Loreto Chapel (Leubus)
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The Loreto Chapel was built in the former Cistercian monastery of Leubus . The monastery is located in Silesia and was founded in 1175 by Boleslaus the Long .
The chapel, like many such chapels, especially in Bohemia and Silesia, was built in the context of counter-Reformation efforts . The construction of these chapels, which quickly developed into popular pilgrimage churches , was carried out in the course of a comprehensive recatholization process, especially by the Jesuit order in consensus with the Austrian state power.
Origin and history
The time of origin of the Loreto Chapel in Leubus cannot be precisely determined. It is generally assumed that the time of construction was around 1710. The architect is also unknown.
The chapel is the only one in Silesia that can be classified as classical. Its facade structure is reminiscent of the original Loreto Chapel (Santa Casa) in Loreto (Marche) . According to literature, the Leubus Loreto Chapel took an earlier chapel in Prague as a model, because in many countries replicas that more or less resembled the original were built.
Over time, the chapel, along with the entire monastery complex , suffered great damage and changes. Your current state is not directly reminiscent of the previous one. The chapel is empty without any equipment. The story left clear traces on the facade. Most likely during the conversion into a sacristy , new windows were purchased and the original ones enlarged. One of the two characteristic entrance portals was walled up in its lower area and converted into a window. This reorganization of the lighting should make it possible, after the secularization of 1810, to no longer use the chapel as a Marienhaus, but as a sacristy.
Architecture and equipment
The facade of the chapel is structured by columns, between which there are niches and reliefs. Like the original, it has two entrance portals and is crowned with a parapet reminiscent of the balustrade in Loreto.
The picture program is extremely interesting. The artist was most likely inspired by the Italian model, which he modified significantly. He created his own scenery with it. The chapel presents four reliefs that tell from the life of Mary . The cycle begins on the west side with the Annunciation , followed by the birth of Jesus and the “Adoration of the Shepherds”. It ends with the death of Mary . The pictures show a clear change of mood from joy to sadness. The cycle contains only four of the nine scenes depicted in the original Loreto Chapel.
The arrangement of the sculptures at the Leubus Chapel also deviates from the model of the facade in Loreto. Typologically, they do not appear in pairs in connection with a prophet and a sibyl , but were placed individually in the niches. Due to a lack of attributes and a style that cannot be classified and is nowhere clearly repeated, its provenance and clear identification are not possible. One can assume, however, that they most likely originated in Leubus and that they represent King David , four prophets or the four evangelists .
Both the sculptures and the relief scenes are stylistically uniform. The artist presented his sculptures voluminous and with heavy garments, which he draped heavily and provided with sharp, angular edges. His works are good Silesian sculptures, in which the style of Matthias Steinl can be felt.
The outside of the Loreto Chapel is very richly furnished and decorated. Thanks to the Corinthian columns placed freely in front of the facade, it gives the viewer a monumental and dynamic impression. Many of the elements that are on the facade of the chapel were carried over either from the west facade or from other parts of the monastery. They inspired the unknown artist and helped him create a unique synthesis of the chapel with the rest of the monastery complex.
source
- Damian Piecha: The Loreto chapel of the monastery church in Leubus . Art historical analysis, Passau 2009, Master's thesis.
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Coordinates: 51 ° 15 '42.4 " N , 16 ° 28' 9.4" E