Lalibela

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Lalibela
ላሊበላ
State : EthiopiaEthiopia Ethiopia
Region : Flag of the Amhara Region.svg Amhara
Coordinates : 12 ° 2 '  N , 39 ° 3'  E Coordinates: 12 ° 2 '  N , 39 ° 3'  E
Height : 2,500 meters above sea level
 
Residents : 8,484 (1994)
Time zone : EAT (UTC + 3)
Lalibela (Ethiopia)
Lalibela
Lalibela
Location map
Animation to Lalibela - monolithic rock churches

Lalibela ( Amharic ላሊበላ lalibäla ) or New Jerusalem (formerly Roha ) is a holy city and place of pilgrimage in Ethiopia . Lalibela is in the former province of Wällo ; after its dissolution in 1991, the area of Amhara was added. The place is 2500 meters high and has 8484 inhabitants (1994 census), almost all of whom are Ethiopian Orthodox Christians.

Lalibela is known worldwide for the eleven monolithic churches , which - mostly multi-storey - are carved in red basalt lava. The churches were built beginning with the reign of Emperor Gebra Maskal Lalibela , also known under the name of Saint Lalibela (a member of the Zagwe dynasty ) in the 12th / 13th centuries. Century. The facility was probably built for a total of 100 years. During this time the Christian faith flourished in Ethiopia, the churches are also understood as a symbol of the close ties between Ethiopian Christians and the Holy Land. These churches have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1978 . Lalibela has a long Christian tradition of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and is a place of pilgrimage for many Christians.

history

Lalibela, after whom the place was named, was the name of the most important emperor from the Zagwe dynasty . He ruled the Lasta Empire. In the 12./13. In the 19th century, he had eleven churches carved out of the surrounding rock formation as a whole, each up to 800 m² in size and ten meters high. These buildings are among the largest man-made monolithic structures in the world. The churches still serve their original purpose and are visited by Orthodox pilgrims. The Kingdom of Ethiopia was established around Lalibela in the 12th century after the collapse of the Empire of Aksum .

Ethiopian priest with Lalibela cross
Bet Giyorgis church viewed from above

Yekuno Amlak finally expelled the Zagwe and ascended the throne in 1270. He justified his claim to rule with his alleged descent from the biblical King Solomon . In the "Kebre Negest" (the glory of the kings) , one of Ethiopia's most important traditions, his Solomonic descent is described. The myths about the priest-king John added shine to the rule of these "descendants of Solomon".

Churches

The eleven rock-hewn churches of Lalibela are divided into three groups:

  • Bet Giyorgis

  • Bet Gabriel Rafael

  • Monks in front of Bet Amanuel

  • Bet Medhane Alem

  • Large church drums (kebero) in a church

literature

  • CF Beckingham, GWB Huntingford (Ed.): The Prester John of the Indies. Written by Father Francisco Alvares . 2nd volume. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1961, pp. 369-376: Chapter CIV: How Pero de Covilham, a Portuguese, is in the country of the Prester, and how came here, and why he was sent. ( The Hakluyt Society. Works. Ser. 2, 115, ISSN  0072-9396 ).
  • Carol Beckwith, Angela Fisher (Eds.): African Ark. Peoples of the Horn. Collins-Harvill, London 1996, ISBN 0-00-272780-3 , Chapter I: Prayers of Stone. The Christian Highlands: Lalibela and Axum.

Web links

Commons : Lalibela  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikivoyage: Lalibela  - travel guide

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Sebastian Kirschner: In the New Jerusalem. Rock churches in Ethiopia. In: G / Geschichte , No. 2/2017, pp. 58–61, here p. 60.