Hofburg (Brixen)
The Hofburg in Brixen was the seat of the prince-bishops until 1803 and the bishops of the diocese of Bressanone until 1973 . Since then, the Hofburg has been open to the public and the seat of the Diocesan Museum , the Crib Museum and the Diocesan Archives. The historically and art-historically significant building is located at Hofburgplatz 2.
history
Bishop Bruno von Kirchberg had a new castle built on the southwest corner of the walled city of Brixen, which he moved into in 1265. Until then, the residence of the prince-bishops was south of the Brixen Cathedral in the immunity area of the minster. After the move it was left to the city governor, who was the prince-bishop's secular representative in supervising the city administration. The new castle was directly attached to the city wall and had a massive tower in the southwest corner. The orchard to the south can also be identified as a viridarium or pomarium very early on . Bishop Ulrich Putsch expanded the castle in the 15th century and strengthened it. Christoph von Schroffenstein had a new bishop's wing built in the west in the 16th century, in which Christoph von Madruzzo built a new court chapel. There are no images of this old Hofburg, we only know from documents from 1578 that there were 52 rooms at that time. In the west was the chapel and the episcopal living quarters, in the south the imperial wing, in the east the bishop's hall and the ecclesiastical and secular chancellery, and in the north rooms for the Hofburg and utility rooms. In 1525 the peasant leader Michael Gaismair , the prince-bishop's secretary , stormed the Hofburg, occupied it and ruled from here for a short time his Tyrolean peasant republic before Emperor Ferdinand I returned the Hofburg to the prince-bishops. In 1576 Johann Thomas von Spaur had the Herrengarten laid out on the north side of the castle.
Andreas of Austria had the Hofburg built from scratch in the Renaissance style. Alberto Lucchese drew up the plans for it in 1595, which envisaged a four-wing, three-storey complex around an inner courtyard with eleven arcade arches on all four sides. On the first floor, 44 clay sculptures were to represent the family tree of the House of Habsburg , from which Andreas came, and in the courtyard a fountain with four holy Bishops of Brixen was to be built. In the same year, master mason Bartolomeo Valgoi began building the south wing, and in 1597 the Munich sculptor Hans Reichle began making the clay sculptures. When the Prince-Bishop died in 1600, the south wing with the south-west tower was completed. After an interruption, Christoph Andreas von Spaur continued the construction in 1604, so that the west wing with the bishop's apartment and the south-east tower with the Hofratskanzlei, Hofratsstube and the archive were built. Bartolomeo Lucchese created new plans for the east wing, which was built in 1606/07 and only had 7 arcades on the ground floor and no arcades on the upper floors. A large theater hall was built in place of the old bishop's hall. Finally, Prince-Bishop Daniel Zen had the missing north wing built by Hans Reichle, which only received an upper floor. In 1645, under Bishop Johann Platzgummer, granite paving was laid in the driveway and in the arcades.
The Hofburg received its current appearance from the baroque expansion under Prince-Bishop Kaspar Ignaz von Künigl . 1707–1711 he had the imperial wing built in the west wing and the second floor with loggias in the north wing, so that the opposite south and north arcades and the closed west and east wings were now symmetrical. The chapel was also redesigned, which with its portal and turret was also visible from the outside. Finally, the windows of the outer and courtyard facades were framed by stucco. In the theater hall, the ceiling was frescoed according to a design by Johann Ferdinand Schor .
With the secularization of 1803 the ecclesiastical imperial principality was dissolved and the Hofburg came into the possession of the Austrian state. However, this left it to the bishop for further use and in 1828 Emperor Franz I returned the Hofburg to the possession of the diocese. Bishop Bernhard Galura had the theater hall converted into office space by installing a false ceiling. After the diocese of Bozen-Brixen had been reorganized in 1964, Joseph Gargitter moved his official residence to Bozen in 1973 . The vacant building was given to the Diocesan Museum and the Diocesan Archives in 1974, extensively restored and adapted for museum use.
Building description
The Hofburg is a closed four-wing, three-storey palace complex . In front of the south wing are two tower-like porches, which are connected halfway up with a kind of battlement. The Hofburg is surrounded by a moat, which is still filled with water in the south and east, but in the west and north it was filled and drained in the Baroque period. The access on the east side can be reached via a brick bridge (originally a drawbridge), which leads to a portal porch, which can be entered as an arbor from the first floor. Above the portal you can see the coat of arms of Andreas of Austria, who started the new construction of the Hofburg. There are similar porches on all four sides, but only the one on the south side actually offers access. The iron-studded courtyard gate of the main portal leads to the entrance hall that is open to the inner courtyard and is decorated with stucco.
In the inner courtyard, the south and north wings have open arcades across all three floors, while arcades are only represented on the ground floor of the east wing. The closed facade of the west wing is defined in the middle by the portal of the Hofburg chapel. The marble portal consists of a wide base zone, three-dimensional protruding columns and segmented arch gable in which the coat of arms of Prince-Bishop Künigl, who built the baroque Hofburg chapel, can be seen. The statue of Immaculate stands on a cloud above the portal , with two putti at her feet, as well as above the side windows. The entire portal system is the work of Cristoforo Benedetti from Mori . Above that, between the windows of the second floor, Kaspar Waldmann has frescoed a large sundial.
According to the original plan, arcades were to be built on all four sides, and 44 terracotta sculptures were to be inserted into the pillar niches on the first floor. Sculptor Hans Reichle also made all the commissioned figures between 1596 and 1601. Due to the change in plan, only 24 figures were actually placed in the inner courtyard, 8 were housed in wall niches in the passage to the southern gate, 2 are in the Diocesan Museum, 2 in the Tyrolean State Museum in Innsbruck and 1 in the Maximilian Museum in Augsburg ; the remaining 7 are missing. The plan envisaged that the statue of Prince-Bishop Andreas of Austria should stand to the right of the chapel entrance on the west wing, to the left of the chapel entrance , beginning with the legendary German king Pharamund , the family tree of the House of Habsburg should lead counterclockwise to Andreas.
The external facades have very different characters between the ground floor and the upper floors. The ground floor has only small barred windows and is rusticated , so it looks like a fortified castle, while on the upper floors large stucco-framed windows with cartridge crowns represent the castle character of the building. It is believed that Johann Martin Gumpp the Elder was in charge of the facade design and furnishings.
Court Church
The court church for the Immaculate Conception was built on behalf of Prince-Bishop Count Künigl in the middle of the west wing, where the old court chapel had already been located. In contrast to this, the new court church extends from the ground floor over two floors and with the portal and the turret also appears outside. On the outer facade, the place of the choir is also visible through a porch. In the turret there are two older bells from 1575 and from the 15th century.
The church interior consists of a hall with a flat vault and a slightly drawn-in chancel , which receives light from high side windows. A gallery on the portal side also serves as a connecting passage to the rooms on the first floor. The choir arch is highlighted by pilasters and a flat belt arch , and a cornice leads around the whole church. On the side walls there are opposite portals with oratorio windows above them that protrude slightly into the room .
The ceiling and wall frescoes in the nave were created in 1708 by the Innsbruck painter Kaspar Waldmann. They show the Assumption and Coronation of Mary on the ceiling and the birth of Mary on the sides , the presentation of Mary in the temple , the Annunciation to Mary and the Visitation of Mary . Above the murals, Waldmann depicted emblems related to Mary in stucco-framed medallions (a sunflower growing towards the sun, a rising sun, an eagle guarding his cub, the baby Jesus reflected in the sea). The ceiling fresco in the choir room with the glorification of the name Maria is attributed to the otherwise unknown painter Carlo Lorenzi. Bernardo Pasquale designed the rich stucco decoration of the church on the window and fresco frames, on the oratorios and the gallery underside with acanthus leaves, fruit pendants and putti heads. The two coats of arms on the choir arch, flanked by angels, however, come from Cristoforo Benedetti and show the coat of arms of the diocese and principality on the left and that of the Künigl family on the right.
The altar consists of an expansive and richly articulated base, above which the double-columned reredos and the domed canopy with a lantern rise. To the side of the pillars are the white marble statues of St. Joachim and Anna . The altar was created by Cristoforo Benedetti from different types of marble and also signed. The small tabernacle in the form of a tempietto , the communion bench and the portals also come from him . The high altar painting with Mary as the Immaculate Conception was created by Johann Georg Dominikus Grasmair , which replaces the original altar painting by Ulrich Glantschnigg , which apparently had not found favor with the client.
On the right side wall, a white marble plaque under the gallery commemorates the visit of Pope Pius VI. in the Hofburg in Brixen.
Several preserved glass windows from the previous chapel as well as artistically valuable liturgical devices and vestments from the court church are exhibited in the Diocesan Museum today.
Hofratskanzlei
The Hofratskanzlei was on the first floor of the east wing. It consists of the waiting room and the council room and is still in its original appearance with wood paneling, coat of arms painting and tiled stoves. The waiting room is equipped with a coat of arms frieze that shows the coat of arms of the Prince (ichen) Hohen Stifft Brixen and its hereditary offices, Stett, castles, lordships, offices, also counts, gentlemen and noble lords , and represents a valuable historical document. In the Hofratsstube, however, the coat of arms frieze there depicts the coats of arms of the individual members of the Hofrats in the time between Christoph von Madruzzo and Joseph von Spaur (1542–1791), a total of 299 coats of arms. Between the windows there is a fresco of Justitia with sword and scales, including a late Gothic crucifixion group. The pictures in the room show views of the Veldes dominion (today Slovenia ), which belonged to the diocese of Bressanone.
Brixen was an ecclesiastical imperial principality until 1803, which means that secular rule was also exercised over the area. This was the responsibility of the councilor , who consisted of two to three ecclesiastical councilors who came from the cathedral chapter and four to six secular councilors. They were appointed by the bishop with the approval of the cathedral chapter. The important decisions of the secular administration were made in regular meetings in the council chamber and have been recorded since 1515. These logs represent an important source of the history of the Principality of Brixen. The name Hofburg for the building is derived from the function of the court councilor.
Imperial wing
There were already imperial rooms in the previous castle in order to be able to accommodate the emperor and his entourage on trips to Rome and Italy. Prince-Bishop Künigl had an imperial wing built on the second floor from 1707–1711 with generously equipped rooms, which, along with the court church, represents the artistic highlight within the Hofburg. The original furnishings of the rooms have largely been preserved.
In the far north is the corner room of the imperial reception hall, which is most elaborately designed. The entire ceiling is occupied by a fresco depicting the Allegory of Divine Wisdom, the personification of which sits enthroned on a cloud and holds the crown of real wealth and the wreath of true glory, while the crown and browband of fleeting worldly splendor fall to the ground. The ceiling picture is framed by a painted pseudo-architecture with putti and allegorical depictions of virtue. The entire work is by Antonio Gresta. Painted tapestries by Antonio Callegari, which were created especially for this room and depict hunting scenes, hang on the walls. The tiled stove made of white and blue majolica is worn by dwarfs and has figural decorations of the apostles, prophets, Mary and Christ. It was erected in 1709 by Simon Pupp from Eppan . The three richly carved and gold-plated armchairs with red damask covers are from the original baroque furniture.
The adjoining imperial Antecamera has a stucco-decorated ceiling with the image of the goddess Minerva by Michael Gaeta from 1710. The tiled stove in white-blue-yellow majolica heats both this room and the adjoining room and shows the deeds of Hercules . The pictures with Dutch still lifes come from the old Hofburg, while the pictures of the seasons were newly acquired by Stephan Kessler (1649).
In the table room the ceiling is stuccoed, but has no pictures that either existed or were at least planned. Several portraits of the imperial family hang here, such as those of Franz I Stephan and Maria Theresias , as well as those of those who visited the Hofburg in Brixen between 1765 and 1771; these were Joseph II with Maria Josepha of Bavaria , Archduke Leopold with Maria Ludovica of Spain and Archduchess Maria Christine with Duke Albert Casimir of Saxony-Teschen . They all come from Georg Weikert . After 1781 the portrait of Archduchess Maria Elisabeth , probably by Franz Altmutter , was added.
The imperial living room is located exactly above the court church and has the option of looking directly at the altar through a door in the west wall. The ceiling is richly stuccoed by Bernardo Pasquale, but the pictures are missing. An open fireplace, framed with marble, was made by Cristoforo Benedetti (1709) and is finished with a painted wooden panel by Franz Sebald Unterberger , which shows a lackey fanning the embers. The classicistic plinth and frame paneling, as well as the double doors, date from a later period after 1791. A Venetian glass-framed mirror can be seen on the wall and the portraits of Emperor Joseph I and his wife Wilhelmine Amalie von Braunschweig-Lüneburg and Emperor Karl VI. and his wife Elisabeth Christine von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel in richly carved and colored oval frames. The pictures of Emperor Franz I Stephan and Maria Theresa above the fireplace are very finely executed, but from a later period. A special piece of equipment is the theses sheet by Freiherr Joseph Anton Ignaz von Tannenberg (1727), which shows the legendary scene of Duke Rudolf von Habsburg , who gave his horse to a priest accidentally found. The scene is from the portrait of Emperor Charles VI. crowned and framed by other Habsburg rulers. It is the work of Georg Philipp Rugendas .
From the imperial living room you could originally step onto an arbor above the choir of the court church. In place of this arbor, Prince-Bishop Karl Franz von Lodron had a new room built at the beginning of the 19th century and painted with Chinese landscapes and architecture. The paintings on the wallpaper are by Franz Altmutter . The portrait busts of Emperor Franz I and his wife Karoline Auguste von Bayern commemorate their visit to the Hofburg in 1832. Several artistically sophisticated pieces of furniture such as chests of drawers, small tables, sofa sets, canapés and chairs have been preserved from the time the room was created. Armchairs with gold-plated armrests in the shape of swans and eagles are particularly beautiful.
The furnishings in the two imperial cabinets are no longer preserved. The ceiling paintings with the sacrifice of Abraham and Tobias with the angel are later works from around 1830. The porcelain service (220 pieces) of Prince-Bishop Leopold von Spaur, which he acquired in 1765 from the Augarten Porcelain Manufactory in Vienna, is shown in both rooms . This includes numerous figures and groups of figures, which were probably intended for several centerpieces and changing combinations.
Episcopal wing
In continuation of the imperial wing, the rooms of the bishop’s wing follow in the southern area of the second floor of the west wing, where Prince-Bishop Künigl had them moved. However, not much has been preserved from the original furnishings of these rooms.
The episcopal reception room has an elaborately designed stucco ceiling with allegorical depictions of the four seasons and the four elements. On the walls there are portraits of the prince-bishops who are involved in the construction of the Hofburg. The portraits of the bishops of the 19th and 20th centuries can be seen in the adjoining room to the west, and valuable pectoral crosses and bishop's rings are displayed in showcases.
The episcopal study is already in the west tower and still partly has the furnishings from the time of Prince Bishop Sigmund Alphons von Thun (1663–1677). Here you can see the original wooden ceiling with gilded cones, in the middle of which is the painting with the triumph of Pallas Athene over Orestes by Matthäus Zöhender. The tiled stove from 1546 was made by Bartlmä Dill Riemenschneider . It was originally in the east wing, although some tiles broke when the stove was moved. It shows 16 scenes from Jason and Medea from the Argonaut saga .
In 1800, Bishop Lodron had a prayer room set up in the living quarters, from which carved overhangs with the Adoration of the Shepherds and St. The three kings and a relief of the Annunciation are preserved above the chimney. The fireplace itself is from the time of Andreas von Austria and bears his coat of arms in the beautiful marble surround.
Diocesan Archives
The diocesan archive of the Diocese of Dozen-Brixen, the former court archive, is housed in the Hofburg . It was rearranged in the years 1899–1920 by the Neustift canon Hartmann Ammann, who renewed the old store layout of the archive by Joseph Resch in favor of a chronological listing of the holdings. The archive with original documents goes back to the 9th century and is one of the most important historical collections in the Alpine region .
Showrooms
After the bishops had moved their residence to Bozen, the rooms of the Hofburg were made available for museum purposes. The nativity scene collection is located on the ground floor, the centerpiece of which is the large annual nativity scenes by Franz Xaver Nißl and the brothers Augustin Alois and Josef Benedikt Probst (around 1800) with thousands of figures .
→ see main article Crib Museum Brixen
The most valuable exhibits of the cathedral treasure are housed in the south-west corner of the first floor. The medieval liturgical vestments of the bishops Albuin and Hartmann deserve special mention.
→ see main article Brixner Domschatz
Objects from the Diocesan Museum from the early Middle Ages to the Baroque period are housed on the first floor, while those from the Baroque to the 20th century, mainly from the Unterberger Collection, are housed on the second floor. The holdings include sculptures and paintings, as well as handicrafts such as glass windows, liturgical implements and vestments.
→ see main article Diocesan Museum Bressanone
Other rooms are available for special exhibitions.
literature
- Johann Kronbichler : Hofburg Brixen: from the residence to the museum (= castles . Volume 7 ). Schnell and Steiner, Regensburg 2010, ISBN 978-3-7954-2307-0 .
- Karl Wolfsgruber : The Hofburg Brixen . In: Oswald Trapp (Ed.): Tiroler Burgenbuch. IV. Volume: Eisacktal . Verlagsanstalt Athesia, Bozen 1977, pp. 28-58.
Web links
- Entry in the monument browser on the website of the South Tyrolean Monuments Office
- Website of the Hofburg Brixen
Individual evidence
- ↑ Martin Bitschnau , Hannes Obermair : Tiroler Urkundenbuch, II. Department: The documents on the history of the Inn, Eisack and Pustertal valleys. Vol. 1: Up to the year 1140 . Universitätsverlag Wagner, Innsbruck 2009, ISBN 978-3-7030-0469-8 , p. 19-25 (inlet) .
Afing | Aichach | Altenburg (Eppan) | Altenburg (Kaltern) | Old grass | Andrian | Annenberg | Aschburg | Auer | Boymont | Brandis | Branzoll | Braunsberg | Brunico | Brunnenburg | Burgstall | Castelfeder | Churburg | Dornsberg | Drossturm | Ehrenburg | Enn | Eschenlohe | Fahlburg | Festenstein | Fischburg | Fragsburg | Freudenstein | Fröhlichsburg | Fuchsberg | Fürstenburg | Gandegg | Gernstein | Goyen | Goldrain | Greifenstein | Gruonsberg | Haderburg | on the hanging stone | Haselburg | Hauenstein | Helfenburg | Hocheppan | Hochgalsaun | High nature | Hofburg | in the wood | Jaufenburg | Johanneskofel | Juval | Kaldiff | Campenn | Karneid | Karnol | Kasatsch | Kastelbell | Kastellatz (Mals) | Kastellatz (Tramin) | Katzenstein | Cat tongues | Kehlburg | Knillenberg | Basket | Kränzelstein | Kröll Tower | Labers | Laimburg | Lamprechtsburg | Princely Castle | Laces | Lebenberg | Leonburg | Leuchtenburg | Lichtenberg | Liechtenstein | Corn | Maretsch | Mayenburg | Michelsburg | Montalban | Moss | Mühlbacher Klause | Neuhaus (Gais) | Neuhaus (Terlan) | Neurasen | No man's friend | Obermatsch | Obermontani | Ortenstein | Payrsberg | Pfeffersberg | Planta | Prösels | Rafenstein | Rametz | Reichenberg | Reifenegg | Reifenstein | Reinegg | Rendelstein | Ried | Rodenegg | Rosenstein | Rotund | Rottenstein | Rubein | Rundegg | Runkelstein | Salegg | Salern | Schenkenberg | Schenna | Schlandersberg | Schöneck | Sigmundskron | Sonnenburg | Speaking stone | Stachlburg | Stein am Ritten | Steinegg | Stetteneck | Straßberg | Summersberg | Taufers | Thurn (St. Martin) | Thurn (Taisten) | Thurnstein | Tinzlturm | Tyrol | Trauttmansdorff | Treuenstein | Trostburg | Tschenglsberg | Tschenglsburg | Untermatsch | Submontane | Uttenheim | Velthurns | Vintl | Voitsberg | Vorst | Walbenstein | Wangen-Bellermont | Warth | Wehrburg | Weineck | Welfenstein | Welsperg | Werrenberg | Angle | Wolfsthurn (Andrian) | Wolfsthurn (Ratschings) | Selva | Zenoburg | Zwingenburg | Zwingenstein
Coordinates: 46 ° 42 ′ 53.7 ″ N , 11 ° 39 ′ 20.2 ″ E