Johann Philipp Janson
Johann Philipp Janson (born February 9, 1707 in Ottersheim , Palatinate ; † August 15, 1758 in Mönchberg , Lower Franconia ) was a German Catholic priest in the Archdiocese of Mainz and builder of the baroque church of St. John the Baptist in Mönchberg .
Live and act
He was the first of seven children of the Ottersheim farmers and landlords Anton Janson and his wife Anna Margaretha geb. To bathe. At that time, Ottersheim belonged to the Archdiocese of Mainz, today it belongs to the Diocese of Speyer . Upon the death of the parents left behind a debt of 504 guilders and it's called in the estate papers about the spiritual son: "... supported in the student days, cost so much that his parents got into debt." 1734 Janson received in Mainz the Subdiakonatsweihe , Ordained priest in 1736. Initially pastor in Johannesberg near Aschaffenburg , he was transferred to nearby Mönchberg in 1748. At that time both parishes also belonged to the Archdiocese of Mainz, now to the Diocese of Würzburg .
Pastor and church builder in Mönchberg
In Mönchberg they were just getting ready to build a new parish church, the church of St. John the Baptist, which still exists today. In his book Mönchberger Kirchengeschichte , former mayor Eduard Schmitt describes the priest in 2001 as the “real creator of the church” . It goes on to say, “It is undisputed that after its introduction he approached the construction project with a great deal of energy. His knowledge and expertise are also undisputed. What particularly distinguished him was his fearlessness and his ability to assert himself with the goals that were recognized as correct. Even the authorities could not dissuade him from his chosen path. "
He chose Johann Martin Schmitt († 1763) from Miltenberg as master builder . The new church was originally supposed to stand at an angle between adjacent barns. Johann Philipp Janson took care of their exact easting and had the barn of a resident sawed off at the bottom, placed on rollers and rolled to the side. The previous planning stipulated that the floor of the partially overbuilt cemetery would be leveled by removal. Since the clergyman feared harmful vapors from the graves, he arranged for the main portal to be raised and an embankment in the choir area. He paid the additional costs out of pocket. Janson prevented the roof from being covered by a local brickworks and had slate applied, which offered greater security in wind and weather. In 1751, he prevented the gilder Wanck, from Mainz, commissioned by the Kurmainzer bailiff in Klingenberg am Main , from entering the church and took the key away from him, as premature gilding would presumably have caused irreparable damage to the building, which was not completely dry. Against bitter opposition, Pastor Janson got the entire church and choir ceiling painted with frescoes, created by the renowned baroque painter Johann Conrad Bechtold (1698–1786) from Aschaffenburg. They are the pride of the community today and agree with Janson, who wrote back then: "... the main purpose of the house of God is that such things should be adorned with beautiful painting." Bechtold has it in one as a tribute to the art-loving client Fresco immortalized above the choir arch. You can find his portrait here on a painted vase with handles shaped like the letters "PJ" (Philipp Janson). The church was consecrated on September 26, 1751 by the Mainz auxiliary bishop Christoph Nebel .
death
Pastor Johann Philipp Janson died on August 15, 1758 in Mönchberg and according to his will, he was buried in the choir of his church. There is no epitaph. In memory of his own origins, he bequeathed his numerous books "to the next ordained chaplain, if he is from poor parents."
At the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the consecration of the Mönchberg Church, Pastor Janson was commemorated in several publications; The priest's brother's descendants were also present for the festive mass on September 30, 2001.
literature
- Eduard Schmitt: Church leader of the Catholic parish church “St. John the Baptist ”Mönchberg - Festschrift on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the consecration of the parish church (1751–2001) . Ed .: Catholic parish Mönchberg. 1st edition. Specialist publisher for church photography EK SERVICE Porth, Saarbrücken 2001, DNB 963798146 .
- Eduard Schmitt: Mönchberger Kirchengeschichte , Mönchberg, 2001, Caruna Druck, Kleinheubach
- Joachim Specht: In the distance in high esteem - Pastor from Ottersheim in Franconia honored as a church builder , in: Die Rheinpfalz , local edition Kirchheimbolanden , No. 207, from September 6, 2001
Web links
- Website of the parish Mönchberg on the parish history
- Website about Pastor Janson with his picture in the church
Individual evidence
- ^ Eduard Schmitt: Mönchberger Kirchengeschichte , Mönchberg, 2001, Caruna Druck, Kleinheubach, p. 23
- ↑ Website for the painting of the church ( Memento of the original from November 17, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Janson, Johann Philipp |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Catholic priest in the Archdiocese of Mainz |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 9, 1707 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Ottersheim |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 15, 1758 |
| Place of death | Mönchberg , Lower Franconia |