Parish Church of the Assumption of Mary (Schlanders)

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The parish church of the Assumption of Mary in Silandro
Entrance to Widum Schlanders, rectory and former commander of the Teutonic Order

The parish church of the Assumption in Silandro is a Roman Catholic church in the Vinschgau in South Tyrol . The striking church tower is the highest in Tyrol at 90.60 meters .

history

Schlanders was mentioned in a document as early as 1170 as the center of a parish district. It is believed that the parish of Schlanders originated in the 7th or 8th century when the large rural parishes were expanded by the diocese of Chur . The close connection to the Chur diocese is also evident from the fact that the cathedral in Chur is also dedicated to the Assumption of Mary . In any case, Schlanders is one of the oldest parishes in South Tyrol. At the time the parish was established, it was probably much larger than in the late Middle Ages and modern times , as it also looked after the areas of Laas and Martell . But a document from 1380 also shows that the parish had to provide the pastor with a horse so that he could reach the branch churches to read mass there.

In the High Middle Ages, the so-called land chapters or deaneries developed . A vicar , also called archpriest, was in charge of such a deanery . Despite the central location of Schlanders, the priests who worked there were never appointed archpriests until the 19th century. The reason could have been that the parish had been incorporated into the Teutonic Order since 1235 , i.e. it was looked after by its members. Emperor Friedrich II donated the church to the order. The bishops of Chur usually did not have a good relationship with the Teutonic Order, which was founded as a knightly order during the Crusades .

In 1499, the Engadine War between the Swiss Confederation and the Swabian Confederation , which was allied with the Habsburgs , was fought hard. After the victory of the Confederates in the Battle of Calven , the Vinschgau was plundered by them. Schlanders was also affected and the church suffered severe damage. Under the direction of master Oswald Furter from Latsch in Vinschgau, the parish church and the St. Michael chapel were completely renovated in the late Gothic style. In 1505 everything was restored. The upper part of the 97 meter high tower also dates from this time.

In 1758/59 the church was redesigned in Baroque style under the imperial court painter Josef Adam Mölk . The nave, which was extended to the west, was converted into a hall church with a barrel vault. In the vault you can still see the originally Gothic shape. The outer walls, into which two conches were broken, are still divided by a kind of buttress.

At the beginning of the 19th century, the Napoleonic Wars and the Tyrolean struggle for freedom caused numerous upheavals. On September 17th, 1808, the Vinschgau was incorporated into the diocese of Brixen . Only now, after the separation from Chur, was the parish of Schlanders elevated to a deanery in 1812. On October 12, 1818, the parish came to the diocese of Trento .

The political affiliation of Schlanders also changed. After the defeat of the Tyrolean riflemen under Andreas Hofer in 1809, the northern part of the Vinschgau with Silandro became part of the Kingdom of Bavaria . In 1811 the new government occupied the Kommende , the branch of the Teutonic Order in Silandro, and sold their goods. Even after the return of Tyrol to Austria in 1814, a reinstatement of the order was no longer considered. The parish church has been a secular church since then and is looked after by diocesan priests . In the village there is still a monastery of the Capuchin Order with its own small church, which is dedicated to John the Baptist . Since 1964 the parish of Schlanders has belonged to the diocese of Bozen-Brixen .

building

Construction seam at the level of the dial
Interior

tower

The approximately 91 meter high Gothic tower is the highest church tower in South Tyrol and is remarkable for its slim, narrow construction, which it received in 1499. If you look at the clock faces of the tower, you will notice that the tower is grouted differently up to the middle of the third floor. This seems to have been the original height of the structure, which was then raised after the Engerdiener War. The pointed octagonal spire of the tower is covered with wooden shingles and inclines slightly to the west. The reason for the latter is probably an insufficiently repaired lightning strike. The tower is on the north side of the church.

The fourth floor, with its tracery adorned sound windows, houses a six-part bell with the tuning c sharp 1 , e 1 , f sharp 1 , g sharp 1 , b sharp 1 and c sharp 2 . The largest bell (cis 1 ) weighs around three tons and was cast by Michael Zach in Bozen in 1800.

Interior

Marble from the region was used for the interior design, and many components of the Gothic church were integrated.

The high altar of the church was rebuilt several times. After the renovation of the church due to the destruction in the Engadine War of 1499, the Swabian master Jörg Lederer built a carved altar in 1513. Only a few figures of saints have survived, including a depiction of Anna the third of herself . This late Gothic carved altar was probably replaced by a new one in the Baroque period . The central group of figures, representing the coronation of Mary , and of which the main character is the statue of Mary, has remained the center of the altar, even if it has been reworked several times, which in its current, neo-baroque form dates from 1910.

The kneeling figure of Mary is also venerated as the miraculous image of “Our Lady in the Rain”. Legend has it that a farmer from Kortsch , a part of the municipality of Schlanders, discovered the statue in a field . In 1799 Schlanders was threatened by Napoleon's advancing troops . The Schlanderser Schützen vowed to carry the statue in a solemn procession through the town every year on the Feast of the Name of the Virgin , if the danger passed. The French soon withdrew without leaving any war damage. Since then, the statue of the Virgin has been floating down on a rail from the altar before the procession and is placed on a canopy (popularly known as "Fergele"). Afterwards, accompanied by the music band, the riflemen and many believers, it is carried through the village with gunfire.

The modern folk altar in the center of the choir was created by the artist Karl Grasser in 1990.

At the left entrance to the choir is the Gothic font from 1529. In the 17th century it was given a wooden top.

The two neo-Romanesque side altars in the side cones are the hll. Dedicated to Josef (left) and Sebastian . These altarpieces are older and probably come from Josef Adam Mölk, who also made the ceiling paintings.

By dispensing with the stucco common in the Baroque era , Mölk was able to create space for large-scale frescoes . In the nave he painted the biblical Esther , kneeling in front of the Persian king Xerxes I , in the midst of a huge painted mock architecture . There is also a large picture in the choir, which is framed by several smaller paintings in the fields of the vault. It shows the worship of Mary by the continents. Europe bears the features of the then ruling Empress Maria Theresa .

Michaelskirche

Michaelskirche from the outside

To the east of the church is the two-story Michael’s Church, which was consecrated in 1488.

The two-aisled basement serves as a crypt and was once connected by a corridor with nobility graves under the choir of the parish church.

The upper floor is characterized by its net vault. Here hangs the former high altar picture of the parish church, which shows the Assumption of Mary . Further furnishings include a late Gothic, life-size crucifix and some frescoes from 1511. The western part of the upper church has been used as the parish church's sacristy since the Baroque period .

The building is crowned by a ridge turret with an onion helmet. There hangs the death knell, the train bell , as it's popularly known.

The Michaelskirche serves as a chapel for the dead and is otherwise closed.

gallery

  • Gothic north portal

  • Fresco: Homage to Mary

  • Fresco: Legend of the Esther by Ahasuerus

  • High altar with miraculous image in the center

  • Baptismal font

  • Pulpit from 1780

  • Altar of St. Sebastian

  • Altar of St. Joseph

  • organ

Web links

Commons : Parish Church of the Assumption of Mary (Schlanders)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hans Wielader: Arte sacra a Silandro , Bolzano 1994 p. 72
  2. ↑ Damian M. Hungs: Der Teutonic Order Priest until 1800. Fromm, 2011, p. 48 (online) ( Memento of the original from July 18, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 1.7 MB) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.damian-hungs.de
  3. ^ A b Martin Laimer: Building culture in the community of Schlanders . Passeier Verlag, Lana 2011, ISBN 978-88-89474-20-4 , pp. 27-29 .
  4. ^ I - Schlanders / Silandro (BZ) Parish Church of the Assumption of Mary. Retrieved November 19, 2016 .
  5. ↑ a b c d e Hans Wielander: Sacred art in Schlanders . Pluristam, Bozen 1994, p. 72-85 .

Coordinates: 46 ° 37 ′ 39.4 ″  N , 10 ° 46 ′ 21.4 ″  E