Children's teaching church
The under monument protection standing children teaching church is the former monastery church of the Memminger Antoniter in Upper Swabia Memmingen in Bavaria . The church, built as a pseudo-basilica , was consecrated to St. Anthony and was called Antoniuskapelle until the Reformation. Its current name comes from its use as a teaching facility for children during the service in the Martinskirche opposite . Today it is best known for its frescoes by Bernhard Strigel and the neo-Gothic furnishings by Leonhard Vogt . Until the renovation in 2009 it was used as a simultaneous church by the Evangelical Lutheran Church and the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch . The last extensive renovation took place from 2009 to 2011.
location
The church stands on a hill in the Memminger Aachtal opposite the Protestant parish church of St. Martin . Your choir protrudes into Fuggergasse and forms a bottleneck there. The northern part of the church faces Martin-Luther-Platz, the southern part faces the Fugger building . The church used to stand right next to the Zehntstadel of the Antoniterkloster, which was demolished in the 20th century. This resulted in today's square-like character in front of the church.
history
The children's teaching church is the former monastery church of the Antonite Order in Memmingen . The Preceptor in 1378 first made the decision to build a chapel for St. Anthony. Construction began in 1393 with the main nave, the choir dates from 1472, the side aisles were added between 1501 and 1512. In 1531 the City Council of Memmingen took over the building. In the meantime, due to disputes, the church returned to the possession of the Antonites. The monastery and with it the monastery church were completely abandoned in 1562. From then until secularization it was owned by the city. It was not used from 1562 to 1684. From 1684 it served the surrounding communities as an emergency church, such as B. 1752 for the town of Dickenreishausen , where a new church was built. From then on it was also used for funeral sermons and teaching the children. The name Kinderlehrkirche did not become established until the middle of the 18th century, when it was used for the children's church service and was first called that in 1737. At around the same time, a half-timbered extension was added to the west facade, which was used as a horse stable until the 19th century. In 1811 it was offered for sale with a demolition permit, but no buyer was found. Thereupon it was united with the benefice care in 1834. A complete repair took place in 1872, another renovation in 1938 with the uncovering of the interior frescoes. In 1951 the church was handed over by the foundation administration of the city of Memmingen to the Evangelical-Lutheran church administration. The outer Strigel fresco was uncovered in 1954 and the facade was last renovated in 1987. The last restoration and renovation work was completed in winter 2010. It was found that the roof of the choir used to have a small bell tower, which can also be seen on old engravings from 1643, 1654 and 1660. The inauguration ceremony took place on January 23, 2011.
Building description
Outside
The central nave with its southern extensions and a western half-timbered building are located under a gable roof that runs perpendicular to the actual church axis. The gable ridge is 19 meters high. The main entrance to the church is located in the half-timbered building on the west facade. Both the north aisle and the choir have their own roofs. Apart from the half-timbered extension, the church consists of plastered brickwork. The southern entrance has a profiled tuff stone wall with an Antoniter -T in the top. The northern entrance is also designed as a round arch, but without any decoration.
The main nave has a width of 7.14, a length of 13.76 and a height of 9.42 meters. The choir is 6 meters wide, 4.55 meters long and 9.15 meters high. Both side aisles are the same length as the main nave, are cut off at an angle on the east side and have a maximum width of 4.14 with a height of 6.12 meters. It is believed that the vaults used to be rectangular and were bevelled during the Baroque period. The choir does not have the buttresses typical of the late Gothic , but only corner edges. In between there are high arched windows. In the window bulges, two semicircular bulges can be seen above the windows. The east side of the choir has no windows. The west facade used to have two large pointed arch windows and a rose window that were closed because of the half-timbered extension. The window frames can still be seen on the gallery behind the organ. The church has no tower.
Inside
The church is divided into the main nave, the north and south side aisles and the choir, all with net vaults . It is a relay hall with three vaults. The polygonal choir has a seventh-tenths ending. In a closed part of the building on the west wall of the north aisle there is the gallery staircase and the heating of the church, on the south aisle the closed sacristy and a passage to the south exit. In the western part of the main nave, the organ gallery is equipped with an ornamental stone railing, which is one of the outstanding stonemasonry works of the former imperial city.
Furnishing
Frescoes
There are a number of outstanding frescoes in and around the church.
Outside
In 1954 a fresco with a crucifixion scene, commissioned by Preceptor Caspar von Leutzenbrunn and painted by Bernhard Strigel , was uncovered above the north entrance in 1954 . The cross stands on a pedestal in the upper half of the picture. A round arch, which is interrupted in the middle by the cross, completes the picture above. Mary is to the left of the crucified, John to the right. Jesus himself is depicted as an emaciated figure, clad only in a loincloth. The hair reaches down to the shoulders. The head, surrounded by a halo, is inclined to the left towards Mary, who is also wearing a halo. Her overgarment is white, the undergarment is light blue. She has folded her hands at chest level, her head is bowed to Jesus. Johannes is dressed in red, the left hand is holding a bag, the right is on the left breast. He too is depicted with a halo. His beardless face looks up to Jesus. On both sides of the crucifixion scene, there are two smaller pictures within the round arch. On the left stands the gray-bearded Saint Anthony with a halo under a large church portal. The people are gathered around him to have cattle and poultry, including an Antonite pig , blessed. The choir of the children's teaching church stands above the saint in the background. In the scene of the temptation of St. Anthony on the right, the devil appears in the form of a horned woman with red robe and blue sleeves, a white headscarf and a red cloak. Antonius wears the same robe as in the scene on the left. The creator of the picture kneels at his feet in a wide white robe. His hands touch the robe of Antonius. A tape curls under the coat of arms of the founder. Below is an unknown woman with a halo and a scroll. There you can read "Revealed and renewed in 1954 W. Gelser" .
Another outside fresco in the attic of the northern pent roof with two larger than life figures of St. Anthony and the hermit Paul in conversation is not accessible. When the fresco was painted, it must have been visible from the outside because the roof had a much lower slope at that time. It was donated in 1486 by Cardinal Jean Balue. The style is similar to that of the cycle of apostles in Memmingen's second parish church, Our Women . That is why it is assigned to the Strigel family of artists . Balue had received the preceptory a year earlier from Pope Sixtus IV as a commonde . The Antonite coat of arms with a pig above and Jean Balue's coat of arms with a red cardinal's hat were shown below the figures. Sebastian de Bonis , Preceptor of the Antonite Monastery from 1501 and 1512, had it painted over with his own coat of arms and a black cardinal's hat.
Inside
The most important fresco of the church on a painted pedestal and an illusory gallery on the west wall of the north aisle was created around 1521 by Bernhard Strigel on behalf of the town clerk Ludwig Vogelmann and his wife. It is divided into three images that form an optical unit with the spatial architecture of the north aisle. The middle and largest picture shows a protective cloak Madonna . Mary's cloak, red on the outside and blue on the inside, is pulled wide apart by angels. Underneath, mankind has gathered to protect themselves from glowing plague arrows, which are hurled onto the earth by an angry, white-clad God the Father. In the foreground you can see Ludwig Vogelmann kneeling on the left and his wife on the right. Their ten children are lined up behind the donor couple; five sons behind Ludwig Vogelmann and two daughters behind his wife are dressed in white robes for the dead, as they had already died when the picture was taken. The two smaller pictures show the family coats of arms of the founders, on the right the Vogelmann coat of arms, on the left the coat of arms of the von Zorn family . At the bottom there is a Latin text on a message board.
Another fresco of a protective mantle Madonna on the right triumphal arch to the choir may also have been made around 1520. On it, too, Mary can be seen with her cloak pulled wide apart by angels. God the Father is enthroned above and sends arrows at the group of people gathered under Mary's cloak. The fresco is poorly preserved, so the interior drawing with the figurative part has been lost. Above him is a banner with a Latin text. Under the picture, framed by rich branches, one of what were probably twelve consecration crosses can be seen. Further consecration crosses are located next to the main entrance of the main nave and in the north and south aisles.
On the southern pillar of the arcade is a picture of Anna herself, divided into three pictures by the edges of the pillar, with a Renaissance frame. It was painted around 1525. The middle picture with Anna, Maria and the baby Jesus is flanked by portraits of Saints Joseph of Nazareth and Joachim . A message board with German text is painted over the fresco.
In the church, slogan frescoes tell of the building history and the renovations of the church. The ribbed vault of the main nave is adorned with a starry sky fresco. All the keystones of the church also have frescoes. Fragments of a former painting can be seen under the windows in the choir.
Carvings
In 1872 the interior of the church was renovated. The altar, the baptismal font and a lectern belong to the neo-Gothic furnishings of the Memmingen art carpenter Leonhard Vogt . The altar, carved from oak, is designed as a tower with two smaller side towers. In the middle is a group of children with the teaching Jesus. This group of figures was exchanged for a cross in the 1970s. In 2007 the children's group, which had been set up in the south aisle, got its old place in the main altar. The altar is richly decorated with neo-Gothic style elements.
organ
From 1827 to 1870 the church had a small organ that was previously in the Martinskirche and was probably built by Siegmund Riegg . On October 4, 1853, the deanery wrote a request to the city magistrate and procured a new organ for the children's teaching church. This was answered positively on November 14th, 1853, but with the request to wait for the work on St. Martin first. Once these have been carried out, the surplus from the foundation would be used for a new organ. On February 26, 1870, the parish office of St. Martin wrote to the city again that the old organ had become unplayable. In March and April there was already a lot of correspondence about the new organ. On May 5, 1870, Dedel Behler from Memmingen submitted a cost estimate for the new organ. After completing the rest of the renovation work in the church, it was decided on January 2, 1872 to postpone the purchase of a new organ. On February 23, 1874, the rectory again reminded the city to accelerate the procurement of the new organ. At this point in time, a higher amount of donations that was not explained in detail had already been collected. The final decision to buy a new organ was made by the city council on March 13, 1874. A new organ with six registers was to be purchased. The contract between the city and the organ builder Fidel Behler from Memmingen was signed on April 17, 1874. This should be delivered by September 1st of the same year. This organ was rebuilt and expanded in 1899. Five stops and the old neo-Gothic prospect of the organ were retained. The organ was restored in 2010.
The arrangement of the organ before the renovation in 1899 was:
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- Pairing : I / P
- Mechanical cone tray
Disposition of the restored organ:
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- Coupling : I / P, II / P, II / I, I 4 '/ I
use
The children's teaching church is used every Sunday for sermon services (alternating between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. in the summer and winter months) and for childcare during the main services in St. Martin.
In addition, celebrations such as weddings, baptisms and other celebrations take place there. With its space for a maximum of 120 people, the church interior offers a beautiful setting for family celebrations.
literature
- Historischer Verein Memmingen eV (Ed.): Memminger Geschichtsblätter · Annual issue 2012/13 . Antonier- und Kinderlehrkirche Memmingen - building research, equipment and renovation. Historical Association Memmingen, 2013, ISSN 0539-2896 .
- Günther Bayer: St. Martin and Children's Teaching Church - Memmingen . Ed .: Evangelical Lutheran Dean's Office Memmingen . Memmingen 2006, p. 55-63 .
- Julius Miedel : Guide through Memmingen and the surrounding area - first part . Publishing and Printing Cooperative Memmingen, Memmingen 1929, p. 85 .
Web links
- Photo gallery of the community of St. Martin in Memmingen , accessed on October 15, 2008
- Interactive interior view of the Kinderlehrkirche, (the page takes a while to build) , accessed on April 5, 2011
Individual evidence
- ↑ Memminger Geschichtsblätter 2012/2013: Antonier- und Kinderlehrkirche Memmingen , page 11
- ↑ Miedel, p. 85
- ↑ a b c Lt. Information from Günther Bayer, home nurse in Memmingen, given on May 22, 2009
- ↑ Information from the restaurant management towards user: Memmingen
- ^ Karl Fackler: The old Memmingen. The historical development of the city of Memmingen from the time of its foundation to the Thirty Years War . Memmingen 1929, p. 50–51 / Appendix, panel 16 .
- ↑ City Archives Memmingen, B1 Apl 1827 D2
- ^ Hermann Fischer , Theodor Wohnhaas : Georg Friedrich Steinmeyer (1819-1901) and his work. A contribution to the history of Bavarian organ building in the 19th century . (Contributions to organ building in southern Germany, vol. 2), Frankfurt / Main 1978, p. 252.
- ^ Christian Kohler: The Allgäu organ building from 1850 to the present . Diploma thesis, University of Music Nuremberg-Augsburg, 2007
Coordinates: 47 ° 59 ′ 7 " N , 10 ° 10 ′ 45.2" E