Catholic Church Pleif
The Catholic parish church of S. Vintschegn in Pleif in the municipality of Lumnezia in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland is the oldest church in Val Lumnezia . It is dedicated to Vinzenz von Agen .
history
The church in Pleif is first mentioned in a Carolingian land register from approx. 840 as ecclesia plebeia ad San Vincentium . (The name Pleif is also derived from Plebs ; in Romansh, Pleiv means parish.) In a letter of indulgence from 1322 and 1345, the church ecclesia St. Vincentii in Burg e is mentioned. The name Pleif appears for the first time in 1643 in an episcopal visitation report.
In the 9th century the church of Pleif was still an imperial fiefdom, a hundred years later it was first owned by the Guelphs , then it came to the property of the Constance cathedral chapter , which owned extensive properties in Churrätien . In the 14th century, Pleif appears in the possession of the Barons of Belmont , in 1371 it was inherited by the Barons of Sax and in 1483 to the Bishop of Chur .
In 1913/14 the church received a new roof. In 1930/31 the interior of the church was restored. During the last renovation in 1982, the gallery was also rebuilt.
Location of the old apses
East facade
South side
Building history
Carolingian three-apse church
As excavations from 1982/83 showed, a three-apse church stood here around 800 . Today the entrance facade stands where the apses stood. The foundation of the western wall lay under the present choir steps. Its extension was 12.5 by 22.5 meters. An even earlier predecessor has not been confirmed, but is not ruled out either.
Romanesque building
In the course of the 12th century, a Romanesque new building was built on the foundations of the Carolingian church . Apses and the side walls of the nave were taken over. At the same time the tower was built; Erwin Poeschel dates it to a time around 1100. It was moved away from the church for static reasons and was connected to the church choir by a corridor. To the east of it was a small sacristy .
Gothic building
Around 1500 the three-apse choir in the east was demolished and a straight wall was built in its place. At the same time, a spacious polygonal choir with a star vault was built in the west. The steeply sloping terrain in the east prevented the choir from being enlarged; this explains why the church is not east . The Romanesque choir screen and the two choir steps were retained. The part so separated served as a burial place. The stipides of the high and two side altars also date from the Gothic period . The entrance was on the east of the south wall.
Baroque building
In 1661/62 there was a cautious baroque transformation . The east wall was moved one width to the east and the formerly Gothic windows in the nave were replaced by baroque semicircular windows. The entrance was bricked up and replaced by a door in the middle of the wall. The main portal came to rest on the east wall. The painted ceiling, divided into rectangles and rhombuses, dates from 1661.
On September 8, 1662, the church and a new rosary altar on the gospel side were consecrated by Bishop Ulrich IV. De Mont from Vella. Later the sacristy was moved south.
Section of the ceiling
Reticulated vault
Choir arch
Furnishing
The wooden two-story high altar with pilasters and winding columns and lush tendrils was created by Johannes Ritz in 1726. Saints Peter and Paul stand in front of the lower pilasters, and Saint Vincent in the gable. Integrated into the altar is the temple-like tabernacle with two lamp angels, which was already there in 1643.
The wooden side altars, on the right the St. Konrad altar from 1743, on the left the rosary altar from 1694, date from the late Renaissance . On the north wall there is a St. Anna altar, built in 1763 by Johannes Trubmann. A Renaissance winged altar from 1630 hangs on the northern choir wall, attributed to Hans Jakob Greutter from Brixen , who was also active in other Surselva villages.
Rosary altar
St. Konrad Altar
St. Anna Altar
Other equipment
- The large painting on the north wall in oil on canvas measures 4 by 9 meters and was painted by Giovanni Battista Macholino in 1630 on behalf of the Rosary Brotherhood. It depicts the naval battle of Lepanto , in which the Christian allies defeated the Ottoman troops.
- The Gothic wall tabernacle is made of tuff . With a height of 3.10 meters, it is the largest in the canton, next to the tabernacle of Chur Cathedral .
- Like the tabernacle, the life-size late Gothic crucifix in the choir arch dates from around 1500.
- The polygonal pulpit is occupied by free columns and dates from 1674.
- The choir stalls with pilasters date from around 1650; the crowning with sawed-out dragons date from 1694.
- The font carved from one piece dates from the end of the 13th century. Originally the foot-shaped protrusion was dug into the ground. He was moved in front of the newly designed entrance in 1661. He has been back in church since 1984.
Winged altar by Hans Jakob Greutter
pulpit
Font from the end of the 13th century
Choir stalls
Dragons over the choir stalls
Others
The women are allowed to sit on the right in the church at Pleif and go to communion first. According to tradition, this is the recognition that the Lugnez women heroically took part in the fight in 1352 during the Belmont feud at the Porclas Cumbel and put the enemy to flight. Historians, however, explain the unusual seating arrangement with the relocation of the church choir from east to west around 1500. Accordingly, the women kept their side even after this about-face and therefore sit on the right instead of the usual left.
Thanks to the excellent acoustics, the St. Vinzenz Church in Pleif is in demand as a concert space.
literature
- Peda art guide: Vella and Pleif churches; Catholic parish office of St. Vinzenz in Pleif 1991
- Erwin Poeschel: Art Monuments of the Canton of Graubünden , Volume IV, Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel 1942, p. 249
- Ludmila Seifert, Leza Dosch: Art guide through Graubünden: Scheidegger & Spiess, Zurich 2008; P. 190
- Willy Zeller: Art and Culture in Graubünden , Haupt Verlag Bern 1993; P. 84
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Giovanni Battista Macholino. In: Sikart , accessed January 19, 2016.
Coordinates: 46 ° 42 '54.6 " N , 9 ° 10' 44.6" E ; CH1903: 733 061 / one hundred seventy-five thousand two hundred and forty-nine