Liborius Chapel (Creuzburg)
The Liboriuskapelle is a former chapel of the late Gothic period in Creuzburg . It stands on the banks of the Werra, right next to the historic Werra bridge at Creuzburg . The architectural ensemble forms a landmark of this western Thuringian city.
history
Bridge chapel
Around 1223, at the instigation of the Thuringian Landgrave Ludwig IV , the construction of the stone (initially wooden, several times destroyed) Creuzburg Bridge began, and fortifications were built on the eastern bridgehead to protect it. Shortly after 1223 a first (wooden) bridge chapel was built on the bridge , which was dedicated to the heavenly protection of the bridge and the well-being of travelers. In 1498 the prioress of the St. Jakob Monastery in Creuzburg , Jutta von Hundelshausen and the bailiff of the Creuzburg Georg, Burgrave of Kirchberg, decided to build a representative chapel on this Werra bridge. The start of construction - according to an inscription on the portal - was the 5th day after St. Bartholomew in 1499.
Pilgrimage chapel
The newly built chapel was consecrated to Saint Liborius . It became, also because of its convenient location, a heavily visited place of pilgrimage. Around 1520 the interior of the chapel, whose builder was Cunrad Stebel von Rotenburg, was painted with frescoes from the life story of St. Elisabeth and the story of Christ . On September 1, 1523, the Carthusian monk Albert von Kempten proclaimed the Lutheran doctrine in front of a large crowd , and many Creuzburgers then switched to the Protestant creed. In 1525 the turmoil of the Peasants' War also reached Creuzburg, and in 1528 the monastery was closed. The rich fresco decorations in the Liborius Chapel were whitewashed.
Repairs
The first verifiable repair work (new roofing) took place in 1680 and 1715, then also connected with the redesign of the interior. In 1717 an old defense tower on the bridge was demolished. In 1840, at the instigation of Grand Duke Carl Alexander, the windows were decorated with colored glass paintings. During cleaning work in 1932–38, the remains of the painting were discovered and then gradually uncovered.
Consequences of war and traffic loads
On April 1, 1945, Creuzburg was captured by American troops. During these fighting, when the Werra bridge was blown up, the chapel was badly damaged, windows were crushed and the roof was covered. The elimination of the consequential damage caused by penetrating moisture was not completed until 1955. Another problem is the salt pollution of the Werra. It caused salt efflorescence in the masonry and chemical reactions with the surface of the frescoes. In addition, the increasing heavy goods traffic , combined with exhaust fumes and vibrations , was a problem until the historic Werra Bridge was closed.
tourism
The Liborius Chapel was a popular attraction for tourists as early as the 1920s. After the border was closed in 1961, the monument was inaccessible for many years until the mid-1970s. In 1986 the new Werra bridge was opened to traffic. A long overdue general renovation of the historic Werra Bridge is currently being carried out.
Building history
The single-nave building measures around 13 m × 9 m. Erected from yellow sandstone, the chapel with the seven-arched bridge creates a picturesque impression against the background of the gray-white rocky landscape and the green-wooded slopes of the Wallstieg.
Adapted to the restricted space on a small rock spur, the chapel was oriented to the northeast, the narrow side with the originally preserved church portal in the south. Rich tracery decorate not only the four windows, but also the eight buttresses are decorated with tracery. Late Gothic fish bladder ornaments can be seen on two windows . The portal is framed by ogival, intersecting profile strips. The weathered Latin inscription can still be found above the portal: In 1499, on the 5th day after the feast of St. Bartholomew, this construction was started .
The round skylight at eaves height and the cross crowning the chapel structure the facade according to strictly symmetrical rules. A small window niche next to the portal once made it possible for pilgrims to take a look at the image of the saint placed here. Three corbels mark the location of a former connection building to the neighboring defense tower or a gallery. The chapel is also worth seeing from the rear, here the precisely placed buttresses and the three Gothic windows are remarkable, which cannot unfold their full splendor due to the necessary protective grids. The painted glass windows were destroyed in 1945.
The interior of the chapel measures approximately 11 mx 7 m. Again, strict symmetry determines the picture. There is a beautiful crucifix behind the altar . The vault is structured with a decorative network of struts and vault ribs , they rest on slim wall columns. The builder of the Liborius Chapel is unknown, one suspects southern German or even Italian influences. The northern vault stone announces the originator of the once numerous existing frescoes: Kunrad Stebel von Rotenburg hot di Capel tuncha . The Last Judgment is depicted on the west wall (above the portal) on the other walls there is a Passion cycle and an Elisabeth cycle - both originally with 18 fields each. All of the frescoes are heavily faded, a photo exhibition shows the most interesting motifs.
For the history of Creuzburg, the Elisabeth cycle has a strong local reference, Elisabeth of Thuringia spent many months of her short life in the landgrave's Creuzburg , where her children were born. The life of the saints, concentrated on 18 stations, also offers the oldest (schematic) representation of Creuzburg in the farewell scene. The permanent preservation of the valuable frescoes is a laborious and time-consuming process that could not be solved in a few weeks or months. Frequent, strong fluctuations in the air humidity - due to the proximity to the river - the air pollution from vehicle traffic and the ongoing decay processes of the painting surface and color must be mastered.
literature
- Volker Trautvetter (Ed.): The Liborius Chapel in Creuzburg. On the history and restoration of the bridge chapel and its late medieval wall paintings. Workbooks of the Thuringian State Office for Monument Preservation and Archeology, Volume: 49. E. Reinhold Verlag , Altenburg 2016, ISBN 978-3-9575-5020-0
- Bettina Vaupel: Building a bridge in history. The Liborius Chapel in Creuzburg contains rare paintings . In: German Foundation for Monument Protection (Hrsg.): Monuments. Magazine for monument culture in Germany . Number 5/6. (Self-published), 2008, ISSN 0941-7125 , p. 30-31 .
- Georg Dehio: Handbook of German art monuments / Thuringia. 2nd Edition. Deutscher Kunstverlag, Berlin 2003, ISBN 978-3-422-03095-4
- Femmel: The Creuzburg Elisabeth frescoes . Scientific journal of the Friedrich Schiller University, Jena 1956/57
- Horst Schmidt: Historic buildings of the city of Creuzburg . P. 42ff.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Helmut Scherf Architectural and Art Monuments in the City and District of Eisenach Eisenacher Schriften zur Heimatkunde, Issue 12, Eisenach 1980, pp. 39–41.
- ^ Antje Coburger: The Liborius Chapel on the Creuzburger Werra bridge . In: Volker Trautvetter (Ed.): The Liborius Chapel in Creuzburg. On the history and restoration of the bridge chapel and its late medieval wall paintings . Workbook of the Thuringian State Office for Monument Preservation and Archeology. New series 49. E. Reinhold Verlag, Altenburg, ISBN 978-3-95755-020-0 .
- ^ Walter Schmidt: History of the Creuzburger Salzwerk. Eisenacher Schriften zur Heimatkunde, Heft 39, Eisenach 1988. S. 7ff.
- ^ Rainer Lämmerhirt: The struggle for the Werra line 1945 West Thuringian Heimatschriften, Volume 11, Mihla 2001, pp. 33–38
- ↑ Helmut Scherf Architectural and Art Monuments in the City and District of Eisenach Eisenacher Schriften zur Heimatkunde, Issue 12, Eisenach 1980, pp. 39–41.
Web links
- The frescoes of the Liborius Chapel
- Homepage of the Friends' Association Liboriuskapelle Creuzburg eV
Coordinates: 51 ° 3 ′ 1 ″ N , 10 ° 15 ′ 13 ″ E