Magdalenenklause
The Magdalenenklause is a habitable artificial ruin in a secluded part of the forest north of the Boskette near the castle in the Nymphenburg Palace Park in Munich . It was built from 1725 by Joseph Effner on behalf of Max Emanuel . The building, which is in the tradition of the Memento mori , is considered to be one of the first ruin architectures in European garden art . The interiors are designed as grottos .
history
The hermitage is dedicated to Maria Magdalena , who is shown in the ceiling painting and a stucco figure. The gloomy hermitage served the ruler to escape from the courtly ceremonies and was intended to encourage the cheerful and sensual prince to self-mortification in old age. By retreating into solitude, he wanted to come back to religious and philosophical reflection, to simplicity and quiet enjoyment of nature. When the hermitage was consecrated, Max Emanuel had already passed away. A marble plaque above the entrance points to the inauguration of the chapel by his son, Archbishop and Elector of Cologne Clemens August , on April 4, 1728. The travel writer Johann Georg Keyßler reported on this event that the elector had inaugurated the altar of the Hermitage "and the company made so much fun that drinking glasses were broken for two hundred thalers."
On Magdalen's Day, July 22nd, the chapel is still visited by pilgrims today . The visit to the Magdalenenklause is said to have brought healing to some sick people. Baron Auguste von Pechmann, who was blind as a child, reported that she regained her eyesight by using the ophthalmic water there.
The Magdalenenfest , which now takes place in the Hirschgarten , developed from the annual commemoration days on the name day .
layout
The part of the grotto encrusted by J. B. Koch begins directly behind the entrance door. Tuff stone , shells, colorful stones and various other materials were used to create the playful fantasy world .
The central point of view is the grotto niche with the figure of Maria Magdalena by Giuseppe Volpini , completed in 1726 , from whom a figure of Hercules from around 1720 and other works in the palace park originate. In addition to the figure, the skull of a dead person takes up the memento mori motif. In front of it, a small basin collects water that, according to popular belief, comes from a miraculous spring. The sky, which can be seen through a round hole in the ceiling, is reflected in it. This creates a wonderful effect: Another hole seems to open up in the ground through which one can see into the earth into the sky beyond the ground.
In addition to the chapel, there are several living rooms in the building with “simple” oak paneling, and oil paintings, drawings and engravings hang on the walls . A large oil painting shows the half-naked Magdalena against a dark background. A series of hermits by Jan Sadeler I is worth mentioning anthropospeleologically , as it depicts various hermits and saints who either live in hollow trees or in a rock hole.
literature
- Bavarian Administration of State Palaces, Gardens and Lakes, Munich (Ed.), Luisa Hager (Ed.): Nymphenburg - Palace, Park and Burgen , Official Guide, Munich 1960.
- Kai-Uwe Nielsen: The Magdalenenklause in the palace gardens of Nymphenburg , (writings from the Institute for Art History of the University of Munich; 53), tuduv-Verlag, Munich 1990, ISBN 3-88073-374-0 .
media
- Visible transience: the Magdalenenklause in the Nymphenburg Palace Park. Documentation by Peter Solfrank, Bayerisches Fernsehen. First broadcast in the series between Spessart and Karwendel on April 11, 2009. [1]
Web links
- The Magdalenenklause in the Nymphenburg Palace Park - an anthropospelaeological gem Essay by Franz Lindenmayr
Individual evidence
- ^ Carl Eduard Vehse: History of the courtyards of the houses in Baiern, Würtemberg, Baden and Hesse . 1st part (= history of the German courts since the Reformation . No. 23 ). Hoffmann and Campe, Hamburg 1853, p. 264 ( digitized version [accessed April 2, 2013]).
- ↑ Manfred Berger: Pechmann, Auguste Maria Karoline Freiin von (Ps. Martha Friede). In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 22, Bautz, Nordhausen 2003, ISBN 3-88309-133-2 , Sp. 1060-1066.
Coordinates: 48 ° 9 ′ 36 " N , 11 ° 30 ′ 0" E