Liutwin (Trier)

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Liutwinus statue with bishop's robe and model of the Old Tower , Levan (* 1932) and David (* 1964) Mcheidse, 1996, Mettlach , concrete base, bronze sculpture, 2.60 × 0.90 × 0.60 m
Saint Liutwin (pilgrimage picture, chalk print around 1850 based on the pilgrimage sculpture from the end of the 15th century)
St. Luitwin (Mettlach), high altar in which the reliquary of the saint is located
St. Lutwinus (Mettlach) , view into the high altar niche with the Lutwinus shrine

The Holy Leudwinus (also Lutwin or Ludwin or Leodewin , lat. Lutwinus ; † 717 in Reims ) was Kloster founder in Mettlach and Bishop in Trier , laying severally in Reims and Laon . His feast day is September 23 . Every year in the week before Pentecost, the Lutwinus pilgrimage takes place in Mettlach , during which the relics of the saint are carried through the town in a solemn procession.

Life

Liutwin was a Frankish nobleman from the Widonen family . His uncle Basin was Bishop of Trier until 705. Liutwin initially had no intention of pursuing a career in the church. He married appropriately, probably a woman from the Robertin family , and had two sons, Milo and Wido, and perhaps a daughter, Rotrude . About his presumed daughter Rotrude, Liutwin is Karl Martell's father-in-law and great-grandfather of Charlemagne .

The legend reports that Liutwin rested and fell asleep in a clearing on a hunting trip near the Saar loop . An eagle flew over and stayed in the air above the sleeping man, protecting him from the sun. When Liutwin heard of this from his servant, he interpreted the event as a sign sent by God. He had a chapel built in honor of St. Dionysius on the site of the eagle miracle . The Dionysius Chapel soon developed into a Christian mission center. The parish church of St. Gangolf in Mettlach now stands in its place .

Around 690 Liutwin founded the Mettlach Monastery . After the death of his uncle Basin , Liutwin followed him to the bishopric in Trier. A little later, according to legend, he also took over the dioceses of Reims and Laon and was therefore one of the most important ecclesiastical dignitaries in the Franconian Empire.

Liutwin died in Reims in 717 and was buried there. Liutwin's successor as Bishop of Trier and Reims was his son Milo . He had the remains of his father brought to Trier to have him buried in his home country. However, according to tradition, it was not possible to bury Liutwin in Trier. So the decision was made that the dead should find their own burial place. The coffin was brought to a ship that moved by itself, first up the Moselle , then up the Saar and finally docked in Mettlach, where the church bells began to ring. Liutwin was buried in the Marienkirche of the Mettlach monastery.

Reports of his miracles

Liutwin is said to have worked miracles during his lifetime.

“As the holy bishop Lutwinus was supposed to give the holy ordination to the clergy of Rheims, messengers came from Laon, who demanded that he should do the same service with them. Since the man of God wanted to satisfy both parties, he is said to have pleaded with the highest grace that it should complete through its omnipotence what he was unable to do on its own. And the eternal Walter immediately answered the purity of his prayer, and, changing the law of the sun, he lengthened the day so much that Lutwinus could still travel to Laon after holding the service for the citizens of Rheims [...] "

- von Briesen : Documented history of the Merzig-Wadern district, p. 77 f.

Reports of miracles at Liutwin's grave made Mettlach a much-visited place of pilgrimage. Around 990 the Marienkirche was replaced by an octagonal new building, which is modeled after the Aachen Palatine Chapel of Charlemagne . This church is known today as the Old Tower in Mettlach and is considered the oldest preserved stone structure in Saarland .

In 1247 the relics of Liutwin were transferred to a newly built Liutwinus chapel. A good 200 years later, the relics were reburied, this time in a new chapel that was connected to the abbey church. The monastery buildings came into the possession of the industrial family Boch after the French Revolution . The latter had the dilapidated church torn down and the Lutwinus Church built in Mettlach at its own expense , where the saint's relics are still to be found today.

The original memorial day of Liutwin was September 29th . However, this day is also the memorial day of the Archangel Michael . In the 18th century, Liutwin's memorial day was brought forward to September 28th. After the Second Vatican Council , September 23 was finally set as Liutwin's feast day, which also applies to Liutwin's uncle Basin.

Mosaics by the painter Bernhard Gauer from Düsseldorf and the church painter Alfred Gottwald from Bonn in the Lutwinus Church in Mettlach show depictions from the life of the saint. The mosaics served as a template for five special stamps from the Saarland from 1950 .

  • Representations from Liutwin's life on mosaics in the Lutwinus Church

  • Liutwin had the monastery built in Mettlach

  • Entry to the monastery

  • Liutwin is based in Reims

  • Liutwin's death in Reims

  • When transferring the coffin with its remains, the ship cannot be docked in Trier

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Parish church "St. Lutwinus Mettlach" ( Memento from February 13, 2015 in the Internet Archive )

Web links

Commons : Liutwin  - collection of images, videos and audio files
predecessor Office successor
Rigobert Bishop of Reims
717 		Milo
Basinus Bishop of Trier
705–715 		Milo
personal data
SURNAME Liutwin
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Lutwinus; Ludwin; Leotwin; Leodewinus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Founder of the monastery in Mettlach and bishop in Trier, Reims and Laon
DATE OF BIRTH 7th century
DATE OF DEATH 717
Place of death Reims