Holy Blood (Landshut)

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West facade of the parish church with the distinctive round towers, the vestibule and the church clock in the nave gable

The Roman Catholic parish church of Heilig Blut is located in the Berg district of Landshut near Trausnitz Castle . The late Gothic church is known for its round towers, which are unique in old Bavaria and can be seen from afar due to its location on the eastern slope of the Hofberg. The patronage of the Holy Blood , a festival of thanksgiving for Christ's sacrificial death on the cross, which is also unusual for the region , is celebrated on July 1st.

history

Soon after the area was Christianized in the 8th century, a small wooden church should have been built on the site of the present church. This is documented by archaeological excavations that were undertaken in the course of installing underfloor heating in 1981. Several graves found also testify to the existence of a cemetery that extended around the church. In the second half of the 12th century, a first stone building was erected over the remains of the wooden church. After the foundations were rediscovered in 1981, it was likely to have been composed of a ten-meter-long rectangular nave and a square choir room with an edge length of around six meters. This little stone church was later extended by a south aisle. The patronage was first mentioned in 1310, when a letter of indulgence talk of Heiligenblut Upper Landshut was. When the parish of St. Jodok was split off from the mother parish of St. Martin in 1369 , Holy Blood was assigned to the newly founded parish as a subsidiary church .

On April 23, 1392 Holy Blood was raised to the parish church for the first time, which is even known by Pope Boniface IX. confirmed. The right of presentation lay with the Duke of Bavaria-Landshut . In the first half of the 15th century, at the instigation of Dukes Friedrich and Heinrich the Rich, today's building of the Holy Blood Church was built. Henry the Rich in particular also made numerous donations to the parish church. In 1422, 1445 and 1449 he donated Mass beneficiaries on the various altars of the church. In the year 1449 the sacristy was probably extended by a yoke to the east. This construction project was probably sponsored again by Duke Heinrich the Rich, as his coat of arms can be seen in the keystone of the sacristy vault to this day. From the year 1515 it is handed down that four ducal chaplains performed their service in holy blood and at the same time worked in the chapel of St. George at Trausnitz Castle. The right to present these ducal benefits initially lay with the Wittelsbachers, but in 1684 it was handed over to the respective royal lords of Berg ob Landshut. In the following years Heilig Blut became a branch of St. Jodok again. Around the middle of the 17th century, a parish vicariate was founded that was dependent on St. Jodok . The right of presentation lay with the pastor of St. Jodok.

In 1680 the court mason Wolf Rernpeckh carried out structural repairs. From 1711 to 1764 Georg Christoph Pexenfelder, a great patron of the pilgrimage to Maria Bründl , was parish vicar of Heilig Blut. The pilgrimage chapel was rebuilt in 1719 under his leadership. From 1784 to 1803 Aloys Georg Dietl, who also held a professorship at the University of Landshut , was parish vicar. At his suggestion, a new classical high altar was purchased in 1790 , made by the famous Landshut sculptor Christian Jorhan the Elder. Ä. was created. Most of the costs for this were borne by the von Chlingensberg family of Hofmarks, as well as in 1802 for the purchase of further new furnishings from the secularized church of the Franciscan monastery in Prantlgarten. These included, for example, two side altars and the clockwork of the former convent clock , which set the pace of the church clock on the nave gable well into the 20th century . From 1821 to 1848 Josef Haas was a pastor in Heilig Blut. In 1821 he had today's classical baptismal font built. In addition, Holy Blood and the pilgrimage church of Maria Bründl were raised to parish again during his tenure. In 1867 the branch church St. Ottilia in Salzdorf (formerly Parish Grammelkam ) was parished, in 1874 the branch church St. Laurentius in Berndorf (formerly parish Hohenegglkofen ).

In the years 1892 to 1905 the parish church of Heilig Blut underwent a fundamental regotization . Jorhan's classical furnishings were removed and replaced with historicizing furnishings. The church was also painted in a neo-Gothic style. The three neo-Gothic altars, which are still preserved today, were consecrated on July 6, 1894 by Archbishop Antonius von Thoma of Munich . In 1965, the exterior and interior were renovated under Pastor Raymund Plöckl. Parts of the neo-Gothic furnishings - the outdated pulpit , the confessional , the cycle of the Stations of the Cross (replaced by a modern Stations of the Cross) and the painted glass windows in the nave - were removed and the historicizing painting was whitewashed. In 1971 the dilapidated rectory from 1713 was demolished and replaced by a modern parish center with an integrated pastor's apartment. Under Rev. Martin Atzenhofer room dish was new to the Gothic findings in 1981 passed . The altars were adapted to the color of the room. In addition, the church interior was redesigned in accordance with the requirements of the Second Vatican Council and received a people's altar and an ambo. In the years 2000 to 2004, the facade of the parish church was extensively restored and preserved. In 2004, under provost Bernhard Schömann, the parish association of St. Martin and Holy Blood was formed, which was expanded into the Landshut city ​​church in 2017 . This also includes the parishes of St. Jodok and St. Peter and Paul .

architecture

Heilig Blut parish church from the southeast, view over the church cemetery

The architectural design of the Heilig Blut parish church shows that it was never built as a simple village church, but rather was seen by the ducal clients as their court parish church. Some stylistic elements also indicate the involvement of the Landshut Bauhütte, whose best-known work is the St. Martin monastery basilica in Landshut's old town.

Exterior construction

The Heilig Blut parish church is a single-aisled, east -facing hall church in the exposed brick construction typical of Landshut's brick Gothic. The clearly drawn-in two-bay choir with five - eighth end connects to the four-bay nave . The choir and the two eastern bays of the nave are structured on the outside by buttresses . These are set off once on the nave and twice on the choir, with the middle shoulder being placed over a corner and forming a pinnacle-like finish. There is also a coffin cornice on the choir , which is profiled with a slope and a hollow made of shaped bricks. There is a simple frieze band under the roof on the choir and nave . Both structures have a steep gable roof , with the nave clearly towering over the choir. The changes made to the window openings over the course of time are also clearly visible on the exterior. The window size was last adjusted in the course of the neo-Gothic renovation at the end of the 19th century; the window openings now close with a pointed arch . There were also changes to the church portals . The former north portal was walled up; today only the main portal on the west side and the side entrance in the south are used. On the north side, the two-bay sacristy from the time the church was built is inserted into the corner formed by the choir and nave. This was built in two construction phases: The western yoke through which the sacristy door leads was built with the church at the beginning of the 15th century; the yoke adjoining it to the east was probably not built until 1449, when the sacristy had become too small after the duke's charity foundations.

The west facade is framed by the two round towers with pointed helmets , which are attached to the corners of the nave and barely jump into the nave. This design is definitely unique in Bavarian Gothic. It is possible that the dukes Friedrich and Henry the Rich were influenced by their family ties to the Duchy of Straubing-Holland and have taken an example from buildings such as the Knight's Hall in The Hague or the Basilica of Our Lady in Maastricht . Both buildings already existed at the time the Holy Blood Church was built and also have double tower facades with two round towers. At Landshut Church, the two towers only appear to be the same at first glance. On closer inspection you can see that the south tower is set off four times, while the north tower has only one landing. The towers are only minimally tapered at the steps. Therefore, the south tower is somewhat narrower at the upper end, but slightly lower than its northern counterpart. Between the two towers is the triangular gable of the saddle-roofed nave, which is decorated with a clock face .

In addition, a two-storey vestibule has been added to the west facade, which should have been built at the same time as the church was built. It has a hipped roof that is reminiscent of the roofs of various buildings in Trausnitz Castle. In the lower floor of the vestibule there is a star vault with pear-shaped ribs. At all crossings of ribs there are round keystones , each of which has semicircular heraldic shields . The lower floor of the vestibule opens to the north in the pointed arch, which is decorated with two round bars. It contains the ogival main portal , which is profiled with three round bars between covings. The upper floor at the same time contains a prop room and can be reached via a straight lintel door from the organ gallery. Apart from the roof structure , it has no ceiling and is illuminated by small rectangular windows. There is a sundial in the trapezoidal gable of the vestibule .

inner space

If you enter the church through the south portal, which was built in the Baroque period - the main portal on the west side is only open for church services - you are below the west gallery . This is vaulted with three aisles and spans the two western nave bays. The gallery was designed so generously because in earlier times it was used as a separate place for prayer and worship. In the years 1515 and 1684, for example, an altar was mentioned on the gallery, which was dedicated to the death of Mary . Possibly the gallery also served the ducal family to celebrate the services. The nave is spanned by a simple net vault made of pear-shaped ribs. This rests on bevelled wall pillars with octagonal brackets on both sides . The generously designed choir has been increased by two steps since the renovation in 1981 compared to the nave. It has a significantly more elaborately designed mesh vault in a star configuration . The arches in the nave and choir were also made in an ocher tone in 1981 based on findings from the time the church was built . The Gothic ribbed vault in the sacristy rests on original head consoles.

Furnishing

View of the high altar and side altars in neo-Gothic style

The neo-Gothic high altar, which was erected in 1894, is modeled on Gothic winged altars and was designed by Regensburg Cathedral Vicar Georg Dengler , who designed countless historicist church furnishings in the diocese of Regensburg in particular . The altar was made by the Goss brothers' art institute in the Stadtamhof district of Regensburg . The altar structure stands on a cafeteria made of Kelheim sandstone and is accompanied by two classical worship angels, which were created by Christian Jorhan the Elder. Ä. and flanked the tabernacle on the classical high altar from 1790 . The antependium of the sandstone cafeteria shows a relief of the Entombment of Christ , which is framed by quatrefoil fields and red marble columns . In the center of the predella zone sits the silver-plated and gold-plated tabernacle crowned by a filigree exposure niche , a Landshut belt work from 1905. It is flanked by two relief representations: the circumcision of Jesus in the temple (left) and the encounter of the unbelieving Thomas with the risen Christ in the Circle of the Apostles (right). The actual wing structure contains the patronage depiction of the parish church Heilig Blut at a central point : the dying Christ on the cross backed with a halo; All around are four worshiping angels, the two upper ones collecting the blood of Christ in goblets . On both sides of this central depiction there are somewhat lower niches containing Gothic figures of the Mother of God (left) and the “favorite disciple” John (right). These two figures probably come from the original furnishings of the church and extend the central cross to a crucifixion group . The two niches can be closed with wings. When open, these wings show two witnesses of the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus: St. Veronica with the handkerchief (left) and St. Mary Magdalene with the ointment vessel (right). On the back of the wings there are paintings of angels with the instruments of Jesus' passion . A filigree pull-out turret with elaborate neo-Gothic carvings is placed above the central cross . It contains a figure of the risen one who shows his wounds and thus presents himself as the victor over death.

The three neo-Gothic glass windows in the choir, which were restored in 2015, form a thematic unit with the high altar. You can see scenes from the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus. The windows come from the Schneider glass painting company in Regensburg and were installed in 1893. The area of ​​the high altar is closed off by an elaborate communion grille, which is decorated with vine tendrils and shows symbols of the Eucharist such as the pelican or the lamb . The front area of ​​the choir room, which contains the people's altar by Willibald Zeilhofer and the ambo by Karl Reidel - both created in 1981 - is framed by simple neo-Gothic choir stalls . Above this, on the left side of the choir, is the last remnant of the historicizing painting: a rectangular mural depicting the risen man sitting at the grave with his tools of suffering. Above the sacristy door, which dates back to the time the church was built, also on the left side of the chancel, there is a donated neo-Gothic crucifix and an oil painting of the now defunct Herzogspitalmadonna in Munich. On the opposite side of the choir is the classical font from 1821, which is equipped with a neo-Gothic lid. This depicts the baptism of Jesus by John in the Jordan . In addition, the choir serves as a memorial for the former court lords of Berg ob Landshut. Today five epitaphs are still preserved here, among others for Marianne von Chlingensberg († 1792) and her husband Joseph Maria Bernhard von Chlingensberg († 1797).

On both sides of the choir arch are the neo-Gothic side altars, which are modeled on the box altars of the Gothic and were also made by the Goss brothers in Stadtamhof in 1895. In the left altar shrine there is a representation of a Pietà , i.e. a Mater Dolorosa , mourning her son. The scene is accompanied by two worshiping angels. A tabernacle is set into the predella, in front of which is a valuable ivory cross from the 17th century. The Holy Family can be seen at work on the right side altar . The relief in the predella zone shows a scene from the Old Testament : God's revelation to Samuel in the temple. A pulpit cross can be seen on the south wall of the nave, which was erected in 1796 by Christian Jorhan the Elder. Ä. was carved. The pulpit opposite was removed during the renovation in 1965. At the same time, the neo-Gothic Way of the Cross was replaced by a donated Baroque Way of the Cross. Its specialty is that the station of the crucifixion is designed as an ivory cross, while the 15th station is the finding of the cross by St. Helena . In a niche on the south wall of the nave there is a panel painting of the Entombment of Christ from the 17th century, which, like the wrought iron candlesticks, is still part of the baroque interior of the church. The two figures on the gallery parapet are also baroque and depict John the Baptist (south) and the apostle Peter (right).

The church stalls were made by the sculptor Thomas Zimmermann during the classicistic redesign in 1790. The numerous name plaques, which were mainly attached in the 19th century, are remarkable. The space below the gallery is separated by an artfully designed closing grille, which is only opened for church services. It dates from the second half of the 18th century and contains the coat of arms of the von Chlingensberg family of Hofmarks in the middle . The late baroque Bründl nativity scene is located under the gallery in a wall niche next to the main portal . It was acquired around 1905 by Pastor Gleitsmann for the Maria Bründl pilgrimage chapel and is now on display as an annual crib in the Heilig Blut parish church. During the renovation in 1981, a wall painting from around 1520 was discovered on the south wall of the sacristy. The depiction of a crucifixion group stands at the stylistic transition between late Gothic and Renaissance . The extensive church treasures include a late Gothic cross particle reliquary , which, according to the inscription on the base, was created in 1505 by Melchior Bos from Nördlingen . Besides the figures on the high altar, it is the only evidence of the original Gothic furnishings. The purchase of the cross particle reliquary may be related to the Landshut War of Succession in 1504/05. The artistic masterpiece, a cross with four three-way ends on a four-way base, is made of silver and is partially gold-plated. The high rectangular reliquary insert is apparently carried by angels. On the three-pits there are small cast reliefs of Mary with the baby Jesus (above), the church father Augustine (left), the founder of the order Benedict (right) and St. Veronica with the handkerchief (below). The last-mentioned relief should, however, be an addition from the 19th century. The temporary furnishings of the parish church also include a holy grave, a classicist figure of the risen Christ by Christian Jorhan the Elder. Ä., A baroque clad Christ child and a Christmas crib with figures in the style of Ignaz Günther , which, however, was only created in the second half of the 20th century.

Organ and bells

In 1832 Joseph Schweinacher from Landshut built a single manual organ with a total of six stops for the parish church. This was brought to the Maria Bründl pilgrimage chapel in 1904, where it still accompanies the service today. As a replacement, Heilig Blut received an organ with a pneumatic action from Ignaz Weise from Plattling . This was housed in a neo-Gothic prospect . The fault-prone instrument had to be replaced in 1984 by a mechanical slider mechanism from Georg Jann's workshop in Allkofen near Laberweinting . This comprises a total of 17 stops on two manuals and pedal . The second manual, also known as the Rückpositiv, was built into the gallery parapet. The case was adapted to the neo-Gothic prospect.

Around 1870, three bells were housed in the two towers. These were replaced in 1905 by three new bells from the Landshut foundry Johann Hahn , which, however , had to be handed in during the First World War . In 1920, three new bells were commissioned from Johann Hahn. Only the Marienglocke survived the Second World War, which is decorated with elaborate neo-Gothic decor. In June 1950 these two more bells were added: the cross bell (tone es 1 ), which hangs in the north tower, and the Joseph bell (tone as 1 ), which is located in the south tower together with the Marien bell.

Surroundings

Tomb of pastor Anton Mayr († 1870)
Neo-Gothic funeral hall, built in the 19th century
Water basin with wrought iron grille from the 19th century

To this day, the parish church is surrounded by a cemetery, which - although the oldest in the city of Landshut - looks more like a village cemetery. The small size of around 200 graves is due to the fact that the rather small parish only became a city parish with the incorporation of Berg ob Landshut in 1928. The core of the cemetery wall is late medieval and therefore dates from the time the church was built. The funeral hall in the southern part of the cemetery was built in the 19th century and replaced the former soul chapel. It contains the altar painting of the classical high altar, on which the crucifixion of Christ is depicted. This was made in 1789 by the Landshut painter Ignaz Bergmann. To the left and right of the picture there are two classical urns that also belonged to the Jorhan altar from 1790.

On the church wall there are numerous grave monuments of the lords of the Hofmarks and the local clergy. A remarkable red marble epitaph for chaplain Georg Hirlhayder († 1481) can be seen directly behind the priest's grave . It contains the inscription: In 1481 on the eve of John the Baptist, Georg Hirlhayder, chaplain of this church, died and is buried here. Next to it are two tombstones made of fired clay with raised letters. These are dedicated to the priest Franciscus Mockel († 1495) and the blacksmith Bartholomäus Mockel († 1500). The third tombstone of this type still preserved today is located next to the war memorial plaques inside the vestibule, also dates from around 1500 and commemorates the chaplain Konrad Ödenkas. In 1835, Alois Staudenraus mentioned eight such epitaphs, the fragments of three of these clay plates are now housed in the city museum. The tomb of Pastor Anton Mayr († 1870), which was built by Wilhelm Schweinberger in the neo-Gothic style, is of particular importance. It is explicitly mentioned as the only grave in the cemetery in the list of monuments of the Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation . In front of the church there is a water supply for the cemetery with a wrought-iron grille from the 19th century that is well worth seeing.

Branch churches

literature

  • Hans Bleibrunner: Landshut. The old Bavarian royal seat: a guide to its sights. Landshut Tourist Office V., Landshut 1988.
  • Volker Liedke: Monuments in Bavaria - City of Landshut. Schnell & Steiner, Munich 1988, ISBN 3-7954-1002-9 , p. 270 f.
  • Stephan Kaupe: Berg ob Landshut - The churches of the parish of Holy Blood. (= Peda art guide No. 962). Art Publishing House Peda, Passau 2015. ISBN 978-3-89643-962-8 .

Web links

Commons : Heilig Blut (Landshut)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. a b c d Kaupe, pp. 3-6.
  2. a b c Parish Holy Blood: History of the parish church by Hans Bleibrunner ( Memento from December 8, 2015 in the Internet Archive ). Online at www.heiligblut.de ; accessed on November 29, 2015.
  3. a b Liedke, p. 270f.
  4. a b c d Anton Eckardt (Ed.): Art monuments of the Kingdom of Bavaria - District Office Landshut . Oldenbourg, Munich 1914, pp. 49-55 ( digitized version ).
  5. Sankt Michaelsbund : Stadtkirche Landshut founded . Online at mk-online.de; accessed on August 9, 2020.
  6. a b c d e Kaupe, pp. 9-12.
  7. a b c d Kaupe, pp. 12-20.
  8. Kaupe, pp. 20f.
  9. Kaupe pp. 21-24.
  10. a b Kaupe, p. 24.
  11. Kaupe, p. 18.

Coordinates: 48 ° 31 '44.6 "  N , 12 ° 9' 54.3"  E