St. Laurenzen (St. Gallen)
The Church of St. Laurenzen , the Evangelical - Reformed parish church of the city of St. Gallen . The construction of the first church is estimated in the middle of the 12th century. The church was the political, religious and social center of the city republic of St. Gallen for almost three hundred years and has had a lasting impact on the city's history . Even today it is the meeting place for the local citizens of the city. The church takes its name from the martyr Lawrence of Rome , to whom it was consecrated. It is classified as a building worthy of national protection (highest of the three protection levels) and, as a monument of national importance, is therefore under federal monument protection .
history
The founding date of the first church is unknown, but is estimated to be in the middle of the 12th century. The oldest surviving documentary mention can be found in the document about a seasonal foundation from the year 1225. As early as 1235, the church had the rank of parish church, the date of appointment is not recorded here either. At that time the church was still under the control of the prince abbey and the pastors and beneficiaries were obliged to take part in the ceremonial offices in the cathedral and also in the processions. On December 10, 1359 the parish church with all its chaplains and income was incorporated into the monastery . The transfer of the church government to the city was initiated on June 23, 1413 by an agreement that delegated the nomination of the pastor to the council and left the abbot only with the formal enfeoffment and presentation to the bishop of Constance, to whom the abbey at that time still heard. Various points were also regulated in the contract that were beneficial to the city, which was striving for independence. Nevertheless, the situation between the city and the monastery remained tense and there were repeated disputes. This required a new contract. In the Treaty of Bischofszell , which was signed on July 14, 1509, the treaty of 1413 was confirmed. The incorporation was eroded, but formally remained in place. Shortly before the Reformation, the clergy consisted of nine priests. These were the pastor (also church lord or rector), the coadjutor at St. Laurenz, the early knife, the post-knife, the chaplain of the Gössler charity (from 1410), who was also the middle knife, the chaplain of the St. Jakobs benefice ( 1465), as well as the three clergymen (one each Barfüsser, Augustinian and Dominican) who not only worked as mendicant monks, but also performed church functions.
The turmoil of the Reformation also gripped the city of St. Gallen, as the relationship between city and monastery was not the best. Under the humanist and mayor Joachim von Watt (called Vadian ), the city joined the Reformation movement. So on April 5, 1524 a corresponding mandate was passed by the two city councils. On February 2, 1525, the church was formally opened to the Reformed Confession with a new church order. In further steps came the various changes to the worship service. In 1527 the Lord's Supper was introduced according to the evangelical rite, and in 1528 the (Catholic) mass was banned for the entire city area. As a result of the Reformation, the councils decided on December 5, 1526 to clear out “all idols and images ... suber and rain uss the parish of Sant Laurentzen”. This request was complied with and the iconoclasm removed the “Catholic” pictures and statues from the church within the next three days.
Henceforth the city church of the Reformed city was not a hundred steps away from the center of the prince-bishopric. The partition wall that was built later did not yet exist and the abbot and his churchmen had to enter and leave the city through the same gates. In addition to various open conflicts that the city and abbot fought against each other and which are reported in detail in the article on the history of the city of St. Gallen , there were also quarrels between the unequal neighbors within the city walls. For example, Catholics were temporarily forbidden from carrying the flags and crosses they used for processions to the churches and chapels north of the city upright through the city. The other way around, the abbot complained about thefts in his garden (today's cloister courtyard, which was open to the city). With the construction of the Scheidemauer and the Abbot's Gate (Karlstor) it was not possible to agree on a solution that was acceptable to both sides until 1566.
The religious rifts between the two St. Gallen - the prince-bishopric and the city - sometimes remained very deep until the beginning of the 20th century. It was not until the 20th century that the denominations came closer again, among other things through the city union of 1918, when the Catholic areas of the communities of Straubenzell and Tablat , which had previously belonged to the prince, and the city merged. It was considered a small sensation when the newly consecrated Bishop Ivo Fürer solemnly moved into the St. Laurenzen Church on June 5, 1995, immediately after his consecration, to which the consecration had been transferred due to the lack of space in the cathedral. The evangelical-reformed parish had made this offer to the diocese leadership in order to emphasize the ecumenical movement in the canton. When Markus Büchel was consecrated as successor to Bishop Ivo in 2006 and then also moved into St. Laurenzen, he thanked the parish and said that he would “make the cathedral available to them one day if they should, for example, have a bishop have consecrated ... "
Building history
The building history is a bit confused as there are some conflicting documents. There is also very little written information about the predecessor churches, and most of it is only mentioned by the church, but does not contain any information about the edification. Much of the information is therefore based on archaeological finds. These partly contradict each other, so the results that were made on the occasion of the excavations during the underfloor heating expansion in 1954/1955 were completely thrown overboard when the matter was looked at again during the renovation of 1963–1979. These changes are not reflected in all works, since one of the main works of urban architecture was published between these two excavations in 1957 and consequently represents the results of the first excavation.
1st construction stage (1st church)
This was a single-nave rectangular building without a choir. There was a little north annex. The origin is in the first half of the 12th century. In 1215 it was damaged by fire and restored. The axis of this church was more southerly than that of the following.
Irmgard Grüninger and Bruno Kaufmann from the Reformed Parish date the first church to around 800. The building would have served as a burial place and is assigned to a priest Burkard. Hans Rudolf Sennhauser, the archaeologist who oversaw the excavations in 1976, also considers the first church to be much older.
2nd construction stage (2nd church)
New construction of the choir (before 1200), extension of the hall church. St. Laurenzen is first mentioned as a parish church in 1235.
3rd construction stage (3rd church)
Rectangular single-aisle building without choir entry. The building had the width of the central nave and was also in this position. Erected after 1305, whereby the 2nd building was completely removed. Pieces of the tower that was erected still remain in the current tower, which was completed in 1423. 1314 Repair work after the 2nd city fire, installation of additional support posts and separation of the choir.
4th construction stage (4th church)
After the second church was essentially completely laid down in 1413, the foundation stone was laid. The first master builder was Johannes Murer from St. Gallen, who led the construction for two and a half years. But he was deposed because his work was "no good". It is believed that a collapse occurred during construction. He was replaced by Michael von Safoy . He will presumably have changed the existing parts so that one can speak of his work, although he did not appear in person at first, but sent his son as an unrestrictedly authorized representative. Safoy already wanted to raise the main nave beyond the side aisles so that additional windows could be installed above the central nave. However, these plans were not implemented.
After the third city fire in 1418, which did not directly affect the church, construction progress slowed significantly. The church and tower were completed in 1423.
5th construction stage
1513–1515 addition of the north gallery
1526 Reformation and iconoclasm
6th construction stage
1577/78 New spire, extension of the south pore
7th construction stage
1761 new organ, 1765 new tower end
8th construction stage (5th church)
In 1845, Johann Georg Müller (1822–1849) worked out projects for a comprehensive renovation and renewal, as the need for renovation of the church could no longer be overlooked since the beginning of the century. With his plans, he prevailed against various other architects, some of whom also envisaged the complete rebuilding of the church. The plans were carried out in a modified form by Johann Christoph Kunkler between 1851 and 1854, as Müller had died on May 2, 1849 at the age of 27.
The west facade was completely laid down. The arcades of the ships and the gallery were left standing, as well as parts of the surrounding wall. The tower was dismantled down to the foot of the bell chamber and rebuilt in neo-Gothic style according to plans by the Zurich church architect Ferdinand Stadler . The most striking changes compared to Müller's project are the new pointed arch sound windows in the bell cage.
Despite the ignorance of Safoy's plans, the central nave has now been raised and equipped with an additional row of windows above the side aisles. The new parts of the facade were built in the Gothic style , as Johann Georg Müller attached great importance to the preservation of monuments. This explains why there is a Reformed church in St. Gallen in a style that was actually no longer used before the Reformation.
Renovations
In 1903 the church received a new terrazzo floor .
Current building (renovation 1963–1979)
An attempt was made to restore the 8th construction phase. During various excavations, graves were also uncovered under the church.
Excavations
From July 20, 1976 to January 28, 1977 archaeological excavations were carried out inside the church under the direction of the abbey librarian Johannes Duft and the federal expert Hans Rudolf Sennhauser . The public could follow and observe the excavation work in the galleries. The floor was dug 50 cm deep in the entire nave. Exploratory cuts were made much deeper. In addition to the remains of the previous churches , 11 graves and an ossar (bone box ) were found. Further stray finds could be assigned to 130 different individuals. Half of the individuals were children. Therefore, it is assumed that the church was built on a former children's cemetery. Based on the thickness of the skulls, it is assumed that they were late Roman / Celtic inhabitants or their descendants.
Building
It is a flat-roofed pillar basilica with gallery wings built on the long sides. These galleries rest on arcades that are open to the outside, the former "fish banks", but which are closed on the inside. The church has three naves on the ground floor and five naves in the gallery area. In the line of the main nave, and attached to it, is the single-nave, rectangular choir. To the north of the choir, protruding slightly, is the tower. Opposite the tower, next to the choir, there is a square, chapel-like side room that is open to both the choir and the nave. The side room forms the seventh yoke of the aisle. There is no choir arch, because the nave merges into the choir without an arch. The galleries do not begin until the second yoke of the ship. The south pore is six-part, so it has one more yoke than the nave part to which it connects. The opposite north gallery has five bays and in this respect corresponds to the ship division. In the first yoke of the nave there is a transverse pore on which the organ is located. The sacristy is located on the first floor of the tower. The tower rests on a square shaft, then merges into an octagonal upper floor and has a pointed helmet.
organ
There is evidence that the church has had an organ since 1511, because it was consecrated on September 18, 1511 (Thursday before St. Matthew). After the Reformation, playing the organ was frowned upon. It was not until 1761, at the request of the guilds, that the councils decided to purchase an organ. For the case, a contract was signed with Joseph Anton Feuchtmayer (the contracts also include the alternative spelling Joseph (Anton) Faichtmair , although some also mention his successor Johann Georg Dirr ), a sculptor from Salmansweiler. In a second contract, which was signed on July 23, 1762, he was also entrusted with the version. The carpentry work was transferred to the joiner Johann Baptist Bodmer. The work came from Johann Jakob Bommer from Lommis (a surviving Bommer instrument can be found in the St. Katharinental monastery church ). The acceptance committee found that the two angels and also the city arms did not correspond to the agreements made. They were therefore removed and taken to the attic. Unfortunately, the removed figures are now lost.
In 1856 a new organ was installed by Martin Braun from Spaichingen . The neo-Gothic case was made according to a design by Johann Christoph Kunkler.
In 1979 the Orgelbau Kuhn company created a new instrument. It has 45 stops on three manuals and a pedal . What is unusual is that the main organ is above the choir, so the worshipers can see it in front of them. However, the view of the organ player is obscured by the middle part of the organ prospectus.
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Musician
- Rudolf Lutz (* 1951), here organist from 1973 to 2013
See also
literature
- Erwin Poeschel : The city of St. Gallen: first part. Volume 2 of the series The Art Monuments of the Canton of St. Gallen. Ed. Society for Swiss Art History GSK. Bern 1957, pp. 97–123.
- Permanent exhibition in the church, related documentation.
- Ernst Ehrenzeller: History of the City of St. Gallen. Walter and Verena Spühl Foundation, St. Gallen 1988, ISBN 3-7291-1047-0 .
- Albert Knoepfli : Reformed Church of St. Laurenzen, St. Gallen (= Swiss Art Guide . No. 325). Ed. Society for Swiss Art History GSK. Bern 1983, ISBN 3-85782-325-9 .
- Irmgard Grüninger, Bruno Kaufmann, Johannes Duft , Ernst Ziegler, Albert Knoepfli, Karl Graf, Ernst Ehrenzeller, Paul Strasser: The Church of Sankt Laurenzen in St. Gallen. Ed .: Evangelical Reformed Church Community of St. Gallen. VGS Verlagsgesellschaft, St. Gallen 1979.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Bishop consecration is transferred to the St. Laurenzen town church. kath.ch, August 8, 2006, accessed January 5, 2009 .
- ↑ Only the incense was missing. St. Galler Tagblatt , September 18, 2006, accessed January 5, 2009 .
- ↑ Hans Rudolf Sennhauser : Is St. Laurezen older? In: Eastern Switzerland, January 24, 1976.
- ↑ Irmgard Grüninger, Bruno Kaufmann: The excavation of 1976/77 and its results. The Sankt Laurenzen Church in St. Gallen. VGS Verlagsgemeinschaft, St. Gallen 1979, p. 16.
- ^ Peter Röllin, Daniel Studer: INSA St. Gallen . Volume 8, ISBN 3-280-02410-2 , p. 54.
- ↑ Irmgard Grüninger, Bruno Kaufmann: The excavation of 1976/77 and its results: The Church of Sankt Laurenzen in St. Gallen. VGS Verlagsgemeinschaft St. Gallen 1979, pp. 11–15.
- ↑ Portrait on the company website, accessed on June 10, 2013.
Remarks
- ↑ Information from the Miles Chronicle, Vadian (Volume II, p. 410), however, gives December 14th as the date of the iconoclasm in this church
- ^ Erwin Poeschel: The city of St. Gallen: first part. Volume 2 of the series The Art Monuments of the Canton of St. Gallen . Birkhäuser 1957.
Coordinates: 47 ° 25 '28 " N , 9 ° 22' 36.4" E ; CH1903: seven hundred and forty-six thousand two hundred twenty-eight / 254433