Johanneskapelle (Pürgg)

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The Johanneskapelle
inner space

The Johanneskapelle is a small church building on the Kalvarienhügel in the district of Pürgg of the municipality of Stainach-Pürgg in Styria . It is consecrated to the Evangelist John . The Johanneskapelle is famous for its well-preserved medieval frescoes . It is a listed building .

history

Although it was first mentioned in a document in 1350, it is assumed that the chapel represents the rest of the former Graunscharn Castle of the Traungau family . Due to certain architectural features, it is concluded that it could have been built before 1120.

When the Traungau family died out in 1192, the castle was abandoned and the chapel was probably converted into a memorial chapel. It has served as a calvary station since the baroque period , as the three crosses on the south wall still indicate today. In the baroque era, a small roof turret was placed on the west side .

During work on the chapel in 1870, the painted medieval frescoes were discovered and restored in 1893/1894. Unfortunately, the restoration was carried out improperly, so that damage occurred after a short time due to peeling. Further decay was halted by reprocessing from 1937 to 1948.

building

Location of the Johanneskapelle

A simple hall building with an area of ​​around 11 × 6 meters is followed by a narrower and lower choir square to the east . The exposed masonry consists of cubic, square stone blocks . On the south and north walls there are three narrow Romanesque window openings and three on three sides in the chancel. There is also a small round window in the west wall. The building has gable roofs which, like the ridge turret and the west wall, are covered with shingles . The south, west and north walls each have a door opening, with a wooden porch in front of the latter. The transition from the nave to the choir is formed by a round arch (triumphal arch).

Frescoes

Apart from the frescoes, which cover almost the entire interior of the church, there is only a simple altar hall with a Romanesque crucifix from the Pürgger parish church . The frescoes date from the third quarter of the 12th century. The Traungau Margrave Ottokar III. (1125–1164), who is also considered to be one of the two donor figures shown to the left and right of the choir opening. The performing artists are attributed to the Salzburg art circle, whereby the pictures show that they were familiar with Byzantine art . The frescoes are among the best preserved of this time.

A painted curtain forms the base of the frescoes. Above this is the main strip, about two meters high, on which the miracle of the multiplication of bread is depicted on the north side and topics about the birth of Christ on the south side. At the western end is the secular motif of the cat-mouse war according to Aesop . In the upper picture strip the foolish virgins (north side) stand opposite the clever ones (south side). The victims of Cain and Abel are depicted next to the triumphal arch . In the decorative ribbon around the triumphal arch, entwined with arabesques , the word Allah , the Arabic name for the one God in all monotheistic religions, can be read repeatedly in old Arabic script and with slight distortion .

In the choir can be seen on the east wall of the patron saint of the Church of John the Baptist (left) and John the Evangelist (right), while sacred on the sidewalls of two bishops of regional concern (to Rupert and Virgil ?) And two figures from the Old Testament with Crowns and scrolls ( David and Melchizedek ?) Face each other. In the four segments of the flat vault of the choir, the evangelistic symbols of bull, lion, eagle and man can be found next to the central representation of Christ as a lamb with a cross nimbus and a cross flag.

The figurative scenes throughout the church are enriched by a variety of ornamental decorations. Usually arranged in stripes, the ornamentation often imitates marble and fabric patterns or forms vegetable or purely geometric forms.

  • The Annunciation

  • The birth of Christ

  • The wonderful multiplication of bread

  • The cat-mouse war

  • Donor figure, Ottokar III. (?)

  • Ceiling fresco in the chancel

literature

Web links

Commons : Johanneskapelle Pürgg  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 47 ° 31 ′ 51 ″  N , 14 ° 4 ′ 12.1 ″  E