Catholic Church Richterswil
The Catholic Church in Richterswil is one of the most important examples of neo-baroque sacral architecture in the canton of Zurich .
history
History and naming
According to legend, the hermit Meinrad is said to have baptized a child in the Richterswil church between 835 and 861 . A first church in Richterswil , consecrated to St. Martin , was first mentioned in 1265. The medieval church of St. Martin was the mother church of the western part of Wollerau and of Hütten . The patronage of the church lay with the Lords of Wädenswil, whose castle stood on Richterswil soil. Rudolf von Wädenswil sold his castle and the patronage of the Richterswil Church in 1287 to Commander Heinrich and the Johanniterbrüdern von Bubikon . In the middle of the 14th century, Richterswil was incorporated into the Johanniterhaus Wädenswil. Around 1450 the medieval church of St. Martin received a new choir, and in 1472 a new tower. The patronage was acquired by Zurich in 1549. The new Reformed Church from 1717 was demolished in 1905 and replaced by today's Reformed Church in Richterswil .
Today's Catholic Church in Richterswil is dedicated to the Holy Family .
Development and construction history
After the Reformation in Zurich from 1523, Catholic worship was banned in Zurich's subject areas. In Richterswil, the Reformation was forcibly introduced in 1529, which resulted in the replacement of the Wollerau western district by Richterswil and the merger with Wollerau. It was not until the Edict of Tolerance of 1807 that a Catholic mass could be celebrated again for the first time, albeit limited to the city of Zurich. The freedom of settlement and religious freedom of the Helvetic Republic and, in 1848, the Swiss federal state made it possible for Catholics from Central and Eastern Switzerland as well as from other countries with a predominance of Catholicism to settle in the reformed canton of Zurich. The Catholics who immigrated to Richterswil were able to attend church services in the neighboring Catholic canton of Schwyz . B. in the neighboring village of Wollerau, whose pastor also tried to help the Catholics in Richterswil. From 1888 the Richterswil Catholics were cared for by the newly founded parish of Wädenswil . In 1900 Richterswil already had 849 Catholics, including 90 young women from the Catholic Girls' Institution (later the Grünau Foundation ). In 1908, a Catholic men's association was founded in Richterswil from Wädenswil, which promoted the development of the Richterswil parish. In the same year the men's association was able to buy a house on Wiesengrundstrasse , on the ground floor of which an emergency chapel was set up. Here, on September 27, 1908, for the first time since the Reformation, after 385 years, a Catholic service was celebrated on Richterswil soil. On June 18, 1909, the Bishop of Chur , Georg Schmid von Grüneck , bought the building site for the church and rectory from Heinrich Staub-Bourqui. From 1911 to 1912 the first pastor of Richterswil, Leo Munier, had the rectory built with financial support from his foster mother. Then the construction of today's church began according to plans by the architect Adolf Gaudy , Rorschach. The foundation stone was laid by Dean Johann Meier from Winterthur. At this time the Bishop of Chur elevated Richterswil to a parish rectorate. The Ferrari brothers company, Wädenswil, built the church in just 10 months, supported by the work of parishioners. On June 14, 1914, the completed church was designated by the Dean of the Einsiedeln Monastery , Father Athanasius Staub. On January 1, 1916, the Bishop of Chur made Richterswil an independent parish and separated it from Wädenswil. In 1939 the church was rebuilt and enlarged with an east aisle. The comprehensive renovation of the church in 1977–1979 was headed by Josef Riklin, Wädenswil. The walled-up ox eyes in the choir were opened again, but the high altar and side altars were removed, as were the choir stalls and the paneling in the choir and in the nave of the church. In 2015-2016 the church was renovated by architect Walter Moser and inaugurated on December 10, 2016.
The parish of Richterswil, with its 3,986 members (as of 2017), is one of the larger Catholic parishes in the canton of Zurich.
Building description
Exterior and bells
The diaspora church consecrated to the Holy Family was originally a single-nave building. The church, which now has two naves, has a semicircular choir and a cheese bite tower . The main facade is provided with a vestibule opened by three arcades and an oculus window . There are also small oculi above each of the sweeping neo- Rococo windows on the side facades and in the choir . On the side of the main facade, an original round tower forms the stairway to the gallery . The hall attached to the side of the church was converted into a side aisle in 1939 .
Old font
Church portal detail
Sculpture St. Martin (outside area)
Sacristy door detail
Outside lantern
The four older bells of the church were cast in the Fritz Hamm foundry in Staad in 1930 and consecrated by the Bishop of Chur , Georg Schmid von Grüneck , on September 28, 1930. As part of the renovation of the church, a fifth bell was installed in the tower in 2016, which was manufactured by the H. Rüetschi bell foundry in Aarau.
| number | volume | dedication |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | H | Holy Family |
| 2 | d | St. Theresa of the Child Jesus |
| 3 | e | St. Bishop Martin of Tours |
| 4th | G | Holy Guardian Angels |
| 5 | a | Pax Christi |
inner space
In the simple interior, the large neo-baroque high altar painting by Edwin Bachmann is striking. It shows a representation of the Holy Family based on Bartolomé Esteban Murillo . Edwin Bachmann (1873–1959) also designed the Stations of the Cross, which he made based on models by Ferdinand Baumhauer, Munich, and the colored glass windows . These were executed by glass painter J. Klotz, Rorschach and show Art Nouveau shapes. During the renovation of the church from 1977 to 1979, the choir was also adapted to the requirements of the liturgy constitution of the Second Vatican Council . By Josef Rickenbacher , Steinen SZ the artistic concept and the newly designed altar and came Ambo red French marble, the tabernacle , baptismal font and the candlestick and the Eternal Light . Josef Rickenbacher also created the Antonius sculpture and the St. Martin sculpture. The latter is reminiscent of the patronage of the medieval church in Richterswil.
Organs
Main organ
The church received its first organ on April 29, 1923. It was a pneumatic organ from the company Kuhn , Männedorf, which was replaced by today's main organ in the course of the church renovation in 1979. The present organ is from 1979. The slider chests -instrument has 18 registers on two manuals and pedal . The playing and stop actions are mechanical.
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Choir organ
The choir organ of the church was built by organ builder Hans Eisenschmid, Munich, in 1934 for the parish church of St. Georg in Oberding , Bavaria . Thomas Reilich, Oberschweinbach (Bavaria) overhauled the instrument in 2012 and installed it in a private apartment in Dulliken (SO). The consecration concert was played by the organist of the Lausanne Cathedral , Jean-Christophe Geiser. In March 2014 the organ was transferred from the company Kuhn, Männedorf to Switzerland and installed in the Richterswil parish church. 726 pipes are distributed over 12 voices. The instrument has pneumatic cone chests. On April 12, 2014, the organ was consecrated by Vicar General Josef Annen and presented in a concert by Pastor Mario Pinggera.
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- II / I, Sub II / I, Super II / I, I / P, II / P, 3 fixed combinations, trigger, crescendo
Automatic pedal switching
Church buildings
Next to the church is the post-modern parish center with an original round forecourt. In Saturdayern the parish maintains the St. Marien church , which was built in 2012 and is also used by the Reformed parish .
literature
- Catholic parish Richterswil (ed.): Organ consecration - completion of the church renovation. Richterswil 1979.
- Episcopal Ordinariate Chur (ed.): Schematism of the Diocese of Chur. Chur 1980.
- Peter Ziegler: Churches and chapels around Lake Zurich. Th. Gut Verlag, Stäfa 2000.
- Art guide through Switzerland - Volume 1. Society for Swiss Art History GSK, Bern 2005.
Individual evidence
- ^ Website of the Catholic parish in Richterswil. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
- ↑ Episcopal Ordinariate Chur (ed.): Schematism of the Diocese of Chur. P. 237.
- ↑ Episcopal Ordinariate Chur (ed.): Schematism of the Diocese of Chur. P. 237.
- ^ Catholic parish Richterswil (ed.): Organ consecration - completion of the church renovation. P. 1.
- ↑ Episcopal Ordinariate Chur (ed.): Schematism of the Diocese of Chur. P. 237.
- ^ Catholic parish Richterswil (ed.): Organ consecration - completion of the church renovation. Pp. 1-3.
- ↑ Parish travel page in Forum No. 25.
- ↑ Catholic Church in the Canton of Zurich (Ed.): Annual Report 2017. p. 84.
- ^ Archives of the Richterswil parish.
- ^ Catholic parish Richterswil (ed.): Organ consecration - completion of the church renovation. P. 3.
- ^ Catholic parish Richterswil (ed.): Organ consecration - completion of the church renovation. Pp. 2-3.
- ↑ Information about the organ on the website of Orgelbau Kuhn AG, accessed on February 8, 2013.
- ^ Archives of the Richterswil parish.
Web links
Coordinates: 47 ° 12 '42 .5 " N , 8 ° 42' 5.1" E ; CH1903: 695 660 / 229755