Imperial grave in Bamberg Cathedral
The imperial tomb in Bamberg Cathedral is the burial place of the canonized imperial couple Heinrich II and Kunigunde in Bamberg Cathedral . The marble high grave was created between 1499 and 1513 in the workshop of the sculptor Tilman Riemenschneider . After being moved several times in the cathedral, it has been at the eastern end of the central nave since 1971.
description
The reliefs on the side walls show legends from the life of the imperial couple:
The trial by fire
Heinrich was whispered that Kunigunde had been unfaithful to him, so the Empress had to go over glowing plowshares as a judgment of God and was unharmed:
- “Emperor Heinrich II and Kunigund, they both remained unsullied until their death. The devil wanted to dishonor her that the emperor was withdrawing her from a duke, with whom she should be in disrepute. The woman offered her right to do so, and there were also many bishops and princes. Seven glowing iron paws were laid there, and the woman should kick them. She lifted up her hands to God and said: 'God, you alone know my innocence; get rid of me from this need, as you would give good Susanne the unjust testimony! ' She kicked the crowd perkily and said: 'See Emperor, as owed as I am to you, I am of all men.' Then the woman was cleansed with great honor. The king fell at her feet and all the gentlemen. "
The fair wage
The penny miracle of St. Kunigunde shows how the Empress personally paid the wages for the builders of Sankt Stephan . A craftsman who wanted to take more than he was entitled to cried out in pain because he grabbed a glowing penny:
- “ The grave of the holy couple Heinrich and Kunigunde is located in Bamberg Cathedral. A picture of this tomb shows the Empress paying the builders of St. Stephen's Church. For it was a vicious, dissatisfied man among the workers who stole the money from the conductor of the building so that the certain sum never wanted to be paid. It took a long time to track down the thief. One day St. Kunigundis went herself to the workmen and held up a bowl from which each took his penny. The thief also reached into the bowl, but, as before, unnoticed took several pfennigs. No sooner had he seized it than his hands burned terribly, so that he ran away crying, and when he got home only one penny was left in his hand. "
Heinrich on his deathbed
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This scene shows how Kunigunde and some members of the court mourn the dying emperor. Heinrich lies on his death bed while his wife dries tears with a towel. At the foot of his bed, a disguised devil beckons with a greatly enlarged index finger. Heinrich, however, points to Kunigunde and says that he has received his wife as a virgin and is leaving behind as a virgin.
The weighing of the soul
The weighing of souls of Saint Henry shows how the Archangel Michael and the devil are fighting over the soul of the emperor. When St. Laurentius a chalice as a sign of Henry pious deeds in the balance scale sets, the scale suggests in his favor:
- “The hour of death for Emperor Heinrich had come. In the Benedictine monastery on the Michelsberg in Bamberg a monk stood in front of the cell. To his horror, he saw a great number of devils go by with a terrible roar. He bravely asked one of them where they were going. Then he heard with horror that they were rushing to the emperor's deathbed to secure a share of his soul.
- The monk, mindful of Heinrich's pious, Christian way of life, could not explain the presence of these infernal spirits at his death bed. So he grabbed one of the devils and said to him: 'Go and do your hideous craft, as far as God allows you! When you have done your will, I swear you to the living God, return to me and tell the outcome of your actions! '
- The devils whirled away and came to the death camp of Emperor Heinrich. No matter how hard they tried, they failed to win over the slightest part of the imperial soul. Shamefully disappointed, with disgrace and disgrace they had to give way.
- But the one who was summoned by the monk came trembling in front of his hermitage and reported what had happened:
- 'Oh woe, we are despised, mocked and driven to flight with laughter! The angels of God and we stood at the great scales in which the good and bad deeds of the emperor were to be weighed. We tried to make Heinrich's life a heavy weight for our side. But the angels stood by, doing nothing. They knew that the pious, humble soul of Heinrich had to come to them after all. We pulled with all our might. The bowl was about to tilt. A fried man appeared, dressed in a solemn priestly robe. He threw a large, golden goblet on the opposite side, so that it sank deep, deep. Then the emperor breathed out his soul peacefully and the angels took it away with them. '"
To the (missing) tip on the scales there is the legend that the world will end when it is right in the middle:
- “ In Bamberg, on Emperor Heinrich's grave, justice is carved with a scale in hand. The tongue of the scales is not in the middle, but tilts slightly to one side. There is an old rumor about this that as soon as the tipping ends, the world will come to an end. "
The healing from stone disease
Heinrich often suffered from kidney stones. During a stay in the Montecassino Monastery , Heinrich is said to have been healed of his stone disease in his sleep by St. Benedict (with the knife in his hand), while his doctor sat asleep by the bed. The emperor woke up in the morning with the (oversized) kidney stone in his hand:
- " Heinrich was badly plagued by a stone ailment and was sick in the Monte Cassino monastery. Nobody could help him. But the emperor knew that the monastery founder, Saint Benedictus, could do this. But he doubted whether the saint's body really rests here. The illness was the punishment for the fact that Heinrich had once consented, when he was not yet emperor, that a number of horses in the chapter room of a monastery of St. Benedict were housed. At that time it was the only way to hire the horses. Now when Heinrich was sleeping in Monte Cassino, the saint appeared to him in a dream and informed him that his body was indeed buried here and that he had not left the place where he once wrote the rules of his order. In order to give the doubting emperor a sign, St. Benedict touched his side, opened it, took out the stone and immediately let the wound heal again. The saint placed the stone in the sleeping hand. When he awoke, he found him, thanked him for his healing and all of his people were happy with him ”.
Cover plate of the imperial tomb
Heinrich and Kunigunde are depicted as reclining figures on the monumental cover plate, which can only be viewed from above. At her feet lie two lions with the Bavarian and Luxembourg coats of arms. While the cover plate is to be regarded as a handwritten work by Riemenschneider, the side reliefs are likely to have been created with the help of assistants.
inscription
The tablets on the grave have the following Latin inscriptions:
- "GLORIA HAEC EST - OMNIBVS SANCTIS EIVS"
- (Translation: " This honor is given to all his saints. ").
The lower panel has the following inscription:
- "D [eO] O [ptimO] M [aXlmo] - HVMANI GENERIS REDEMPTORI IESV CHRISTO HVIVS ECCLESIAE FVNDATORIBVS TVTORIBVS PATRONIS DIVIS HENRICO ET KVNEGVNDAE CAESAREIS ET VIRGINEIS [TRAXIVGIBVITE] POSTALIS CONAMIVGIBVITE "
- (Translation: “ To the greatest and best God, the Redeemer of the human race, Jesus Christ, the founders, protectors and patrons of this church, Saints Heinrich and Kunigunde, the imperial and virgin couple, has consecrated, performed and erected the altar, memorial and tomb tumba Melchior Otto, Bishop . ")
Movie
"Kaiser Heinrich II.", BR 2012, a film documentary by Bernhard Graf , in which the imperial grave is integrated.
Individual evidence
- ↑ From Alexander Schöppner: Bayrische Sagen, Sagenbuch der Bayerischen Lande , Volume 1, Munich 1852. (Quoted from http://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/deutschland/bayern/bamberg/feuerprobe_kunigund.html Sagen.at)
- ↑ From Alexander Schöppner: Bayrische Sagen, Sagenbuch der Bayerischen Lande , Volume 1, Munich 1852 (Quoted from http://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/deutschland/bayern/bamberg/schale_kunigund.html Sagen.at)
- ↑ From Andreas Haupt: The most beautiful Bamberg sagas and legends . Bamberg 1877, re-edited by Gerhard C. Krischker 2002 (quoted from http://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/deutschland/bayern/bamberg/kelch_laurentius.html Sagen.at)
- ↑ From Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm : Deutsche Sagen (quoted from http://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/grimm/bambergerwaage.html Sagen.at)
- ↑ From Andreas Haupt: The most beautiful Bamberg sagas and legends . Bamberg 1877, re-edited by Gerhard C. Krischker 2002 (quoted from http://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/deutschland/bayern/bamberg/st_benedikt.html Sagen.at)
literature
- Andreas Haupt: The most beautiful Bamberg sagas and legends . Bamberg 1877, reissued by Gerhard C. Krischker : Bamberg: Fränkischer Tag GmbH, 2002. ISBN 978-3-928648-82-0
- Gerhard Weilandt: Center of the Cathedral - The imperial grave of Heinrich II. And his wife Kunigunde in Bamberg Cathedral during the Middle Ages. In: Yearbook of Bavarian Monument Preservation 64/65 (2010/11), pp. 57–74.
Web links
Coordinates: 49 ° 53 ′ 27 ″ N , 10 ° 52 ′ 57 ″ E