Visitation of the Virgin Mary (Frauenberg)
The Roman Catholic branch and pilgrimage church of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary in Frauenberg , a village-like district of the Lower Bavarian district capital Landshut , is a late Gothic hall church from the second half of the 15th century that is visible from afar above the southern Isar slope . It has been visited as a place of pilgrimage since the 17th century and belongs to the parish of St. Vincent von Paul in Auloh , which was founded in 2001 . The patronage of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary , which is celebrated on July 2nd, can often be found in the Landshut area.
history
prehistory
The church history of the area around Frauenberg begins around the year 700 AD, when St. Erhard was active as a traveling bishop in the area . Because he was on the run, legend has it that he had to cross the Isar near Frauenberg. With the help of a large, flat stone, he reached the other bank with almost dry feet. This alleged "Erhardistein" can be seen today on a corner pillar on the outer wall of the pilgrimage church.
Building history
The current church was built in the second half of the 15th century, probably around 1470/80, in place of a Romanesque predecessor church. The lower floors of the existing tower were included. The interior of the church was first painted with frescoes in the Renaissance period between 1580 and 1600. The furnishings were adapted to the taste of the time in the Baroque and Rococo epochs .
The crowning of the tower also changed several times over the centuries. From the church accounts of 1712 it can be seen that the tower had a baroque onion dome at that time , which was probably built at the same time as the tower top of the baroque parish church of St. Thomas in Adlkofen . In 1866, the crowning of the tower was renewed again, and under the influence of historicism, a pointed helmet was chosen . After the top of the tower was torn down by Hurricane Wiebke on March 1, 1990 , there was discussion about putting an onion hood back on it. However, it was decided in a secret vote to renew the pointed helmet. The last renovation work on the church for the time being was carried out in the years 1998 to 2000 with the repair of the roof structure , the renovation of the vault and the static protection of the gallery .
Pilgrimage history
The Mother of God von Frauenberg has been a regular destination for pilgrims since the 17th century . When cholera broke out in Landshut in 1854 , the Landshut Pilgrimage Women Association was founded with the vow to make a pilgrimage to Frauenberg every year to protect against such infectious diseases . This tradition continues to this day. In addition, the pilgrimage church in Frauenberg is the destination of several petitions and pilgrimages in the surrounding parishes .
architecture
Exterior construction
The east-facing hall church with the surrounding cemetery consists of a four-bay nave and the adjoining, slightly drawn-in two-bay choir , which is closed on three octagonal sides. The essentially Romanesque tower protrudes into the nave at the northeast end of the nave and makes it appear asymmetrical on the inside . In the corner between the tower and the north wall of the choir, a two-storey sacristy was built in the 19th century . Access to the interior of the church is via a vestibule, also built in the 19th century, on the west side of the nave. The exterior of the church is largely undivided except for the arched window openings that were changed in the Baroque period and the buttresses at the choir, which were only added in the 19th century .
inner space
Inside, the nave and choir are spanned by a ribbed vault. A more precise art-historical classification leads to the type of jumping diamond, which can also be found, for example, in the choir of the Landshut Martinskirche . The pear-shaped ribs arise from semicircular profile consoles on flat, beveled wall pillars . The yoke is separated by pointed shield arches . At the crowns of the vaults and at some other crossings of ribs there are small round keystones , some of which are covered with coats of arms in the choir . These come from aristocratic families from the surrounding area as well as from rich middle-class families from the city of Landshut who had a connection to Frauenberg. A neo-Gothic painting of the vault has meanwhile been removed and replaced by a yellow whitewash of the vault reserve.
The choir is separated from the nave by a pointed choir arch, which is chamfered on the west side and stepped and chamfered on the east side. In the western, windowless Langhausjoch is a wooden double gallery moved in, their parapets color adopted and are decorated with floral patterns.
Furnishing
High altar
The high altar was rebuilt in 1758 by the carpenter Veit Braunberger from Vilsbiburg in Rococo forms. Four round columns rise above the high, concave curved base zone, which also contains the tabernacle , which are flanked by foliage carvings . On top is the concave extension . In place of the altar sheet is a late Gothic crescent moon Madonna with child from the time the church was built - the pilgrimage mercy image that was already part of the earlier high altar. In addition to the crescent moon at her feet, a wreath with twelve stars around the head of Mary also marks her role as an apocalyptic woman . The figure was probably also crowned when it was transferred to the new altar . In the altar piece there is a gilded Marian monogram , above it a crown, which is arranged above a seemingly floating putto . This should mark Mary as the Queen of Heaven . This scene is accompanied by two other putti seated on the side volutes .
Side altars
The former high altar - a late Gothic winged altar from around 1480/90, which comes close to the altars in Gelbersdorf and Jenkofen in terms of time, design and artistic value - stands today on the tower wall that juts into the nave. The reliefs and paintings are among the best works of the Landshut School by sculptors and painters of the late 15th century that have been preserved to this day. On the inside of the wings there are three reliefs on top of each other. On the left side, from top to bottom, these are the Annunciation to Mary , the patronage depiction of the Visitation of Mary and the birth of Christ . On the right, in the same order, there are reliefs of the Adoration by the Magi , the Presentation in the Temple and the Flight into Egypt . The reliefs were partially revised later, especially the depiction of the Annunciation, which does not show details corresponding to the time. On the outside of the wings there are paintings from the Landshut School. Again, three paintings are arranged one above the other. On the left, from top to bottom, these are the birth of Mary , the birth of Christ and the child murder in Bethlehem . On the right, Mary's going to the temple , the circumcision of Christ and the flight into Egypt are shown in the same order . Due to the artistic design and the good state of preservation, the paintings are given an even greater art-historical value than the reliefs. In the predella zone there is a painted wooden relief of the death of the Virgin in the midst of the twelve apostles from around 1485. In the interior of the shrine, as mentioned above, the Madonna of the Moon used to be placed. Between 1864 and 1968 a group of figures depicting the Coronation of Mary could be seen in its place , which is now placed above the entrance to the sacristy. In 1968, figures of Saints Maria (center), Erhard (left) and Barbara (right) were placed in the shrine instead .
The southern side altar, which is set up to the right of the choir arch, was made around 1680 in the Baroque style. Its structure is supported by two winding pillars entwined with vine leaves. The altarpiece, which is accompanied by two angelic volutes, has two winding columns. The main painting shows the beheading of the martyr Barbara.
Wall frescoes from the Renaissance period
During an interior renovation in 1975, long-forgotten wall frescoes from the Renaissance period around 1580/90 were exposed on the side walls of the nave and in the choir. Around 1996 these were restored and conserved during a renewed interior renovation . The painters who were involved in the redesign of Trausnitz Castle between 1569 and 1578 are eligible as artists . The picture on the northern side wall shows the manna feeding of the people of Israel when they leave Egypt ( Ex 16 EU ). There are also three other, larger frescoes depicting Saints Matthias , Magdalena and Peter .
Other equipment
The oldest figure in the church is located in a wall niche on the re-entrant tower wall in the nave. It is an early Gothic Madonna and Child from around 1300. The sculpture therefore still comes from the furnishings of the previous church. Above this niche is a baroque oil painting depicting Veronica 's handkerchief. There are also baroque figures of Saints Maria, Wendelin and Georg in the nave . The painted Stations of the Cross and the cycle of paintings with depictions of the life of the Virgin, which can be found on the balustrade of the gallery, are also baroque. Of particular interest is the votive painting of the Landshut pilgrimage women, which shows the outbreak of cholera in Landshut in 1854.
In the western porch of the church there is a death bay, very rare in the Landshut area, in which three skulls and three tubular bones can be seen. Above it is a painting depicting the poor souls in purgatory .
organ
The organ of the pilgrimage church Frauenberg was built in 1912 by the Deggendorf organ builder Ludwig Edenhofer junior and has been on the upper floor of the double gallery ever since. It comprises a total of six registers on two manuals and pedal .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Brief description of the parish Auloh . Online at www.sanktvinzenz-auloh.de; accessed on April 19, 2017 (PDF; 2.4 MB).
- ↑ Frauenberg, Mariä Visitation . Online at www.kirchturm.net; Retrieved April 19, 2017.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m The pilgrimage church "Maria Heimsuchung" in Frauenberg . Online at www.auloh.de; Retrieved April 19, 2017.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i Anton Eckardt (ed.): Art monuments of the Kingdom of Bavaria - District Office Landshut . Oldenbourg, Munich 1914, pp. 91-95 ( digitized version ).
Coordinates: 48 ° 33 ′ 56.7 ″ N , 12 ° 14 ′ 28 ″ E