Dog Church in Kreuzen (Paternion)

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Dog Church of the Secret Protestants in Kreuz
Withdrawal of the dog in the tolerance prayer house Fresach

The Hundskirche in Kreuzen (popularly also known as the altar ) is a meeting place with rock carvings, located on the L 33 road in the municipality of Paternion in Carinthia , in the ditch between the cadastral municipality of Kreuzen and the village of Boden. The Hundskirche is a stop on the way of the book and has been a listed building since 2011 ( list entry ).

description

rock

The Hundskirche is an upright triangular rock made of limestone ( dolomite ), which is located around 3–4 meters next to the roadway of the country road between Kreuz and Boden, separated in the narrow part of the valley before it widens to "Boden" by the parallel Moschbach on its south side.

The rock has its full width on the ground at around 21 meters, and it reaches its highest point at around 13 meters. On the two flat limestone walls, east and west, folk depictions and inscriptions to be interpreted have been carved, with the back being mossy and overgrown by some trees. An embankment connected with two smaller rocks creates a small space behind the rock for a maximum of 15 to 20 people.

Use and interpretation

According to current research, the Hundskirche ("Altar") served as a secret place of worship during the secret Protestantism in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Recognizable and in the (scientific) interpretation are:

  • On both flat sides of the rock are dogs representations carved, name-giving for the dog Church as an allusion to the Jesuits and counter-reformer Peter Canisius , after the Latin word for dog, canis:
    • On the east side a large representation of a dog in raised relief technique . The dog, directed to the left in profile, measures around 45 cm from head to tail and around 40 cm from head to paw. He has opened his mouth with his tongue hanging out and a curved tail. Its paws, each with three toes, are clearly visible. (See also illustration above, withdrawal of the dog in the tolerance prayer house in Fresach. )
    • On the west side there is a smaller representation of the dog:
Here the figure of a dog is clearly recognizable. This is artfully worked in relief technique. It is a raised relief. The dog is shown in profile, facing left. You can easily see his paws with three toes each. He has his mouth open and his tongue is hanging out. Its tail is curved and directed upwards. The outline of a church tower can be seen over the dog's back. Two crosses are carved into its lower half, one of which is surrounded by a circle. Next to it, on the right side, there is another sign of the cross circled. A zigzag band can be seen above the church tower. The dog measures 45 cm from head to tail and 40 cm from head to paw. The church tower is 10 cm wide and 55 cm high.
  • Furthermore, on the rock face on the east side, above the dog, there is an engraving of an outline of a tower, approx. 10 cm wide and approx. 55 cm high; this is interpreted as a church tower. In the lower half there are two crosses, one of which is framed by a circle, as well as another circled cross sign to the right of the church tower. A zigzag band can be seen above the tower.
  • Also on the west side of the rock face are and are interpreted as:
  • A representation of a snail carrying a church tower and which is interpreted as a metaphor for the sedate but upright Protestant church.
  • The number 1599 is also recognizable (in 1592 Moritz Christoph Khevenhüller acquired the rule of Paternion , which passed on to his brother or uncle in 1599 to Bartholomäus (Bartlmä) Khevenhüller as a legacy of his son);
  • in capital letters, sometimes rotated by 90 and 180 degrees, the words: “Also gets in the world” (“So it's in the world”).

In the long script, the characters and the inscriptions are interpreted as:

"Despite the serpentine falsehood of the Emperor Ferdinand and the merciless harshness of Peter Canisius, the true Protestant Church goes slowly like a snail, but unbroken upright like the tower."

- Hundskirche in Kreuz. In: Our home, without a date.

literature

  • Theodor Vernaleken : Hundskirchen in Austria. In: Journal for Oesterreichische Volkskunde. Organ of the Association for Austrian Folklore in Vienna, Red. By Michael Haberlandt , III. Vol., 12th (final) booklet, Vienna 1897, pp. 363–366 ( full text in the Google book search).
  • Dehio manual. The art monuments of Austria. Carinthia. Anton Schroll, Vienna 2001, ISBN 3-7031-0712-X , p. 430.
  • Simone Madeleine Lassnig: Monuments of the Reformation period and secret Protestantism in the Paternion area . The Hundskirche and surrounding monuments. Vienna 2010, chapter: Hundskirche, stone monuments in Boden and Sgrafittohaus , p. 24–51 , here in particular from p. 43: Inventory: inspection and first evaluation - Die Hundskirche ( full text online [PDF; accessed on 19 July 2019] diploma thesis at the University of Vienna ).

Web links

  • Dog Church. (With a detailed description of the location, the rock and the signs and inscriptions on it.) In: Jewels of our cultural landscape. A project by the Carinthian Education Center in cooperation with the Urban Jarnik Institute, the Koroški pokrajinski muzej and the Maribor Monument Authority. Kärntner Bildungswerk GmbH (ed.), Klagenfurt undated, with reference to Moro, Carinthia I, 1940 and Lassnig, Vienna 2010 (see literature above).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e web links: Hundskirche, jewels of the cultural landscape , accessed on July 20, 2019.
  2. ↑ a b c cf. Kreuzen-Weißensee-Stockenboi: Hundskirche. Detail of the large dog representation on the east side of the rock. In: Rudolf Dueller's Flickr account, March 12, 2008, accessed on July 20, 2019.
  3. ↑ a b lit .: Gressel, Vienna 1968 , p. 63.
  4. ↑ a b lit .: Lassnig, Vienna 2010 .
  5. ↑ a b lit .: Bünker, Vienna 2001 .
  6. ↑ a b c cf. Kreuzen-Weißensee-Stockenboi: Hundskirche. Detail of the west side of the rock. In: Rudolf Dueller's Flickr account, April 28, 2008, accessed on July 20, 2019.
  7. ↑ a b Our home. Information folder of the Gasthaus Ebnerwirt in the Kreuzen , undated , photographed on July 18, 2019.
  8. ^ Lit .: Lassnig, Wien 2010 , p. 9f.
  9. ↑ Michael Bünker : To be on the way on the way of the book. On the trail of the Bible smugglers and secret Protestants. Here subtitle The way of the book connects. In: News on the Weg des Buches website . Evangelical Church AB in Austria (ed.), Undated, accessed on July 20, 2019.

Coordinates: 46 ° 40 ′ 16.3 ″  N , 13 ° 31 ′ 25.9 ″  E