Mary of the Conception Cathedral

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Mary of the Conception Cathedral
Cathedral panorama, southeast view
St. Mary of the Conception Cathedral, east side

The construction of the Roman Catholic Church of the Conception Cathedral in Linz , also known as the Mariendom and New Cathedral , was initiated in 1855 by the Bishop of Linz, Franz Joseph Rudigier, in gratitude for the Ineffabilis Deus bull of December 8, 1854.

The foundation stone was laid in 1862, and on May 1, 1924, the cathedral was consecrated as St. Mary's Church by Bishop Johannes Maria Gföllner . The building was not completed until 1935, during the celebrations for the 150th anniversary of the Diocese of Linz , the cathedral square was redesigned at the same time. The cathedral is the largest church in Austria and around two meters lower than St. Stephen's Cathedral .

The building

St. Mary of the Conception Cathedral, west side
inner space

The Cathedral of the Virgin Mary is the largest (in terms of capacity), but not the highest church in Austria . According to a widespread but unproven legend, the originally planned height was not approved because no building in Austria-Hungary was allowed to be higher than the south tower of St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna . At 134.8 m (remeasured in 2018: 134.69 m from the top edge of the site and 133.53 m from the top edge of the floor) the tower of the Cathedral of the Virgin Mary in Linz is around two meters lower than that of St. Stephen's Cathedral . The outer structure is 130 m long, the main ridge height on the outside is 44 meters, the width of the nave is 27.5 m, that of the central nave is 13.5 m and that of the transept is 60 m. The floor area is 5,170 m², the total of the covered roof areas 7,120 m². Sandstone from Altlengbach in Lower Austria, granite from Upper Austria for columns and cornices and conglomerate from Kremsmünster for the crypt are used. The cathedral (with the crypt) has a total of 142 windows, 54 columns and 17 altars.

Foundation stone laid by Bishop Rudigier on a glass window

The painting windows are remarkable . The best known is probably the so-called Linz window, which shows representations from the history of Linz. Images of various sponsors of the church building are also shown in the windows. The steel cutter Michael Blümelhuber created the key to the new cathedral .

History and architecture

The strong population growth of the industrial city in the 19th century made it necessary to build a new church. The external occasion was the papal bull Ineffabilis Deus , published in 1854, explaining the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. The plans of the Cologne diocesan master builder Vincenz Statz were available in April 1859. The laying of the foundation stone on May 1st, 1862 was celebrated with Anton Bruckner's cantata . The inauguration of the first construction phase, the votive chapel, took place on September 29, 1869 with Bruckner's mass in E minor , whereby strings and soloists were dispensed with due to the still half-open space, so that only winds and choir were used.

Statz planned and built the cathedral less in the French style than in the Belgian-Dutch high Gothic style , with church buildings such as the Utrecht Cathedral serving as a model. Employees were the cathedral builder Otto Schirmer , his son Franz Statz and cathedral construction manager Matthäus Schlager . First the votive chapel was built in 1862–1869 and the presbytery up to the transept from 1870–1885, then from 1886 to 1901 the tower on the north side of the south-facing cathedral. Only after its completion, from 1902 on, the nave and transept were built.

In 2017 the interior of the cathedral was rebuilt. The cost was estimated at 1.2 million euros, the cathedral was closed for around six months. Among other things, the altar was moved to the crossing , the heating was modernized and parts of the paving were relocated.

On June 21, 2018, a worker carried out repair work at a height of 15 m with a crane lift. With the stage he tore a 3.5 m high tower from its anchorage, which threatened the stage. The man was rescued, the tower collapsed shortly afterwards and shattered on the ground.

Cathedral builder

The cathedral builders over time were:

  1. Vincent Statz (1862)
  2. Otto Schirmer (1862–1900)
  3. Franz Statz (1900–1909)
  4. Matthäus Schlager (1909-1959)
  5. Gottfried Nobl (1959-2005)
  6. Wolfgang Schaffer (since 2005)

Pictures of the construction site

Furnishing

Bells

The Cathedral of the Conception of Mary has nine church bells . The oldest two bells, the Anna bell and the Joachims bell, still hang in their original place, between two buttress towers on the surrounding gallery of the votive chapel. They were rung for the first time on September 29, 1869. The remaining seven bells form the "actual" peal. They hang in the tower. The total weight of the bell is 17,700 kg. When all the bells ring, the motif of the “ Salve Regina ” can be heard.

No. Surname Casting year Caster Dimensions Nominal Tower / note
1 Immaculata 1901 Anton Gugg, Linz 8,120 kg f 0 Third tower floor
2 Josephi 3,930 kg a 0 Fourth tower floor
3 Peter 2,370 kg c 1
4th pilgrim 1,640 kg d 1
5 Agnes 940 kg f 1
6th Maximilian 480 kg a 1
7th Michaelmas 290 kg c 2
I. Anna 1869 Buttresses
II Joachim 1869

Organs

The cathedral has two organs : the main organ on the west gallery and the choir organ in the chancel.

Main organ

The main organ is the work of the Danish organ building workshop Marcussen & Sohn , which was inaugurated on December 8, 1968. The characteristics of two organs previously built by Marcussen, as well as those of the Müller organ (1738) in the Grote of Sint-Bavokerk in Haarlem, were incorporated into the conception of the instrument, which was designed and arranged in its basic features by Sybrand Zachariassen. It has 70 stops (5890 pipes, of which relatively few are made of wood due to Denmark's lack of forests), slider chests, mechanical play and stop action, and electric stop action on the pedal with three free combinations. Barker couplings that can be switched off make playing with coupled manuals easier.

After long pros and cons, it was decided to sacrifice the view from the nave to the rose window in the organ tower. Among other things, the Grote of Sint-Bavokerk served as a model, where the large window there with the Müller organ was installed. So that the new organ can fill the Linz Cathedral with sound at least up to the transept, a sound-reflecting wall with glass in the upper part was installed behind it. This created the “Rudigier Hall”, a room with a floor plan of around 10 m × 10 m and a height of around 20 m, between the organ and the rose window. The two largest pipes of the principal 32 'could not be placed in the prospectus due to lack of space; A planned second, labial 16 'in the main work and a second, labial 32' in the pedal were also omitted.

In memory of the laying of the foundation stone and the initiator of the cathedral construction, the organ is also called the Rudigier organ.

Interior view towards the organ gallery
I Rückpositiv C – g 3
Principal (II from f 0 ) 08th'
Dumped 08th'
Quintadena 08th'
octave 04 ′
Reed flute 04 ′
octave 02 ′
Forest flute 02 ′
Fifth 01 13
Sesquialtera II-IV 0 02 23
Sharp VI-VIII 01'
Zimbel III 013
Dulcian 16 ′
Krummhorn 08th'
shawm 04 ′
Tremulant
Zimbelstern
II Hauptwerk C – g 3
Principal 16 ′
Principal (II from f 0 )0 08th'
Pointed flute 08th'
Octave (II from f 0 ) 04 ′
Hollow flute 04 ′
Fifth 02 23
Octave (II from f 0 ) 02 ′
Mixture VIII-X 02 ′
Sharp V-VI 01'
Cornett V (from g 0 ) 08th'
Trumpet 16 ′
Trumpet 08th'
Spanish trumpet 0 08th'
Spanish trumpet 04 ′
III upper structure C-g 3
Dumped 16 ′
Principal (II from G sharp )0 08th'
Reed flute 08th'
Viola di gamba 08th'
octave 04 ′
Transverse flute 04 ′
Nasat 02 23
Flat flute 02 ′
third 01 35
Mixture VII 02 ′
Third cymbal III 016
Bombard 16 ′
Trumpet 08th'
oboe 08th'
Clairon 04 ′
Tremulant
IV breastwork C-g 3
Wooden dacked 08th'
Pointed Gamba 08th'
Principal 04 ′
recorder 04 ′
octave 02 ′
Flute 02 ′
Sif flute 01'
Terzian II 01 35
Zimbel II 013
shelf 16 ′
Vox humana 0 08th'
Tremulant
Pedal C – f 1
Principal 32 ′
Principal 16 ′
Sub-bass 16 ′
octave 08th'
Gemshorn 08th'
octave 04 ′
Coupling flute 04 ′
Night horn 02 ′
Intoxicating fifth IV 0 02 23
Mixture VIII 05 13
trombone 32 ′
trombone 16 ′
bassoon 16 ′
Trumpet 08th'
Trumpet 04 ′
zinc 02 ′
  • Pair : I / II, III / II, IV / II, I / P II / P, III / P, IV / P
  • Bar coupling for the manuals (can be switched off)
  • Hand crank for operating the swell doors of the positive
  • Remarks:
  1. Due to the size of the cathedral and its acoustics, the Zimbelstern was built from triangles.
  2. in the swell.
  3. Swellable with swell doors.

Choir organ

The organ was built in 1989 by the Vorarlberg organ building company Pflüger and has 27 registers (26 real registers and a transmission) as well as mechanical playing and stop actions. It replaced the Lachmayr organ from 1887 in the former choir , which was restored in 1931 by the Mauracher brothers (Matthäus (* 1885) and Anton M. (* 1896)) and expanded from II + P / 34 to III + P / 53 has been. When the interior of the Mariendom was redesigned in 2017, the new choir organ was cleaned, moved and re-voiced.

Choir organ
I Hauptwerk C – g 3
Principal 16 ′
Principal 8th'
Hollow flute 8th'
viola 8th'
Octav 4 ′
Pointed flute 4 ′
Quint 2 23
Octav 2 ′
Mixture IV 2 ′
Cymbel III 1'
Trumpet 8th'
II breast positive C – g 3
Principal 8th'
Dumped 8th'
Octav 4 ′
flute 4 ′
Sesquialter II 2 23
Octav 2 ′
Larigot 1 13
Mixture IV 1 13
Dulcian 8th'
Tremulant
Pedal C – f 1
Principal (from HW) 16 ′
Sub bass 16 ′
Octavbass 8th'
flute 8th'
Octav 4 ′
trombone 16 ′
Trumpet 8th'

Cathedral crypt

Cenotaph of Bishop Rudigiers in the cathedral; the actual grave is in the cathedral crypt

The crypt is the burial place of the bishops of Linz. The bishops who died between 1785 and 1924 were originally buried in the Old Cathedral; their coffins were moved here after the completion of the Cathedral of the Conception of Mary. There is a cenotaph in the chancel for Bishop Franz Joseph Rudigier , who is buried here . Alois Wagner , most recently Archbishop of the Curia in Rome, is also buried in the crypt. Bishop Rudigier's regalia is also on display here .

The central piece of equipment in the crypt is the nativity scene, which Sebastian Osterrieder created between 1908 and 1913 on behalf of Bishop Doppelbauer , with more than forty figures carved from linden wood, the largest in Osterrieder's work.

Political

Memorial plaque with additional plaque

In October 2006 the Catholic Church added an additional plaque to the honor plaque for Engelbert Dollfuss at the new cathedral, which caused great excitement in the ÖVP . In the additional panel, the church distances itself from Dollfuss 'policy after the decision of the Austrian Bishops' Conference and expresses the future abstention of the church from party politics. As Federal Chancellor, Dollfuss had used the so-called “ self- elimination of parliament ” to prevent the impending election victory of the National Socialists through a corporate-state dictatorship , which in 1934 led to a civil war.

"Tower Hermit" project

During the Second World War , a tower room was built in the tower of the Mariendom at a height of 68 meters and was probably used as an observation post. As part of Linz 2009 - European Capital of Culture , the Diocese of Linz made this Türmerstube available for the first time for people who - regardless of their religion - wanted to retreat to the quiet for a week as hermits . However, pastoral support was available to them.

Because of the great acceptance of this measure, this offer has been continued since 2010.

"Pro Mariendom" initiative

In May 2018 , a newly constituted initiative advocates the necessary renovation of the cathedral by around € 14 million. The initiative is headed by an advisory board headed by the former governor, Josef Pühringer . In 2017, 200,000 people took part in a tour of the cathedral, including a third children under 10. The “torch tours” at night are popular.

See also

literature

  • Balthasar Scherndl : Guide to the Cathedral of the Virgin Mary in Linz . Publishing house of the Catholic Press Association, Linz-Urfahr 1902.
  • Johannes Ebner, Monika Würthinger: The New Cathedral in Linz on the way to the cathedral and parish church. From Project to Consecration (1924). In: Oberösterreichische Heimatblätter year 53, issue 1–2, Linz 1999, pp. 21–45. online (PDF) in the forum OoeGeschichte.at.
  • Christian Kratz: The New Cathedral in Linz. In: Upper Austrian homeland sheets. Volume 48, Issue 1, Linz 1994, pp. 3–17, online (PDF) in the forum OoeGeschichte.at.
  • Gottfried Schicklberger, Augustin Baumgartner: The large stained glass of the Maria Conception Cathedral in Linz. Art publishing house Augustin Baumgartner, Graz 1995.
  • Maximiliane Buchner, Udo Mainzer : The Mariendom in Linz and its architectural roots in the Rhineland. In: INSITU , 2018/2, pp. 259–280.

Web links

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

Individual evidence

  1. Linzer Diözesan-Chronik ( Memento from November 17, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  2. Austrian Art Topography, Vol. 36: The Church Art Monuments of the City of Linz, Vienna 1964, Entry Domkirche, 77.
  3. Universum zu Linz09 of April 7, 2009.
  4. St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, the tallest church in Austria. In: orf.at, July 19, 2018, accessed July 19, 2018.
  5. Linzer Mariendom (dioezese-linz.at) ( Memento from December 8, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) accessed on September 6, 2013.
  6. book friend Balthasar Scherndl: Guide through the Mariä Konception Cathedral in Linz. Publishing house of the cath. Press Association, Linz-Urfahr 1902.
  7. New altar consecrated in Mariendom. In: orf.at, article from December 8, 2017, accessed on December 9, 2017.
  8. Reconstruction in the Mariendom - better view of the altar. In: orf.at, article from April 25, 2017, accessed on December 9, 2017.
  9. Tower of Linz Cathedral overturned . In: orf.at, June 22, 2018, accessed June 22, 2018.
  10. Dietmar Polaczek: The festive crowd around a precious new organ - The Danish organ building company Marcussen has built an excellent new organ in the New Cathedral in Linz. In: Neue Zeit (Graz) from December 11, 1968.
  11. Wolfgang Kreuzhuber / Stefanie Petelin: Conception of the Rudigier organ in the Mariendom Linz. Retrieved December 12, 2019 .
  12. ^ Diocese of Linz: History of the Pflüger choir organ. Retrieved on January 21, 2018.
  13. organ Index: Linz, New Cathedral (Mariendom-Lachmayr choir organ). Retrieved on January 21, 2018.
  14. ^ Diocese of Linz: Solemn Vespers with light celebration on the eve of the altar consecration. December 8, 2017, accessed on January 21, 2018.
  15. Hermann Vogel : Sebastian Osterrieder, the innovator of the artistic Christmas crib. Kunstverlag Josef Fink, Lindenberg 2009, ISBN 978-3-89870-562-2 , pp. 61-67.
  16. Wolfgang Sachsenhofer: The Linz Cathedral Crib by Sebastian Osterrieder and the tradition of the Christmas crib in Upper Austria. In: Upper Austrian homeland sheets . Linz 2013, pp. 169–189, PDF on land-oberoesterreich.gv.at.
  17. A testimony from 1934 became a nuisance. In: Church newspaper of November 9, 2005, accessed on November 16, 2014.
  18. Today newspaper from November 11, 2008.
  19. Tower hermit at the Mariendom Linz - the inventor talks about his project. In: dioezese-linz.at, accessed on August 27, 2011.
  20. Diocese of Linz: Continuation of the Tower Hermit project ( Memento from September 10, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ). Accessed on August 27, 2011.
  21. Initiative for the Preservation of the Mariendom orf.at, May 20, 2018, accessed May 20, 2018.

Coordinates: 48 ° 18 ′ 2 ″  N , 14 ° 17 ′ 8 ″  E