Kristbergkirche
The Kristbergkirche St. Agatha is a late Gothic Roman Catholic miners' church in the Kristberg district of the Silbertal municipality in Montafon .
history
From 1300 to 1320 Walser settled the Silbertal. On the Kristberg, as in the entire Silbertal- Bartholomäberg region , mining has been carried out since prehistoric times, which flourished for the last time in the High Middle Ages.
The church is believed to have been built around 1400. The church was first mentioned in a document in 1450. A legend describes that the construction of the church goes back to a vow made by buried miners in case of rescue. According to tradition, the church stands directly on the former tunnel exit of the tunnel accident. The church is also on the mule track from Silbertal over the Kristbergsattel to Dalaas in Klostertal. In 1840 a road was built from Silbertal to Schruns, with which the mule track over the Kristbergsattel lost its economic importance.
A Joss (Jodok) Erhard lived in a hermitage on the Kristberg, similar to his brother Klaus von der Flüe. He founded in 1493, (so that the present town Silbertal is meant) and the pastor Johann on Monday after Trinity Sunday, with men and women of the Montafon a Trinity Brotherhood, which at first the pastor Jodok Greber from Silberberg tips nail of St. Gallen Kirch confirmed and was confirmed on November 21, 1500 by Bishop Heinrich von Chur .
Agatha Church
The miner's chapel is St. Agatha of Catania , the patron saint of fine smiths and bell founders, in relation to copper and silver construction, is consecrated.
In 1507 the church was redesigned and enlarged under the master builder Kasper Schop from Bludenz. It is assumed that a vestibule was introduced to the west of the existing nave with a round arch portal to protect the entrance from wind and weather. The nave only has two windows on the south side. The wood panel ceiling in the nave is flat with a central field and has a steep surface on both sides. Ornamental ribbons show signs of the zodiac on a blue background. A rib-vaulted choir was added to the east. A vaulted cap shows the montafon coat of arms , the crossed papal keys. Supposedly, the Silbertaler carried Pope John XXIII, who later became irregular, over the Kristberg when he was traveling from Rome to Constance, because he did not want to travel through Braz because the plague was there. The connection to the nave is formed by a Gothic pointed arch made of red sandstone. On the south side of the choir there is a solid masonry sacristy , which gives the choir on the mountain side additional support and closes the top with an open bell cage with three bells. On both sides of the portal are two wooden pillars, in which house and tool signs are carved, which were in use when few knew the script and the courtyards did not have house numbers either. During the restoration in 1979/80, a board with house signs and a map of tunnels around the church was found in the floor.
The Gothic high altar as a winged altar is doubled. The lower part from 1477 comes from the Nikolauskirche in the valley, the upper part is from 1470. Below are the figures of St. Nicholas , left St. Mauritius , right St. Theodul with the bell-bearing devil. Above in the middle again St. Theodul, on the side St. Agatha and St. Magdalena . The side wings again show the saints as pictures, on the back wall of the altar is a picture of the Last Judgment . The altar was once vacant and the picture of the Last Judgment was used for devotion and preparation for confession.
The left side altar as a winged altar in the Renaissance style from 1633 carries a figure of St. Agatha and painted wing pictures of St. Catherine , St. Barbara and three top figures. The right side altar consists of two double winged altars and bears the figures of St. Nicholas, St. Theodul, in the predella Adoration of the Magi and in the inside of the wings reliefs of St. Agatha, St. Barbara.
The ringing consists of three bells. The first bell has no signature and no year and is assigned to the 14th century. The second bell was cast by Gabriel II Felix in Feldkirch in 1687 . The third bell was donated by Martin Brugger and was cast by the Grassmayr bell foundry in Innsbruck in 1965 .
literature
- Dehio Vorarlberg 1983 , Silbertal, Church of St. Agatha, on the Kristberg, pp. 381-382.
- Jochen Hofmann, Christian Wolkersdorfer: The historical mining in the Montafon . Heimatschutzverein Montafon, Schruns 2013, ISBN 978-3-902225-51-1 . ( Digitized version )
Web links
- Emil Scheibenstock: The St. Agatha miners' chapel on the Kristberg. July 2004.
- Guided tours for miners in the St. Agatha miners' chapel on the Kristberg.
- The St. Agatha miners' chapel on the Kristberg.
- Bells and photos of the Agatha Chapel on the Kristberg
Coordinates: 47 ° 6 ′ 28 " N , 9 ° 58 ′ 58.4" E