Heiliggeistloch
A Heiliggeistloch or Pfingstloch is an opening in the ceiling of the nave of a church building , usually near the choir .
It originally served as a ventilation opening for the church. During the Pentecost service , the opening was used to symbolize the Holy Spirit , releasing a white dove, lowering a wooden dove or letting flowers rain down.
Occasionally, despite the danger of fire, burning tow was dropped through the opening as a symbol of the tongues of the Holy Spirit. In other cases the tongues have already been attached around the hole as an ornament.
In other churches a light was waved on Ascension Day and sweets and wreaths of flowers were thrown for the youth or a figure of Christ rose through this opening on a rope into "heaven".
The custom, known since the Gothic period , gradually fell out of use after the Enlightenment , but is now being revived in some churches.
In Passau Cathedral , above the Heiliggeistloch in the roof beams, an organ is installed as a remote work , which can be heard through the barred Heiliggeistloch.
literature
- Paul Kaufmann: Customs in Austria. Festivals, customs, beliefs. Zsolnay, Vienna 1982, ISBN 3-552-03429-3 , p. 121.
Web links
- Josef Tutsch: When the dove is let down from the Heiliggeistloch: The Whitsun festival in faith, art and customs. scienzz magazin, June 5, 2014, accessed on May 4, 2016