Mariahilf Chapel (Balzers)

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The Mariahilf Chapel

The Mariahilf Chapel (also known as Mariahilf Chapel ) is a Roman Catholic Marienkapelle in the municipality of Balzers in the Principality of Liechtenstein . The chapel in the district of Mäls used to be a place of pilgrimage with a certain regional significance, while today it is primarily a popular wedding church .

location

The Mariahilf Chapel is located on the southern edge of the municipality of Balzers, in the Mäls district. The chapel is surrounded by a park (including playground ) and close to one's kindergarten of the community (kindergarten Mariahilf) area. The chapel was outside the village for a long time. In the course of the 20th century, however, the settlements expanded so that they were eventually surrounded by residential buildings.

Say about the origins

The Mariahilf Chapel, view from the east

Two different legends have been passed down about the origin of the Mariahilf Chapel :

In one of the legends it is reported that a lindworm (or dragon ) lived in the area of ​​the Ellhorn , which terrified the inhabitants of Mäls. Despite appropriate efforts, the population did not succeed in catching the monster. For this reason, the residents turned to Maria and promised to build a small chapel in her honor if the lindworm disappeared. And in fact it should have disappeared and never returned, so that the residents built the Mariahilf Chapel. As a proof of the former existence of the Lindwurm, there is a dragon head made of sheet metal on the tower of the chapel.

Another unproven tradition justifies the construction of the chapel with the memory of the battle fought at Balzers between the Chur bishop Friedrich von Montfort and his cousin Count Hugo von Werdenberg , which took place on January 5, 1289. Whether this battle took place at the location of the Mariahilf Chapel and whether it was actually built to commemorate this battle in 1289 is not documented.

history

Development and structural changes

Since there are only very few written sources on the chapel's earlier history, findings on the history come mainly from building studies . Such findings led to the assumption that - as reported in one of the legends - there could have been a smaller predecessor chapel built in the 13th century. The foundations of a church choir uncovered in today's apse , however, do not indicate such an early construction, but allow it to be dated to the beginning of the 16th century at the earliest. However, the chapel is not mentioned in the oldest known visitation records from 1595. In the will of a pastor from Triesn in 1690, however, there is talk of a “new Maria-Hilf chapel”. For this reason, it is assumed that either another construction phase or an actual new building was implemented before this time.

The church tower, on the other hand, can probably be dated to the first half of the 18th century. During this time, the old choir was replaced by the current apse , the nave was raised and a new roof was built. These structural extensions were probably made possible by foundations and donations, whereby the establishment of the "Brotherhood of the Blessed Virgin Mary the Helpful" in 1736 was of particular importance.

When the parish church of St. Nikolaus was destroyed in a village fire in 1795, most of the services took place in the Mariahilf chapel until the new parish church was inaugurated in 1807. According to written reports, however, the building was in serious disrepair at the beginning of the 19th century and had been robbed twice.

The consecration of an altar is recorded for the year 1816 , which may have been connected with renovation work , albeit not extensive . It is very likely that further construction work was carried out in the 1840s, although its scope has not been clearly clarified. At least between 1842 and 1846 the chapel was given a new roof structure. These works were probably made with a view to the consecration of the chapel in honor of St. Virgin Mary and her mother, St. Anna - which took place in 1846 - carried out. In the 1890s, a vestibule and a sacristy were added.

Developments in the 20th and 21st centuries

Aerial photo of the municipality of Balzers in 1964 with the Mariahilf Chapel in the lower right corner of the picture

Extensive exterior and interior renovations were carried out in 1944 and 1945: for example, the chapel was newly plastered, the church roof and the roof of the church tower were re-covered and the old gallery was replaced by a new one. In connection with another exterior renovation, the area surrounding the chapel was redesigned in 1966 and planted with trees and bushes.

Extensive restoration work inside the church became necessary when the nativity scene caught fire on January 4th, 2012 due to a technical defect. The fire did not spread over the crib, but the smoke that arose during the smoldering fire caused considerable material damage, so that the interior of the chapel had to be restored for several weeks: the wooden surfaces of the benches had to be cleaned, the wall surfaces repainted and the ornate ceilings replaced special cleaning process. In addition, the altars were dismantled and the soot removed , and the organ was dismantled, cleaned and finally re- voiced .

In 2016, the exterior of the tower was also renovated: Due to its poor condition, the 70-year-old wooden shingle tower roof was completely renewed and the facade of the tower was cleaned.

Building description

The Mariahilf Chapel consists of a rectangular nave and an apsidal choir . The tower is in the northeast and the sacristy in the southwest . The chapel was built from rubble stones or partly from brickwork (sacristy and probably also vestibule).

Furnishing

Altars

The chapel inside

The main altar and the two side altars were probably built around the years 1720 to 1730.

A replica of the Mariahilf picture by Lucas Cranach serves as the altarpiece of the main altar . This is flanked by two carved figures , which show the Evangelist John and John the Baptist . In the oval frontispiece, on the other hand, the picture “ God the Father with Dove” is shown, which is framed by a putto on the right and left. In addition, two angels kneel on the sides of the picture.

The altar panel on the left side shows the Holy Family with Mary , Anna , Joachim , Joseph and Jesus as well as above the God the Father and a figure of the Holy Spirit . On the oval frontispiece there is a stigmatization of Francis , which is flanked by the carved figures of a priest and John of Nepomuk .

On the altar panel of the right side altar is shown Anthony of Padua to whom Our Lady appears. The frontispiece shows Johannes von Nepomuk , who is framed by two carved figures, which represent a saint and a bishop (possibly Chur diocesan patrons Emerita and Luzius ).

Ceiling paintings

The ceiling paintings in the choir and nave show three scenes from the life of Mary : in the choir the Visitation of the Virgin Mary and in the nave the Annunciation and the offering of Jesus in the temple . A chronological classification of the ceiling paintings is practically only possible on the basis of stylistic features . The dating varies between the first half of the 18th century and the middle of the 19th century.

organ

The purchase of an organ for the Mariahilf Chapel is documented for the year 1868 . This came from the parish of Mols and was probably set up in the Mariahilf chapel in 1869/1870. The exact year the organ was built and its builder have not been passed down beyond any doubt.

Bells

The Mariahilf Chapel has two bells : the larger of the bells with a diameter of 50 centimeters is dated to around 1300. This is said to have moved from Gutenberg Castle to Mariahilf Chapel at the end of the 18th century . The second bell has a diameter of 42.5 centimeters and bears an inscription with the year 1508.

literature

  • Arthur Brunhart: The legendary origins . In: The Mariahilf Chapel. Festschrift on the occasion of the 700th anniversary in 1989 , 1989, pp. 13–18.
  • Arthur Brunhart: Renovated Mariahilf Chapel open again. In: 9496. Information magazine of the municipality of Balzers, No. 185, August 2012 , p. 16.
  • Cornelia Herrmann: The art monuments of the Principality of Liechtenstein. The Oberland. 2007, pp. 57-65.
  • Paul Vogt: On the history of construction . In: The Mariahilf Chapel. Festschrift on the occasion of the 700th anniversary in 1989 , 1989, pp. 19–35.
  • Rita Vogt: Artistic equipment . In: The Mariahilf Chapel. Festschrift on the occasion of the 700th anniversary in 1989 , 1989, pp. 49–57.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Cornelia Herrmann: The art monuments of the Principality of Liechtenstein. The Oberland. 2007, p. 57; Mariahilf Chapel . Balzers community, last accessed on August 3, 2017.
  2. ↑ a b c Paul Vogt: On the history of construction . In: The Mariahilf Chapel. Festschrift on the occasion of the 700th anniversary in 1989 , 1989, p. 31.
  3. Jump up to: Arthur Brunhart: The legendary origins . In: The Mariahilf Chapel. Festschrift on the occasion of the 700th anniversary in 1989 , 1989, pp. 13–18.
  4. ↑ Arthur Brunhart: The legendary origins. In: The Mariahilf Chapel. Festschrift on the occasion of the 700th anniversary in 1989. 1989, p. 14.
  5. ↑ Arthur Brunhart: The legendary origins . In: The Mariahilf Chapel. Festschrift on the occasion of the 700th anniversary in 1989 , 1989, p. 18.
  6. ↑ a b c Cornelia Herrmann: The art monuments of the Principality of Liechtenstein. The Oberland. 2007, p. 57.
  7. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Cornelia Herrmann: The art monuments of the Principality of Liechtenstein. The Oberland. 2007, p. 58.
  8. ↑ Cornelia Herrmann: The art monuments of the Principality of Liechtenstein. The Oberland. 2007, pp. 57-58.
  9. ↑ Cornelia Herrmann: The art monuments of the Principality of Liechtenstein. The Oberland. 2007, p. 58; Paul Vogt: On the history of construction . In: The Mariahilf Chapel. Festschrift on the occasion of the 700th anniversary in 1989 , 1989, pp. 25–26.
  10. ↑ Cornelia Herrmann: The art monuments of the Principality of Liechtenstein. The Oberland. 2007, p. 58; Paul Vogt: On the history of construction . In: The Mariahilf Chapel. Festschrift on the occasion of the 700th anniversary in 1989 , 1989, p. 26.
  11. ↑ Cornelia Herrmann: The art monuments of the Principality of Liechtenstein. The Oberland. 2007, SS 58 and note 295.
  12. ^ Paul Vogt: On the history of construction . In: The Mariahilf Chapel. Festschrift on the occasion of the 700th anniversary in 1989 , 1989, p. 31.
  13. ↑ a b Liechtenstein Fatherland of January 5, 2012, pp. 1 and 3; Liechtenstein Fatherland of November 29, 2012, p. 3.
  14. ^ A b Arthur Brunhart: Renovated Mariahilf Chapel again. In: 9496. Information magazine of the municipality of Balzers, No. 185, August 2012 , p. 16.
  15. ↑ Renovation work on the Mariahilf chapel . Communication from the municipality, last accessed on August 3, 2017.
  16. ↑ Cornelia Herrmann: The art monuments of the Principality of Liechtenstein. The Oberland. 2007, pp. 61-62.
  17. ↑ a b c d Cornelia Herrmann: The art monuments of the Principality of Liechtenstein. The Oberland. 2007, pp. 61-62; Rita Vogt: Artistic equipment. In: The Mariahilf Chapel. Festschrift on the occasion of the 700th anniversary in 1989 , 1989, p. 49.
  18. ↑ a b c d e Cornelia Herrmann: The art monuments of the Principality of Liechtenstein. The Oberland. 2007, p. 63.
  19. ↑ a b Cornelia Herrmann: The art monuments of the Principality of Liechtenstein. The Oberland. 2007, p. 61.
  20. ↑ Cornelia Herrmann: The art monuments of the Principality of Liechtenstein. The Oberland. 2007, pp. 63-64.
  21. ↑ a b c Cornelia Herrmann: The art monuments of the Principality of Liechtenstein. The Oberland. 2007, p. 65.

Coordinates: 47 ° 3 '38.9 "  N , 9 ° 29' 24.2"  E ; CH1903:  seven hundred and fifty-five thousand eight hundred thirty  /  214235