St. Felix monastery church
The St. Felix monastery church ( pilgrimage church St. Felix ) of the Franciscan Minorites is located near Neustadt an der Waldnaab ( Upper Palatinate ) in the diocese of Regensburg .
Pilgrimage history
The Capuchins , who were called to Neustadt in 1710, chose St. Felix of Cantaliceto their patron saint and made him known in Neustadt and the surrounding area. In 1712 the city judge of Neustadt fell ill with a dangerous fever. After urgent invocations of St. Felix he was healed and out of deep gratitude he donated a Felix statue. It was attached to a wooden column and since then there have been many answers to prayer (325 between 1712 and 1734), which are documented in contemporary history in books of miracles (so-called "Miracle Books"). Due to the strong increase in devotion to St. Felix in the population suggested the Capuchins in 1729 to build a wooden chapel. In 1735, the first Felix festival was celebrated at the same time as the inauguration of a larger stone chapel. The influx of pilgrims grew stronger, so that in 1738 the construction of an even larger church began. The exterior was completed in 1746 and the interior in 1765. Pope Clement XIII. awarded a complete indulgence in 1759 for the annual Felix Festival (Sunday before or after May 18) . Processions to the Felix Church can be traced back to 1830.
In the course of secularization in 1803, the Capuchin monastery was dissolved and in 1834 no Sunday services were celebrated in St. Felix. It was not until 1867 that litanies were donated again to various festivals in St. Felix. The pilgrimage only experienced an upswing from 1925, after the monastery of the Franciscan Minorites was founded and the foundation stone was laid for the construction of the convent building.
In 2000 the Würzburg Minorites were forced to withdraw the Fathers from St. Felix due to the lack of young people. But on August 1, 2000, Franciscan Minorites moved in from the Cracow Order Province.
Description of the monastery church
The various construction phases can be clearly seen from the external appearance. The original chapel with its cloverleaf-shaped floor plan stands out from the other components. A two-storey extension on a rectangular floor plan is attached to the side of the chapel, which now serves as a choir, and a three-storey tower with a domed roof and onion is attached to the south. On the tower, flat corner pilasters support a multi-tiered entablature that separates the individual floors.
The tower carries three bronze bells from the Erdinger bell foundry with the striking tones f sharp 1 a 1 h 1 .
inner space
The three-part choir with a clover-leaf floor plan is separated from the nave by a choir arch. The main apse is accentuated by two side windows, while the side apses are decorated with only one window each. The choir arch is flanked on a base cornice by a pilaster towards the choir and one towards the nave. Between the pilasters there is a door on each side. The door in the north wall leads to the former sacristy. The southern door leads into the new sacristy and serves as a passage to the monastery. Above is the pulpit.
The interior of the nave has a square floor plan with bevelled corners. An altar appears in front of the eastern slope, the western beveled corners are deepened by a flat, rounded niche in which confessionals are placed. On both sides of the entrances on the north and south walls and the passage to the west, semicircular niches are let into the wall.
The floor of the nave is three steps lower than that of the choir room. As in the choir, the walls are livened up by pilasters and multi-profiled beams, which are interrupted by the altars, the organ gallery and the windows.
Furnishing
The high altar from 1765 consists of a canopy retable with access around the cafeteria. Four pillars grow on a high substructure and end in composite capitals that support a jumping, curved entablature. The bases of the pillars are connected by arches that create a passage. On the left and right of these arches are St. Francis of Assisi and St. Fidelis von Sigmaringen , both carved by Josef Reber in 1735. Above the Altarmensa is the figure of St. Felix. She is dressed in the Capuchin habit and carries the alms sack with the inscription "Deo gratias" over her left shoulder. A painting by Mathäus Uhl (1765) depicting Our Lady with Infant Jesus is attached to the extension of the high altar. A projecting canopy closes the altar.
The altars in the side chapels are more simply designed. The altar of Our Lady of Good Counsel is in the north, the Laurentius altar in the south chapel (both made by Vitus Wenda in 1757 and 1758). The altar paintings are by Friedrich Fiechtaler (1747), who later set up the altars.
The pulpit with its marbled pulpit has curved pilasters with cranked, protruding capitals as well as gilded volute bands, shells and similar ornaments. The Holy Spirit in the form of a dove hovers on the underside of the sound cover. The decor of the upper part of the lid corresponds to the pulpit and is completed with the figure of the Good Shepherd . The pulpit was probably made by Josef Reber around 1745.
The side altars in the nave are even simpler than the altars in the choir. In the north is the altar dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua and in the south to St. Wendelin (by Vitus Wenda 1756). Matthias Götz painted the pictures. A Fátima altar in neo-baroque form has been located in the southern entrance niche since 1951 . The approximately life-size Madonna of Fatima was carved by Waldemar Behrens from Nabburg.
Frescoes
46 ceiling paintings in various formats depicting the life of St. Representing Felix enliven the interior of the church. The original frescoes were painted by Matthias Götz and Bartlmä Weidenhofer (1763/64). In 1874 the frescoes were painted over and badly damaged during a restoration. It was only during the restoration in 1946/47 that the painter Manfred A. Schmid was able to completely restore the frescoes, albeit based on still recognizable remains.
organ
The first organ dates from 1765 and was built by Andreas Weiß . This was transferred to Allersburg . The church received a work by Heinrich Buck from Bayreuth . In 1883 all tin pipes were stolen and had to be replaced. After a renovation by Eduard Hirnschrodt senior in 1927, this organ could no longer be preserved due to the effects of wood pests. Therefore, Eduard Hirnschrodt built a new plant in 1958. The instrument with electro-pneumatic cone chests has 15 sounding registers distributed over two manuals and pedal . The disposition is:
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- Coupling : II / I, I / P, II / P
- Playing aids : Free combination , swell kick
Web links
- Franciscan Minorites in Germany - Neustadt an der Waldnaab Abbey
- The Kulturfreunde Lobkowitz Neustadt ad Waldnaab - The St. Felix monastery church
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Xaver Luderböck: St. Felix monastery church, Neustadt an der Waldnaab. Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 2001, ISBN 3-7954-5029-2 , p. 3 ff.
- ↑ a b Stanislaus Strojecki: monastery church of St. Felix, Neustadt an der Waldnaab. Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 2001, ISBN 3-7954-5029-2 , p. 2.
- ^ A b Heinrich Ascherl : Chronicle of the parish Alt-Neustadt ad Waldnaab. (2nd Edition). Neustadt an der Waldnaab, 1977, p. 170 ff.
Coordinates: 49 ° 43 ′ 19.2 " N , 12 ° 10 ′ 27.6" E