Tomb of Emperor Maximilian I.

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Cenotaph of Emperor Maximilian I in the Innsbruck Court Church

The tomb of Emperor Maximilian I is a monumental work with numerous bronze figures (hence the vernacular : " Black Mander " = black men), which is located in the main nave of the Innsbruck Court Church . The tomb was commissioned by Emperor Maximilian I (1459–1519) during his lifetime for the St. George's Chapel in the castle in Wiener Neustadt , but it remained unfinished. It was only his grandson, Emperor Ferdinand I (1503–1564), who had the magnificent tomb brought to Innsbruck and set up as a cenotaph in the court church he had built especially for it .

history

Colored engraving (19th century) of the interior of the court church with the tomb
Photograph (1898) of the interior of the Hofkirche with the tomb
Interior of the court church with the tomb

Idea of ​​Emperor Maximilian I.

Emperor Maximilian I had no permanent seat of government, but was usually to be found where he was politically needed. He was particularly fond of Tyrol , where he could hunt, climb and fish. Innsbruck in particular was one of his favorite places, although he was rarely there. For example, he had the Golden Roof and the Armory on the Sill built in Innsbruck . Maximilian I had numerous monuments erected during his reign. However, he was especially preoccupied with the idea of ​​a grave monument during his lifetime. The emperor originally planned his grave monument as a kind of Grail Castle on the Falkenstein near St. Wolfgang . The statues of his ancestors, which he had cast in Innsbruck, should also be placed there. The members of the Order of St. George were to take over the grave guard . These plans were thwarted by the Archbishop of Salzburg, Leonhard von Keutschach , and shortly before his death in 1519 in the Upper Austrian Castle of Wels , the Emperor ordered that his body should be buried in the St. George's Chapel in Wiener Neustädter Burg under the altar steps. His request for a burial in Wiener Neustädter Burg was granted, but the bronze figures were too heavy for this chapel - which is on the upper floor of the castle above a passage.

Installation in Innsbruck

Maximilian's grandson, Emperor Ferdinand I , had the empty grave monument brought to Innsbruck and built a separate grave church, the Hofkirche, for it. The 28 cast bronze figures were grouped around the tomb. The cenotaph was not completed until 1584 under Archduke Ferdinand II (1529–1595).

Second World War

Because the war scene of the Second World War was getting closer and closer , the "Black Men" were brought to a rock cellar of a brewery in Kundl in the Lower Inn Valley , about 55 km away . From December 25, 1943, two figures were stored there every day. The transport back to the court church took place after the end of the war, on November 11, 1945 the court church was reopened.

description

Bronze figure of Emperor Maximilian on his tomb
Marble plaque with events from the life of Emperor Maximilian
Figures from the tomb of Emperor Maximilian

The monument consists of an empty tumba on which the statue of Emperor Maximilian I kneels in "eternal adoration". The tumba and the surrounding columns are made of Adnet marble , an Austrian limestone . A richly worked wrought iron grille with marble panels with events from the life of the emperor runs around it . Today 28 larger than life bronze figures are grouped around this complex ; the original design provided for 40 such figures.

Conception

Maximilian commissioned the casting of 40 larger than life bronze figures for his tomb . The represented personalities symbolize:

Pia Maria Plechl compared the “Austrian grave” created in Stams Abbey in the 17th century with the tomb of Emperor Maximilian I due to its design with life-size portrait figures.

Artist

According to today's view, the planning and execution of the tomb was directed by the sculptor Gilg Stuhlschreiber , only the model for the figure of the Zimburgis can possibly be ascribed to the Rottweiler sculptor Conrad Rötlin . According to tradition, the standing figures were cast by the piece caster Gregor Löffler . The designs for the standing figures come from, among others, Peter Vischer the Elder. Ä. and Albrecht Dürer (figure of King Arthur ). The brothers Bernhard and Arnold Abel from Cologne created four of the surrounding marble tablets with the events of his life , they also brought in the marble from Carrara. The sculptor Colin von Mechelen continued her work . The statue of Maximilian was created by Ludwig del Duca in 1582 . However, the tomb was only partially executed and ultimately remained unfinished.

Statuettes of the saints of the House of Habsburg

In addition to the original 40 larger than life bronze figures, 100 statuettes of the Habsburg saints were commissioned. These were designed in 1514/15 by the court painter Jörg Kölderer . 23 statuettes were cast between 1515 and 1528, the remaining 77 designs were not executed. They are between 66 and 69 cm tall. The figures are now on the north gallery in the Innsbruck Court Church, above the cenotaph.

The 23 figures include:

List of bronze figures

Statues of Albrecht II, Friedrich III., Leopold the Saint and Albrecht IV.
Statues of Albrecht, Rudolf, Philipp and Clovis
The dukes of Burgundy Philip the Good and Charles the Bold

Contrary to the colloquial term Schwarze Mander (black men), women are also among the people shown. The 28 figures include:

cenotaph

The cenotaph in the Innsbruck court church is one of the most important Renaissance monuments in Europe and was built over generations. Maximilian's grandson and executor of the will, Emperor Ferdinand I, who had chosen Innsbruck as the site of the monument, not only had the court church built, but also included a magnificent high grave in his grandfather's concept. The marble reliefs were intended to bring to mind important scenes from the life of the emperor, which were already depicted in the "Ehrenpforte" created by Albrecht Dürer - but here converted from portrait to landscape format. Are shown

  • the Battle of Guinegate, 1479;
  • the reconquest of Austrian territories from the Hungarians in 1477 and 1485;
  • the capture of Stuhlweissenburg in 1490;
  • the wedding in 1496 of Maximilian's son Philip the Fair with Joan of Castile;
  • the struggle for money in 1492/93;
  • the Swiss War in 1499;
  • the war for the crown of Naples 1503 and
  • the Bavarian War 1504.

The completion took decades and so it was finally Archduke Ferdinand II who completed this major project of his great-grandfather in 1584.

The Abel brothers were commissioned with the execution of the Tumba in 1561: Florian created the preliminary drawings, Bernhard and Arnold were to execute them as marble reliefs. By the time she died, only three of the 24 reliefs had been completed, which is why the court artist Alexander Colin finally completed the work. These preliminary drawings, the so-called "sights" on paper in huge original size have been unusually preserved to this day. This graphic rarity from the 16th century is exhibited in the Kunst- und Wunderkammer of Schloss Ambras Innsbruck .

Imperator busts

Originally, 34 bronze imperator busts were planned for Maximilian I's tomb. Their role models can be found in the portraits of rulers on ancient coins. Emperor Maximilian I derived his origins from the ancient emperors and thereby legitimized his own rule. His grandson and executor Emperor Ferdinand I decided not to put the busts in the Innsbruck Court Church. At the time of Archduke Ferdinand II, they were initially in Ruhelust Castle until 1695 when they came to the Ambras Castle Antiquarium in Innsbruck , where 20 have been preserved to this day; another ended up in the Bavarian National Museum in Munich .

See also

literature

  • Gottfried Primisser : Monuments of art and antiquity in the Church of the Holy Cross in Innsbruck . Wagner, Innsbruck 1812. ( digitized version )
  • Norbert Hölzl: The golden age. The dream of Emperor Maximilian 1502–2002, the largest imperial monument in the West . Edition Tirol 2001, ISBN 3-85361-064-1 .
  • Monika Frenzel: Cenotaph - The high grave of Emperor Maximilian I in the court church in Innsbruck . 2013, Tiroler Landesmuseen-Betriebsgesellschaft mbH.

Web links

Commons : Tomb of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 47 ° 16 '6.2 "  N , 11 ° 23" 42.9 "  E

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Kundl life, edition 6/2005, p. 8 accessed on March 8, 2014
  2. ↑ Pia Maria Plechl , Land of Mountains. The most beautiful mountain passes and high roads in Austria , Vienna 1973.
  3. ^ Heinrich Adrion: The Rottweiler sculptor Emperor Maximilians Conrad Rötlin , 2000, p. 65
  4. ↑ Gottfried Primisser : Monuments of art and antiquity in the Church of the Holy Cross in Innsbruck . Wagner, Innsbruck 1812. ›Section Tomb‹ etc.
  5. ^ Erich Egg: The Court Church in Innsbruck. The grave monument of Emperor Maximilian I and the Silver Chapel .
  6. ↑ Haag, Sabine, Sandbichler, Veronika, Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Ambras Castle Collection : Maximilian I: "To praise and eternal memory" . [Innsbruck], ISBN 978-3-99020-190-9 .