Linz cathedral window

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In the New Linz Cathedral there is a picture cycle with 77 windows, the color of which gives the church interior a special character.

history

The first painting windows financed by the Cathedral Building Association were designed by Johann Klein and installed in the votive chapel in 1868.

In 1910 the cathedral building committee dealt with the procurement of the windows for the nave and transept of the cathedral. In a circular in September 1910, Bishop Rudolph Hittmair expressed the wish that the window paintings should depict people, places and landscapes in Upper Austria . The 44 windows in the nave and transept were mostly financed by sponsors from the upper classes and the nobility or by associations. They were made between 1913 and 1916, but were not used until 1922 to 1924 due to the war-related construction delays. The thirteen meter high and eight meter wide rosettes above the two side portals and behind the Rudigier organ were commissioned from the Tyrolean glass painting workshop in 1917 .

Many windows were damaged during the Second World War . The greatest damage was caused by the bombing raid on January 20, 1945, which completely destroyed the stained glass windows in the chapel wreath.

When repairing the windows after the end of the war, the executors made some mistakes:

  • in the window of the birth of Christ , the two medium detail windows were exchanged with the robes and legs of the Shepherds (in the third row from the bottom) by mistake
  • In the window “The twelve-year-old Jesus in the temple and the wedding at Cana” there are two dedications in the bottom row that belong in the window of the Nativity and have therefore been exchanged with the two coats of arms in the bottom row

In 1994 the windows were inserted in the chapel wreath. During the 10-year renovation of the cathedral, which began in May 2019, the cathedral windows will also be renovated.

Painting window

Linz window
Linz window - center

Most of the glass paintings show sacred themes ( the Conception of Mary , the Annunciation and the Coronation; works of virtue, seven major sins) and events related to the construction of the cathedral (laying of the foundation stone in 1862, accidental failure of Bishop Franz Joseph Rudigier in 1884, pilgrimages to Jerusalem in 1900 and 1910, consecration of the bells in 1902, bishop consecration by Dr. Rudolph Hittmair 1909, cathedral consecration).

The so-called Linz Window with the following personalities is of great historical interest:

There are many representations from Upper Austria:

European pilgrimage destinations shown:

Representations from the Holy Land:

New windows

New cathedral windows (front left)
New cathedral windows (front right)

The windows in the chapel wreath, which had been completely destroyed during the Second World War, were replaced in autumn 1994 by modern windows based on designs by Karl-Martin Hartmann from Wiesbaden .

criticism

The details of the glass paintings with their hundreds of figures, symbols, coats of arms and inscriptions are sometimes difficult to see for the distant observer on the ground. This applies in particular to the high-bay windows. Quite a few texts are time-bound, for example “For Emperor and Fatherland” in the window of the Volksverein.

literature

  • Florian Oberchristl: The new painting windows of the Linz Cathedral. Christian art papers , Linz 1924 ( digitized on digi.landesbibliothek.at).
  • Gottfried Schicklberger: The large stained glass of the Maria Conception Cathedral in Linz. With an art historical contribution by Dr. Bernhard Prokisch. Diözesanverein zum Dombau (publisher), Kunstverlag Foto Baumgartner, Linz 1995.
  • Walter Frodl : The church art monuments of the city of Linz. In: Austrian Art Topography . Volume 36, Vienna 1964.
  • Markus Kristan: The monumental stained glass of Romanticism, Historicism and Art Nouveau in Austria. Thesis. Vienna 1986.
  • Bernhard Prokisch : Studies on church art in Upper Austria in the 19th century. 3 volumes. Dissertation. Vienna 1984.
  • Hans Kral: The painting windows of the New Cathedral - their representations and donors. In: New archive for the history of the Diocese of Linz. 1986, pp. 212–222 ( online (PDF) in the forum OoeGeschichte.at).

Web links

Commons : Stained glass windows in Neuer Dom (Linz)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c The glass windows with the page title “Message from the old cathedral windows” on dioezese-linz.at.
  2. ↑ a b Oberchristl 1924, p. 1 .
  3. ↑ a b Schicklberger 1995, p. 9.
  4. ↑
    Commons : Linz window  - collection of images, videos and audio files
  5. ↑ Oberchristl 1924, p. 9: Floor plan of the cathedral with the number of rows and names of the windows .