 1969, p. 455, as well as P. Laurentius Kull: The Filialkirche St. Erhard in St. Paul. Public collegiate high school of the Benedictines in St. Paul im Lavanttal, annual report on the school year 1990/91, p. 62
Web links
Coordinates: 46 ° 41 ′ 59 " N , 14 ° 52 ′ 27.5" E