Liebfrauenkirche (Halberstadt)
The Liebfrauenkirche zu Halberstadt is one of the three (exclusively Protestant) main churches in Halberstadt , along with the cathedral and the Martinikirche . It is the only surviving four-tower basilica from the Romanesque period in central and northern Germany and one of the sights of the Romanesque Road . In 2005 it celebrated its 1000th anniversary.
The outwardly castle-like Church of Our Lady closes the Domplatz together with the Petershof to the west. Opposite her in the east is the cathedral . In addition, the Domplatz is framed by an ensemble of buildings from the Renaissance , Baroque , Classicism and Modern times. Located to the north and west with high walls above the lower town and separated from the upper town by walls and gates to the south and east, the cathedral square with the cathedral, Church of Our Lady and other buildings formed the former cathedral castle of the bishops of Halberstadt .
history
The Halberstadt Bishop Arnulf founded a collegiate foundation in honor of Mary in 1005 , which quickly became of national importance until the end of the 15th century. The provost office over the monastery was with the Halberstadt cathedral chapter . The oldest surviving parts of the church to this day, the basement of the west facade, however, date back to 1089 according to recent research. The three-aisled pillar basilica was (re) built until almost the entire 12th century. The overall picture was decisively shaped by Bishop Rudolf, who led the work from 1146 until his death in 1147 and had the nave and the octagonal east towers with a tent roof built (completed in 1200). Around 1170 the baptistery was added , the vault of which is supported by a central column decorated with ornamental capitals. The portal of the church and the west towers with high Rhenish rhombic roofs (" Rhenish helmets ") date from the 13th century. During this time, the original flat roof over the choir and transept was replaced by a groin vault . In the first half of the 13th century the walls and vaults were decorated with lush frescoes, of which the conservator Ferdinand von Quast wrote in the 19th century: We have never seen a similar mastery in German wall paintings . The new cloister west of the church dates from the 14th century.
Over the centuries the Liebfrauenkirche has seen some far-reaching changes. Above all, the flat ceiling of the main nave was replaced by a groin vault in the 14th century. In the 16th century the baptistery was provided with a Gothic east end. In 1661 the church was redesigned in the Baroque style and the paintings were whitewashed in accordance with Protestant simplicity. The stone rood screen from 1230 was also removed in the 17th century and replaced by a cast iron one. During the Seven Years' War and the occupation under Napoleon , the Church of Our Lady served briefly as a prison, ammunition production facility and weapons store, and the cloister as a stable for horses. The occupation also caused damage to the choir screens : some figures had their noses chopped off, for the amusement of French soldiers. In 1810 the monastery was abolished by the government of the Kingdom of Westphalia .
In 1833 Karl Friedrich Schinkel visited the Liebfrauenkirche on behalf of King Friedrich Wilhelm IV. And recognized the art-historical importance of the medieval frescoes in the nave and in the high choir, which had been rediscovered shortly before. In 1840, the king commissioned Ferdinand von Quast to carry out extensive restoration work, which was completed by 1848. However, the work was carried out improperly: the whitewashed frescoes were severely damaged during the uncovering, then not conserved, but instead painted over in a historicizing manner. Before that, however, line breaks were made in the frescoes that are now in the Berlin Museum of Decorative Arts . Despite renewed cleaning and conservation, only remnants of the frescoes are preserved today. The restoration work under Friedrich Wilhelm also included a renewal of the ceiling of the central nave (the later built-in groin vaults pushed the walls apart) and the walls of the aisles, as well as a complete renewal of the northeast tower. An entrance was broken into the south side, which today serves as the main entrance and replaces the two entrances on the east side.
In the American bombing of April 8, 1945, Halberstadt was almost completely reduced to rubble. The Liebfrauenkirche was also badly damaged. Thanks mainly to the efforts of the Halberstadt architect Walter Bolze , the Church of Our Lady was restored between 1946 and 1952.
After the fall of the Wall , other important restoration work followed, most of which were completed by 2003.
Furnishing
Choir barriers
The choir screens from around 1200/1210 are equipped with unique stucco figures of the 12 apostles, Mary and Christ in almost life-size full reliefs, some of which are still original. The brick barriers are 2.15 m high, and wooden arcades rise above them. Stucco seated figures with a height of 1.14 m to 1.20 m have been attached to the north and south barrier in each of the seven blind arcades. In the middle of the southern part of the choir screen stands the scene of Mary with the child surrounded by six apostles. The head of Jesus has been lost. The model for these representations were perhaps Byzantine ivory tablets or reliquary shrines.
These seated figures do not show the usual strict, symbolic aloofness of the 12th century, but are characterized by real physicality, harmonious movements and natural, relaxed sitting. The bodies of the figures have only been raised about 10 to 13 cm above the relief base. Their heads, on the other hand, are almost completely round. Mary is oriented strictly frontally while the apostles turn to one another in conversation. All of the portrayed are dressed in a generally antiquated robe. Even if you look at the reliefs superficially, you immediately notice the unconventional design. The drapery, which is formed contrary to the natural fall of the folds, is characterized by an extremely complicated guiding of the garments. The smooth surface is avoided; every form detail is transformed into a swelling shape.
The folds are compressed and torn as if by invisible forces. The tendency of the confused fluttering garments and the wild movement of the folds were taken from Byzantine works around 1200, which were particularly popular in Europe at that time. In 1204 the Crusaders had conquered and plundered Constantinople and from then on a flood of works of art poured into the West and confronted the artists with Byzantine art. But that was not the only source from which the sculptors of these choir screens drew: As with the figures of the triumphal cross in the cathedral, borrowings from the French cathedral sculpture are to be assumed, which in turn were borne by the Byzantine wave in the period around 1200, especially in Laon, where this style originated. It is here for the first time that those Byzantine stylistic features can be found, the folds so melodiously flowing around the body and the puffs of folds on the arms.
Triumphal cross
The triumphal cross from the second quarter of the 13th century is located in the western arch. Christ is shown here still standing, not hanging. Only after 1220 did the "hanging Christ" type develop. A first step was that the feet were placed on top of each other and nailed to the cross. This crucifix belongs to this transitional style - still standing, but already with nailed feet. Since around 1220, the feet of Christ have only been shown pierced by a nail, which means a loss of symmetry and thus of severity and also of representation. But this also gives much greater scope for movement in shaping the body, which is now depicted as a sufferer and no longer as a ruler. This plastic here has not yet been used, it is at the beginning of this development.
Barbara Chapel
Romanesque frescoes have been preserved in particular in the barbara's chapel, which is vaulted and consecrated to Saints Jacobus the Elder and Barbara . They were exposed during the restoration work in the 19th century, but not painted over. Only the drawings themselves are frescoes; however, the painting was done on the dry plaster, so that the colors have faded or darkened. Depicted are Mary and Christ, the evangelists, angels, the church fathers and prophets. The iconographic winged altar with crucifixion, some apostles (outside) and saints (inside) was probably made between 1420 and 1430 in the vicinity of the Cologne painter Stefan Lochner . The predella belonging to the altar is about 100 years younger.
Bells
The four remaining bells date from the 13th and 14th centuries and hang in the south tower. Three other bells were destroyed in the 1930s and 1940s. The three smaller bells formed the former choir bells; although the bells were intended for single use, they sounded together by chance in an E flat major - triad . On the occasion of the 1000th anniversary of the church, a new bell with the name Sophia was cast in 2005 .
|
No. |
Surname |
Casting year |
Caster |
Diameter (mm) |
Mass (kg) |
Chime |
| 1 | Sophia | 2005 | Lauchhammer | 645 | g 1 | |
| 2 | - | 13th century | unknown | 946 | 460 | as 1 +6 |
| 3 | - | 1403 | unknown | 635 | 136 | it 2 −1 |
| 4th | - | 14th century | unknown | 628 | 170 | g 2 +1 |
| 5 | - | 14th century | unknown | 570 | 147 | b 2 +3 |
organ
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The organ was built in the years 1957–1958 by the organ building company Schuster & Sohn (Zittau). The instrument has 16 stops on two manuals and a pedal . The actions are electro-pneumatic. In 2011 the still missing register (trumpet 8 ′) was added.
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Further equipment
- Frescoes
- Gothic bronze chandelier (1475, with two Madonna engravings)
- Choir stalls (16th century, flat carvings and dragon figures)
- Pieta (1420)
photos
Liebfrauenkirche, aerial view (2019)
View of the Liebfrauenkirche from the southeast
Cloister of the Liebfrauenkirche
Triumphal cross in front of the choir
Matthias and Bartholomäus at the northern choir screen, cross view 3D photo
Choir stalls, detail
Wooden arcade, detail
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Events
In addition to church services, exhibitions, concerts and lectures are regularly held in the church. In the penitentiary chapel there is a small permanent exhibition on the 1000-year history of the Liebfrauenkirche and the Domplatz.
literature
- Susanne Beatrix Hohmann: The Halberstadt choir barriers. A major work of Lower Saxony art around 1200. In: New research on German art, 3 , Berlin 2000. ISBN 978-3-87157-181-7 .
- Peter Findeisen: Halberstadt: Cathedral, Church of Our Lady, Domplatz. Königstein iT 3rd edition 2005. ISBN 3-7845-4605-6 .
- Alfred Wendehorst , Stefan Benz: Directory of the secular canon pens of the Reichskirche (= publications of the Central Institute for Franconian Regional Studies and General Regional Research at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. Vol. 35). Degener, Neustadt an der Aisch 1997, ISBN 3-7686-9146-2 , pp. 78-79.
Web links
- Parish website
- Photos from the Liebfrauenkirche
- Inscriptions on the choir screens on the north and south sides of the crossing
Individual evidence
- ↑ Claus Peter: The bells of the Liebfrauenkirche in Halberstadt . In: Konrad Bund among other things: Yearbook for bell technology . 2003/2004, MVR, Brühl 2004, pp. 1–17.
- ^ Halberstadt - Church of Our Lady - full bell on YouTube .
- ↑ More information about the organ
Coordinates: 51 ° 53 '44.3 " N , 11 ° 2' 39" E