Josefskapelle (Schwäbisch Gmünd)

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St. Joseph's Chapel from the west
St. Joseph's Chapel from the east

The St. Josefskapelle (also St. Josef or Josefskapelle , rarely Josephskapelle or Josephskirche ) is a Gothic chapel in Schwäbisch Gmünd, southwest of the old town. It is located on the Waldstetter Bach , which is called Josefsbach from this point on until it flows into the Rems , in a small green area . Initially planned as the St. Mary and Joseph Chapel, it was dedicated to St. Joseph of Nazareth .

history

In 1668 the 1674 deceased widow Anna Maria Klopfer decreed in his will to build a chapel with Mesnerhaus outside the city that the appearance of the local Herrgottsruhkapelle should same. The shell of the chapel, which turned out to be somewhat larger than the original, was completed in 1677, and the master builder was Johann Sebastian Vogt, the grandson of the master builder Kaspar Vogt , who built the Herrgottsruhkapelle in 1622. As early as 1675 the Augustinians of the Gmünder Augustinerkloster committed themselves to holding the weekly mass. The predella of the main altar dates from 1678, the chapel was consecrated in 1698 by the Augsburg auxiliary bishop Johannes Eustache Egolf von Westernach .

Repairs were made to the tower in 1706, 1726/27, 1773 and 1787, with the dome being replaced in 1773. The planned demolition in the course of secularization in 1824 failed due to popular protest. Due to the ailing condition, citizens joined forces in 1865 for maintenance, which took place in 1866 under the direction of the sculptor Lorenz Benz . A restoration fund was set up in 1898, and in 1900 the St. Joseph Association , which is still active today, was founded . At the beginning of the 20th century the expansion was considered, among other things with plans by Hans Herkommer . Repairs were carried out in 1949, 1967 to 1970 and 1990.

The chapel is currently part of the local cathedral community . A mass is held in the chapel every week.

Furnishing

The high altar from 1678 shows Joseph, Mary and the Christ child. The choir stalls from 1754 were created by Franz Feldner, the parapets date from the 17th century. Next to the high altar there are two stone reliefs : the death of the Virgin from 1518 and the death of Joseph from 1709, which are said to come from the profaned preacher's church . In the church treasury there is a monstrance from 1730, a chalice from 1763/65, reliquaries - including a baroque Joseph reliquary from the undergarment of Joseph in the form of a monstrance - and objects from the 19th and 20th centuries. The sculptor Friedrich Birtsch created the tabernacle in 1905.

  • High altar

  • Vault in the chancel

  • Group of figures on the north side

  • View into the nave

literature

  • Richard Strobel, State Monuments Office Baden Württemberg: The art monuments of the city of Schwäbisch Gmünd . Volume 4, Churches and secular buildings outside the old town, districts; Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich 2003; ISBN 3-422-06381-1 , pp. 50-60.

Web links

Commons : Josefskapelle  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 48 ° 47 ′ 40 "  N , 9 ° 47 ′ 48.2"  E