Schänis Monastery
The Schänis Monastery was founded in the 9th century and was located in today's municipality of Schänis in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland . Schänis was a noble women's monastery and was abolished in 1811.
history
According to the report of a monk from the Reichenau monastery , Count Hunfried von Churrätien was the founder of the Schänis monastery. He had promised Charlemagne the foundation to keep a precious reliquary cross containing parts of the Holy Cross and an onyx vessel with the blood of Christ there. Various indications suggest that the Schänis monastery was actually founded at the time in question, possibly as a subsidiary of the St. Stephan women's monastery in Strasbourg . The monastery soon sank into a rather insignificant position.
It was only Count Ulrich I von Lenzburg that led the Schänis monastery to flourish again by providing it with a solid economic basis through numerous donations. By redistributing the Benken SG farm with Gommiswald , Rieden and Maseltrangen to the Diocese of Chur, he also ensured a uniform church structure in the immediate vicinity of the monastery. The patronage of the monastery was probably changed from the "Holy Cross" to St. Sebastian at that time .
King Henry III granted the Schänis monastery royal immunity and free choice of abbesses in 1045. Despite several attempts to reform the monastery, Schänis remained a free-worldly women's monastery with relatively loose rules. In the 14th century the monastery lost its goods in Vorarlberg and the Rhine Valley .
The castvögte of the monastery usually came from the regional high nobility. From the legacy of the Lenzburger , the bailiwick fell to the Counts of Kyburg , later to the Habsburgs and the Toggenburgers . In 1405, the Schänis monastery received castle rights with the city of Zurich . As a result, the monastery had its own office building on the Münsterhof , which drew the monastery’s income in the urban area. When the rule of Windegg passed to the cantons of Glarus and Schwyz in 1438, the monastery came to the Swiss Confederation as part of the common rule of Windegg . Although the German emperor confirmed the rights of the monastery in 1442, the connection to the empire was broken . From then on, Glarus and Schwyz regarded themselves as legal successors to the royal bailiffs.
Nevertheless, the abbess carried the title of princess of the Holy Roman Empire. Despite several attempts to reform the monastery, there was no compulsory vow in Schänis monastery and only noble ladies were accepted. These first had to be able to prove four, later up to 16 noble ancestors. This made Schänis a kind of pension institution for the unmarried offspring of the southern German aristocracy.
During the Reformation the monastery was temporarily closed in 1529, but then re-established after the re-Catholicization of the Linth area in 1531. The monastery burned down in 1585 and 1610, and all old documents and privileges were destroyed. In addition, there were more and more conflicts with the umbrella locations Glarus and Schwyz, which perceived the noble monastery as a foreign body and treated it accordingly.
In 1782 the monastery buildings and the church were rebuilt or renovated in the rococo style. After the end of the old Confederation in 1798, the Schänis Monastery lost all of its feudal rights as a result of the mediation constitution in 1803 and had to gradually sell its property outside the canton of St. Gallen . In 1811 the Grand Council of the Canton of St. Gallen decided to abolish the monastery. The monastery buildings were auctioned and the church in Schänis was taken over by the parish.
See also: Herrschaft Windegg / Gaster
Building description
Monastery church
crypt
The oldest surviving part of the three-aisled basilica dates from the 12th century. This includes the front part of the nave and the Romanesque hall crypt . Some valuable evidence of Romanesque architectural sculpture has been preserved in the crypt . In addition, three Carolingian wattle plates from the time the monastery was founded are exhibited in the crypt.
church
The high tower with a cheese bite roof and the late Gothic choir with pronounced buttresses and tracery windows date from the late 15th century. A ribbed vault with elaborate keystones covers the choir room. That of pinnacles crowned tabernacle comes from the 1506th
The splendid high altar was built around 1610 in the late Renaissance style . The upper picture shows St. Augustine as the protector of the founders and canons. The symmetrically structured main picture depicts the crucified Christ and the prick of the lance. The work of an unknown artist is one of the most valuable altar paintings of this time in Switzerland. The Renaissance colored glass panes in the south choir window were made shortly after 1610.
In the 18th century the nave was lengthened and given a baroque style . The stitch cap vault , which was drawn in in 1779, has stucco work and paintings in the Rococo style. The painting was done by the painter Franz Ludwig Herrmann . The iconographic program consists of depictions of saints and motifs from the Christmas story and the Vita Mariae. The elegant rococo pulpit dates from 1780.
After the monastery was dissolved, the church was expanded again in the neo-baroque style in 1910/11 . The facades and the interior were modeled as closely as possible on the style of the baroque church. A splendid neo-baroque west portal is crowned by a mosaic that shows the foundation of the monastery. The portal leads into a vestibule, from which the church is entered via the reused Romanesque portal with a neo-Romanesque tympanum . A neo-baroque gallery bears an organ from the company Kuhn from Männedorf from 1925. The paintings in the additional ceiling cartridges in the interior are by Josef Heimgartner . The paintings of two cycles of saints by Richard Nüscheler have been inserted below the top window . The side altars in the side aisles come from the Zug company Zotz & Griessl . The north side altar contains a Swabian statue of the Virgin Mary created around 1450, while the south side altar has an oil painting of the Holy Family by Richard Nüscheler.
Sacristy and Lady Chapel
At the same time as the church was expanded in 1910/11, the architect Adolf Gaudy also built a neo-Gothic sacristy in the north and the reconstruction of the Romanesque transept in the south. In the transept with a semicircular apse , the Marienkapelle with Madonna altar was set up with the collaboration of the painter Josef Traub . The painting and furnishings of the church are inspired by the Beuron art school and are one of the most original concepts of Swiss Art Nouveau . There is a narrow gallery at the level of the Oculus window.
Monastery building
1782–1785 the baroque monastery building was built on the south side of the church. It essentially comprises the medieval predecessor buildings. A mighty mansard hipped roof gives it a monumental impression.
To the north of the church is the cemetery.
Abbesses
- around 1045 Adelheid I.
- until 1091 Regilinda
- around 1127 Ita
- around 1144 Magdalena of Heidelberg
- approx. 1178–1185 Adelheid II von Buchberg
- approx. 1237–1262 Euphemia von Bichelsee
- Adelheid III. von Sigberg († 1271)
- 1271–1275 Machtild
- approx. 1282–1301 Elisabeth I of Schalchen
- approx. 1303–1308 Anna I.
- 1308–1310 Elizabeth II.
- around 1310 Williburg
- 1321-1329 Catherine I
- 1330–1343 Ursula I. von Grunenstein
- 1348–1359 Anna II of Arbon
- 1362–1400 Agnes von Wildenberg
- 1402–1420 Adelheid IV of Schwandegg
- 1420–1451 Elizabeth III. from Greiffensee
- 1451–1478 Adelheid V. Trüllerey von Trostberg
- (1460–1471 Agatha von Seengen)
- 1478–1482 Dorothea von Jestetten
- 1483–1491 Barbara I. Blaarer von Wartensee
- 1492–1493 Elisabeth IV of Goldenberg
- 1494/95 Susanna van Sal
- 1495–1525 Barbara II von Trüllerey
- 1525–1555 Ursula II. Muntprat von Spiegelberg
- 1555–1575 Anna III. from Mosheim
- 1575–1587 Barbara III. Blaarer von Wartensee
- 1587–1612 Catherine II. Brümsi von Herblingen
- 1612–1638 Anna IV of Bellheim
- 1638–1652 Maria von Ramschwag
- 1652–1664 Maria Caecilia von Greuth
- 1664–1677 Maria Franzisca of the Rhine
- 1677–1701 Maria Eva Schenkin von Casteel
- 1701–1711 Maria Anna Sussana on the Rhine
- 1711–1713 Maria Eva Rosa von Römerstal
- 1713 Maria Anna Margaretha von Wessenberg
- 1713–1735 Maria Clara Salomé von Roggenbach (1668–1736)
- 1722–1735 coadjutor Maria Anna Eleonore Reichlin von Meldegg
- 1735–1763 Maria Anna Franzisca of the Rhine
- 1763–1796 Maria Anna Anastasia von Eptingen
- 1796–1810 Maria Walburga Theresia von Liebenfels-Worblingen
literature
- Moritz Flury-Rova: The collegiate and parish church of St. Sebastian in Schänis. Bern 2006.
- The art monuments of Switzerland. Volume 59: The Art Monuments of the Canton of St. Gallen. 5: Bernhard Other: The Gaster district. Birkhäuser, Basel 1970.
- Kathrin Roth-Rubi: The wickerwork sculpture of Churrätien; Müstair, Chur, Schänis. In: Journal for Archeology and Art History, Volume 67, 2010, pp. 9–28.
Web links
- Lorenz Hollenstein: Schänis (pen). In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- Website of the parish of Schänis
Coordinates: 47 ° 9 '35.5 " N , 9 ° 2' 42.3" E ; CH1903: 721,809 / 224458