Münsterappel Monastery Church
 Village view - Münsterappel and church 2007 |
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| Basic data | |
| Denomination | Protestant |
| place | Münsterappel, Germany |
| Building history | |
| start of building | 1492 |
| Building description | |
| Architectural style | Late Romanesque, Late Baroque |
| Furnishing style | late Gothic vault paintings |
| Construction type | Choir, sacristy extension, nave |
| Function and title | |
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once the church of the local Benedictine monastery |
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| 49 ° 44 '6.5 " N , 7 ° 52' 38.1" E | |
The Klosterkirche Münsterappel (Latin Monasterium Appulae ) is a part of the former Benedictine - convent on Appel Bach in Münsterappel , Rheinland-Pfalz . The church building is surrounded by the original churchyard wall, the rectory and the churchyard. As early as 1897, the church received its first architectural and art-historical appraisal in the 5th volume of the Palatinate Monuments. Despite the remarkable late Gothic choir vault, whose plan and stylistic classification far exceeds the regional framework, the monastery church continues to exist as an unknown late Gothic masterpiece in the northern Palatinate. The church in Münsterappel currently serves as a parish church for the Protestant parish.
history
The last Roman-German emperor from the Carolingian dynasty , the East Franconian King Arnulf of Carinthia , donated the land on the Appelbach to the Trier Benedictine Abbey of St. Maximin in 893 . As a result, the monastery courtyard on the Appelbach was built as a provost's office. History reports that in 1303, at the time of the reign of Wildgrave Konrad IV († 1309), the bailiwick was transferred to the Wildgraves of Dhaun and Grumbach. With the extinction of the Wildgraves, the Bailiwick fell to the Rheingrafen .
The oldest evidence - a message in the parish register - about the construction of a new church comes from the year 1344 from the time of the Rhine Count Johann II vom Stein (1333-1383). Nothing has survived from this building.
As a provost, the monastery was also the ecclesiastical center for the Alsenz valley . In 1401, 31 parishes were subordinate to the monastery as the land chapter of the Archdiocese of Mainz.
In 1492, during the reign of John VI. von Salm (1470–1499) and at the same time as the Meisenheim Castle Church , a late Gothic church with a nave and choir was built.
1555, about 16 years after the wedding with his from 1522 to Protestantism came home Oettingen-Oettingen originating wife Maria Aegyptiaca led Philipp Franz von Salm-Dhaun-Neufville (1518-1561) with the birth of his fourth son Johann Christoph under inheritance in his rule Grumbach and thus in Münsterappel the Reformation. The monastery was dissolved and the church (until 1697) set up as a simultaneum for Lutherans and Catholics, while the sovereigns subsequently appropriated the monastery properties. After the Thirty Years War and the devastation of the Palatinate in 1689 by the troops of Louis XIV , the Gothic nave was in danger of collapsing. From 1725 to 1733 the demolition and a new building in baroque style took place, prompted by the wild and Rhine Count Johann Karl Ludwig von Salm-Stein-Gaugrehweiler (1686–1740), who was a French officer in Flanders in 1708 fighting for Ludwig XIV . The attached rectory was built in 1744. From the following period only incomplete information on the building history is available.
In 1996 the roof of the nave was re-covered. An exterior renovation took place in 2000 and 2001. The exterior plaster, the sandstone work and the facade painting were renewed. The dilapidated roof structure over the Gothic choir was also repaired. The interior renovation took place from 2004 to 2007.
In addition to worship and liturgical acts, the church today also serves as a space for meetings and cultural events - see also Evang. Churches of the Palatinate, conversions and repairs using the example of the Callbach church .
Architecture and equipment
The current church building consists of two parts, the preserved late Gothic choir and the baroque nave from the 18th century. The almost square sacristy annex is added to the north side of the choir. The choir with a 5/8 end and its architectural elements - Gothic windows with varied tracery figures, the vault with rib compositions in the form of a star and the figurative design - and the painting of the vaulted caps are of particular importance .
Dimensions
- Floor plan, external dimensions 30 × 13 m
- Length (nave): 17.53 m (inside)
- Width (nave): 11.75 m (inside)
- Height (nave): 9.60 m (inside), 17.00 m (outside)
- Width (transept): -
- Length of the choir: 10.63 m (inside)
- Height of the choir: at the top 9.05 m (inside), 17.00 m (outside)
- Column height: -
- Column diameter: -
- Height of the top / roof ridge: about 28.00 m
- Height …:
- Dimensions of the windows in the choir: 1.60 / 1.20 × 5.50 m,
- Dimensions of the windows in the ship: 1.60 × 4.55 m
- Capacity: 260-300 (standing up to 380) visitors
particularities
The choir roof with late Gothic entablature was built as a standing roof structure. The mighty roof structure with a double chair and hanging structure above the nave is almost original. The late Gothic choir vault shows rib compositions in the shape of a star and elaborate figural consoles in the end of the choir. The choir ceiling is decorated with frescoes in their original painting with representations of the evangelist symbols and botanically identifiable floral patterns. Due to its stylistic features, the Münsterappel Choir can be classified in the narrow circle of the Meisenheim School (1475–1525), whose leader from 1482 Philipp von Gmünd can be proven. Also worth mentioning are the doorways to the rows of wooden chairs in the nave, through which the rows of seats can be closed to the center aisle.
Building design
The church building with a length of 30 meters and a width of 13 meters follows an exact east-west orientation and, in addition to the nave, consists of the choir with a 5/8 end in the east and the northern extension of a sacristy with a half-timbered upper floor. The rectangular nave (inside dimensions: nave 17.53 × 11.75 m, height to the lower edge of the partially vaulted wooden ceiling 9.60 m; choir with axial dimensions 10.63 and 7.00 m, height at the apex about 9.05 m) lies in the west. The steep choir roof connects with its ridge line to the wide, hipped, gable roof in the west. Small dormer windows are arranged on the roof surface in two horizontal rows. A two-storey roof turret with a double onion hood and the tower cock with a cross crown the slate roof of the church in the west.
The church is surrounded by the original church or cemetery wall (dated to the year 1733). The cemetery was closed in 1843. The baroque rectory (1744), two-story on a high base, delimits the tree-lined church forecourt on the east side.
The choir is architecturally structured by the massive buttresses and the high tracery windows . The buttresses are divided into three sections; a sloping cornice above the high plinth leads into the outer benches of the windows. The struts end in a gable top with a knob as a crown. With a curved wall covering, the buttresses lead below the profiled eaves into the outer wall corners of the choir. The late Gothic tracery windows in the side walls have two lanes, the middle window faces exactly east and has three lanes. The five choir windows show variously designed tracery configurations with different fish bubble compositions.
The sacristy annex is added to the north side of the choir. Here, too, the masonry thrust is diverted via the buttresses in the outer corners. The pillars are lower and divided into two sections; the upper end shows the same curved shape of the wall cover, but without a crown and leads over to the half-timbered upper floor of the sacristy.
Today's nave shows a clear, symmetrical architectural structure on the outside. Strong pilasters form the corners of the building and the wall surfaces are divided by 4 wall pillars. The entrance portals are in the middle of the long walls. They are designed as a round arch portal with truss (" blown gable ") and arched windows above. The alliance coat of arms of the couple who built it, Johann Karl Ludwig, Wild- & Rheingraf in Gaugrehweiler (1686–1740) and Sophie Magdalena von Leiningen-Dagsburg-Heidesheim (1691–1727) has been preserved there. There are two transverse oval windows in the simply designed west facade; the opening of the third window, in the middle of the upper wall area, was walled up (the organ stands behind this original oval window today). The high arched windows of the baroque nave form a harmonious transition to the high, late Gothic tracery windows of the choir.
Paintings and furnishings
The upper end of the vaulted ceiling above the choir is adorned with medieval paintings with depictions of the evangelist symbols and tendril paintings. The botanically identifiable plants such as thistle, clover, cornflower, lily, poppy, carnation and rose stand for heavenly paradise. In the outer vaults from north to south are the representations of Mark, John, Matthew and Luke. Similar ceiling paintings can be found in the stylistically related choir of the Imsweiler church. In the center of the choir is the block altar made of natural stone. The edges of the altar plate are profiled with an ornamental frieze. The transition to the nave forms the choir wall with a round arch, originally constructed with a Gothic pointed arch and rebuilt in the Baroque construction phase.
The baroque stalls in the nave with doorways (also known as box doors) to the benches have been preserved. Above a sandstone column, decorated with volute capital and garlands, rises the pulpit with staircase and sound cover made of wood. The adjacent choir stalls extend along the outer walls of the choir room. The original parish chair with wood-latticed walls is no longer preserved.
On the west wall, although no crypt has been discovered so far, there is the grave slab of the Wild and Rhine Count Friedrich Wilhelm with a coat of arms and elaborate crest. Perhaps the actual burial took place in Herren-Sulzbach , 38 km away , today the Kusel district of the Lauterecken association . The crypt chapel of the church there was the burial place of the Rhine counts from 1606 to 1794. According to the inscription, this Count of the Rhine was born on October 11, 1644 and died on May 24, 1706 at the age of 62. He became resident in 1688 when the Rheingrafenstein Castle was destroyed by General Mélac and made Gaugrehweiler his new residence. His son Wildgrave and Rhine Count Johann Karl Ludwig von Gaugrehweiler (1686–1740) initiated the construction of the new baroque church. Two more grave slabs were saved from complete weathering by being moved from the churchyard to the church interior (the location of the graves is not known) and are in the side aisles of the nave. It is the tombstone of the judge Nikolaus Rudolph Weiland (1672–1731) with elaborate tail gables and lateral volute bands. Pilasters with a segmented gable adorn the grave slab of the Fabel family of pastors and teachers: Leopold Georg Christian Fabel (1689), Johann Nikolaus (1663–1712) and his wife Veronica Margareta (1670–1726). The organ from 1897/98 (Voit & Söhne, Durlach) protrudes from the west gallery. The organ shows itself in a strictly symmetrical case with upper and lower part. The organ front is structured by five pipe fields. The individual fields are delimited by pillars, similar to pilasters, and merge into a round arch. The middle, raised pipe field has a triangular gable with a wooden cross. Simple profiles of the base, capital and circumferential, cranked cornices with sparing paint and gold strokes shape the prospectus. The decorative motif are two elaborately crafted angel heads.
Restoration work
As part of a restoration examination in 2005 and on the basis of a restoration concept from 2006/2007 and the creation of a test field, a vault cap with the depiction of Matthew and an adjacent floral pattern on the choir ceiling were consolidated, cleaned, the painting surface secured and retouched with tempera paint . Errors in painting over the frescoes in 1962 have been removed. As a minimum, the remaining paintings and surfaces of the star vault were carefully cleaned. Despite extensive and time-consuming preliminary investigations, no agreement could be reached with the State Office for Monument Preservation, in particular with regard to cost sharing. A full restoration revision of the only fragmentary, but high quality stock of medieval lime paintings could not be carried out for reasons of cost.
In addition to the construction-related work, the brick-built choir arch with a gaping crack in the apex was renovated. The cause of this damage can be seen in the close connection with the building of the new nave and the conversion of the original pointed arch to a round arch, a classic cobblestone is missing. In addition, moisture entered via faulty roof connections led to material loss in the roof structure, masonry and plaster for decades. Numerous architectural elements in natural stone and some of considerable sculptural quality have been revised or restored by the stonemason. Comprehensive carpentry work was also required on the wood panels of the partially vaulted ceiling above the nave and on the entire woodwork of the stalls, gallery and stairs. Extensive plaster damage and the desolate electrical installation were renewed as part of the repairs. A new color and light concept for the design of the church interior completes the repair work.
- Picture gallery
Exterior view, south facade (part 1)
Exterior view, north facade (part 2)
Exterior view of the church (part 3) - inauguration 2007
Exterior view of the sacristy (part 4)
Interior view before the renovation approx. 1962–2004
Interior view of the nave 2007
2nd column, chapter 2007
Pulpit with sound cover 2007
Rededication of the church on September 9, 2007
Main portal with truss gable and coat of arms 2007
Archway at the south entrance of the churchyard wall with dates
Roof structure, damage documentation 2007
Chronicle / construction board
Date / epoch Event / construction project Comments / construction description / execution Builder / builder / architect 1344 Building the church First documentary mention 1492
GothicConstruction of the nave and choir Gothic architectural style 1725–1733
BaroqueDemolition and rebuilding of the nave Gothic nave in danger of collapsing Builders: Karl Ludwig, Wild and Rheingraf 1744
baroqueConstruction of the rectory 1891 Re-covering of the roof 1893-1898 Interior restoration Conversion of the gallery
new organ, Voit & Sons, Durlach1930
1937Partial
renovation repair of the towerInterior painting of
double roof turrets1954-1952 Interior and exterior renovation Comprehensive construction work,
new colors, exposure and
repainting of the medieval paintings,
construction costs around 100,000 DMClient: Prot. Parish Münsterappel,
Regional Church Council Speyer - building department,
restorer: Schulz-Gräfe, Schwetzingen1996-2001 Exterior renovation
New roofing of the nave, repair, roof structure in the choir, new exterior plaster, sandstone
restoration, renovation of the historic churchyard wall,
construction costs 920,000 DMClient: Prot. Parish Münsterappel,
Landeskirchenrat Speyer - building department,
2004-2007 Interior repairs Comprehensive repairs to the woodwork (wooden ceiling, stalls, gallery),
renovation plaster, electrics, natural stone work,
ceiling painting (partial conservation / retouching), color design and lighting concept, roof structure,
scope of the construction work around 385,000 EURClient: Prot. Parish Münsterappel,
Landeskirchenrat Speyer - construction department,
project management: arcotop - plan.buero hp.mohr, Rockenhausen2007-09-09 Rededication
Individual evidence
- ^ The House of Veldenz 1. Retrieved February 23, 2017 .
- ^ Salm 3. In: genealogy.euweb.cz. Retrieved January 24, 2016 .
- ↑ a b Salm 4. In: genealogy.euweb.cz. Retrieved January 24, 2016 .
literature
- The tower cock, sheets of artistic creation and building in the Palatinate Church, 1987 issue 5/6
- First architectural and art history appreciation in the series “Architectural Monuments of the Palatinate”, Volume 5, 1897.
- Parish Church Münsterappel , L. Schultz / Hp. Mohr, Festschrift for the re-inauguration (22 pages), Münsterappel 2007
- Dehio manual of German monuments of art, Rhineland-Palatinate / Saarland.
See also
- Callbach Church
- Hochstätten Church
- Imsweiler Church
- Mannweiler-Cölln Church
- Evangelical Church (Franconian Crumbach)
Web links
- Juliane Märker: The Protestant parish church in Münsterappel. In: regionalgeschichte.net. Institute for Historical Regional Studies at the University of Mainz eV, accessed on June 17, 2018 .