St. Wolfgang Chapel (St. Gallen)

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The St. Wolfgang Chapel, view from the east

The St. Wolfgang chapel is located in the Haggen district of the city of St. Gallen at Haggenstrasse 105. It was probably built in the second half of the 15th century. A construction date has not been passed down, the first documented mention dates from 1479. The chapel stands on a prominent hill, a moraine wall , which was formed by the St. Gallen tongue of the Lake Constance Rhine glacier during the Stein am Rhein stadium of the Würme Ice Age . Immediately next to the chapel there is a stately linden tree and a farmhouse on the same elevation.

The chapel is located on the old path from Straubenzell to Stein , just before the arduous descent into Sittertobel used to be made. The Haggenbrücke , built there at the beginning of the 20th century, made the trip much easier. Today this route into Appenzell is reserved for pedestrians and cyclists.

history

The first two documented mentions of the St. Wolfgang chapel come from the years 1479 and 1481. These are episcopal permits for celebrations on a portable altar. In his Chronicle of Abbots Vadian writes “ The capel zuo S. Wolfgang am Haggen is not old ”. It can therefore be assumed that the chapel was built shortly before 1479. It is presumably a private foundation of one of the Hux or Von Gaissberg families attested as landowners of the Haggen estates in the middle of the 15th century, both related and important families. Johannes Hux was the abbot's chancellor and Franz von Gaissberg was abbot from 1504 to 1529. At this time, the cult of St. Wolfgang also spread, starting from the monasteries of St. Wolfgang am Abersee and Mondsee, first in Austria, in southern Germany and finally in Switzerland. Wolfgang lived in the 10th century and was first a monk and teacher in Einsiedeln. His strong desire to convert pagans made him move to Hungary, where he was appointed archbishop of Regensburg by the emperor. In this function he appeared as a reformer of the monasteries and his diocese and as educator of the later Emperor Heinrich II. On July 8, 1497, the “ cap. S. Wolffgangi in curia am Haggen in dec. in S. Gallo ”from the Episcopal Curia in Constance permission to celebrate Holy Mass. In 1549 it was proposed as a branch church for Straubenzell .

Portal of the St. Wolfgang chapel

The Haggenhof with the associated chapel became the property of Ulrich Frank, a citizen of St. Gallen. In 1572 the Straubenzeller Hans Heim and shortly thereafter Ulrich Boppart became the new owner. The chapel seems to have been dilapidated at this point. Ulrich Boppart had them repaired with old bricks and beams from the demolition of the houses of the infirmary and donated a goblet and a year. The Gothic framing of the portal presumably originates from this first phase of renovation.

In the years 1644 to 1647 the St. Wolfgang chapel underwent profound renovations. Johannes Boppart-Bossart, Ulrich's son, had the walls raised by 4 shoes, a new roof structure and a turret put on top. Abbot Pius Reher donated the new altar, the altar sheet of which was made by the Constance painter Johann Stöcklin. The altar was consecrated on May 23, 1647 in honor of Our Lady, St. Wolfgang and St. Ulrichs. As a result of this reconstruction, the chapel was essentially given its current, early baroque appearance. The missing missal also comes from this time. The renovation of the chapel was probably part of the overall renovation of the property, because Johannes Boppart also had the Haggenschlössli built at the same time .

The western long side had to be re-founded in 1800 and a bell cast around it. In 1946 lightning struck the chapel. It was then renovated in 1947 and the interior was painted with new pictures.

Building

The chapel faces northeast and consists of a rectangular nave with a drawn-in, three-sided choir . The choir is 3.95 m wide and 4.9 m long. The ship is 4.75 m wide and 4.1 m long. The choir arch grows out of the wall and is not supported on any template. Wooden hipped ceilings have been drawn in. There are two round windows each in the choir and nave. The ogival entrance is protected by a round arched canopy. The entrance has a stone framing with throats and crossed bars. The gable roof has no surface structure and a continuous ridge, it is crowned with a bell tower. It is hipped over the choir and adapted to the polygonal ground plan.

Choir of the St. Wolfgang Chapel

Interior decoration

The altar from 1647 has a structure with two columns from which tufts of fruit hang. Putti sit on the cranked entablature, flanking the poorly developed gibel. Canopy-like volutes are attached to the side. There you can find the two figures of the patrons St. Wolfgang and St. Ulrich . In the gable there is a statuette of Christ on the scourge column. The first altar sheet was made by the painter Stöcklin from Constance, but was later replaced by a newer one. There is a two-seat celebrant seat on the south wall of the choir. This is divided by three smooth columns and is dated to 1648. On the north side of the choir there is a parament cabinet from 1648.

The first bell with a diameter of 43 cm bears the inscription "FECIT RAGETH MATHIS CHUR 1797". It bears pictures of God the Father, the Mother of God and a crucifixion group.

The second bell with a diameter of 32.5 cm bears the inscription "PETER ERNST GOS MICH IN LINDAV 1774". She has the pictures of a crucifixion group and the holy bishop. The bell originally hung above the choir of St. Otmar's church in the minster .

Web links

Commons : Chapel St. Wolfgang  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

See also

literature

  • Oskar Keller: Landscape History. In: Straubenzell. Landscape - community - district , ed. von der Ortsbürgergemeinde Straubenzell, St. Gallen 2006, ISBN 3-907928-58-X , pp. 10-29.
  • Arthur Kobler: Churches and chapels in Straubenzell. In: Citizens' Council of the Ortgemeinde Straubenzell (ed.): Straubenzeller book. St. Gallen 1986, ISBN 3-7291-1036-4 , pp. 70-97 FC
  • Erwin Poeschel: The City of St. Gallen: Part One. History, fortifications, churches (without a pen) and secular buildings. (= The Art Monuments of the Canton of St. Gallen , Vol. 2, City I), Basel 1957.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Keller 2006, pp. 21-24.
  2. ↑ a b c Poeschel II 1957, p. 170.
  3. ^ Joachim von Watt (Vadian): German historical writings. ed. by Ernst Götzinger, vol. 1, St. Gallen 1875, p. 517.
  4. ↑ a b Kobler 1986, p. 90.
  5. ↑ Freiburg Diocesan Archive , vol. 66–74 (1939–1954), p. 345, cited above. according to Kobler 1986, p. 92.
  6. ^ Wall text in the chapel.
  7. ↑ a b Kobler 1986, p. 92.
  8. ↑ Chron. K., Pfarrarch., P. 34, cited above. after Poeschel 1957, p. 170.
  9. ↑ StiftsASG, D 880, f. 138r and 138v, cit. after Poeschel 1957, p. 170.
  10. ↑ Poeschel II 1957, pp. 170f.

Coordinates: 47 ° 24 '8.6 "  N , 9 ° 20' 20.8"  E ; CH1903:  seven hundred forty-three thousand four hundred and forty-five  /  251911