Shrine of Mary

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Front and back view of the Marienschreins, choir hall, Aachen Cathedral Front and back view of the Marienschreins, choir hall, Aachen Cathedral
Front and back view of the Marienschreins, choir hall, Aachen Cathedral

The Marian shrine in Aachen Cathedral is a reliquary shrine commissioned by the chapter of the Aachen Marienstift around 1220 and completed in 1239 . The work of art, which can be assigned to the transition period from Romanesque to Gothic , is one of the most important goldsmith works of the 13th century , along with the Karlsschrein .

Function and tradition

The Marian shrine open during the sanctuary tour

The shrine is used to keep the four large relics and shrines of Aachen Cathedral. These are in detail : the diapers and loincloth of Jesus , the dress of Mary and the decapitation cloth of John the Baptist , which has been shown to the population and pilgrims every seven years since the plague year 1349 as part of the Aachen shrine tour. In addition, until the 19th century it was the repository for the box Noli me tangere (“Don't touch me”), a silver-gilt casket with mysterious contents.

According to an old custom, the Marian shrine is sealed with an artistically crafted lock, which is also filled with lead . The key that goes with it is sawed up by two master goldsmiths . The head of the key is given to the cathedral chapter , the beard is handed over to the city superiors, which is explained by the so-called custody or conkustody right , i.e. the right of safekeeping and guardianship of the sanctuaries shared with the cathedral chapter. At the beginning of each sanctuary tour, the lock is smashed to open the shrine again. The locks that are no longer used are presented in a permanent exhibition in the Aachen Cathedral Treasury . These padlocks were without any special decoration up to and including 1881, and for the first time from 1888, the Aachen collegiate goldsmith Bernhard Witte created locks with jewelry or coats of arms in order to give them a special meaning. Their artistic design, which is usually developed by the founder of the castle together with the goldsmith commissioned by him, is varied according to the changing tastes of the time. So z. For example, the 1986 castle bears the logo of the Catholic Day taking place parallel to the Shrine Tour in Aachen . The castle, which has been in use since the end of the sanctuary tour in 2014, was donated by Michaela and Michael Wirtz and is designed after the Nebra sky disc .

Form and design

The shrine is 95 cm high, 54 cm wide and 184 cm long and has the shape of a single-nave basilica with a short transept. The core is made of oak. Above it is silver, embossed and gilded, engraved strips, opaque silver enamels, filigree with stones, as well as ancient and medieval stone carvings. More than 1000 gemstones were used to create the work of art. The fire-gilded figures of the twelve apostles are shown on the two long sides . The four sides of the head are decorated with depictions of Christ , Mother Mary with the Child of God, Pope Leo III. and Charlemagne . The roof areas show scenes from the life of Jesus in gold reliefs .

  • Christ

  • The apostles Paul, Andrew and Philip

  • Leo III.

  • Charlemagne

  • Lock and sawed-up key

classification

Stylistically, the Marian shrine is in the tradition of the Rhenish- Maasland shrines of the late Romanesque, but already shows a discussion of the beginning Gothic. Presumably at least two goldsmiths worked on the work: While the older still worked in the style of the Karlsschreins, the younger created more plastic and individual figures in the Gothic style. The numerous ornamental details also reveal influences on the workshop of the Remaclus shrine (around 1240) in Stavelot .

restoration

Due to the centuries of strain during the journeys to the sanctuary, as well as being carried along during the associated processions , there was significant damage to the Marian shrine. The gold-plated silver had tarnished, some parts had come loose, others had only been makeshift repaired and showed dents, cracks and holes. That is why it was spotted and preserved in the goldsmith's workshop in Aachen Cathedral from 1989 to 2000. Over 3000 individual parts had to be replaced, cleaned and restored. This restoration work was documented in all phases by the WDR . Since March 2000, the Marian shrine has been back in its place in a showcase in the choir hall of Aachen Cathedral. Every year it is inspected and, if necessary, removed from the display case and cleaned.

literature

  • Stephan Beissel : The Marian shrine of the Aachen cathedral . In: Aachener Geschichtsverein (Hrsg.): Journal of the Aachener Geschichtsverein . 5th volume. Benrath & Vogelsang, Aachen 1883, p. 1–36 ( online [accessed March 1, 2015]).
  • Ernst Günther Grimme : The Aachen cathedral treasure (= Aachen art sheets . Vol. 42). 2nd edition, Schwann, Düsseldorf 1973, pp. 71-73 No. 48.
  • Helga Giersiepen: The inscriptions of the Aachen cathedral (= The German inscriptions , Volume 31). Reichert, Wiesbaden 1992, ISBN 3-88226-511-6 , pp. 37-39 No. 35 ( online ).
  • Herta Lepie , Georg Minkenberg : The treasury of the Aachen cathedral. Brimberg, Aachen 1995, ISBN 3-923773-16-1 , pp. 90-91.
  • Jürgen Fitschen: The goldsmith sculpture of the Marienschreins in Aachen Cathedral. A stylistic investigation. Lang, Frankfurt a. M. 1998, ISBN 3-631-32584-3 .
  • Dieter PJ Wynands (Ed.): The Aachen shrine of Mary. A commemorative publication. Einhard-Verlag, Aachen 2000, ISBN 3-930701-68-5 .
  • Ernst Günther Grimme: The Karlsschrein and the Marienschrein in Aachen Cathedral , Einhard-Verlag, Aachen 2002, ISBN 3-936342-01-6 .
  • Hans Jürgen Roth: An image of the sky. Aachen Cathedral - liturgy, bible, art. Thouet, Aachen 2011, pp. 91–98 (with theological focus).
  • Walter Maas, Pit Siebigs: The Aachen Cathedral. Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 2013, ISBN 978-3-7954-2445-9 , pp. 94–96.
  • Herta Lepie: The Aachen Cathedral Treasure. In: Clemens MM Bayer, Dominik M. Meiering , Martin Seidler, Martin Struck (eds.): Treasure art in Rhenish churches and museums. Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 2013, ISBN 978-3-7954-2827-3 , pp. 121–137, here pp. 134–135.
  • Christoph Stender , Michael Lejeune: Locked and open. The castles of the Marienschreins and the sanctuary tour to Aachen. Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 2014, ISBN 978-3-7954-2835-8 .

Web links

Commons : Marienschrein  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Bruno Reudenbach: The Marian shrine and its relics - a problematic relationship. In: Andreas Gormans, Alexander Markschies (eds.): Venite et videte. Art-historical dimensions of the Aachen sanctuary tour (= Aachen contributions to pastoral and educational issues. Vol. 27). Contribution to a scientific conference of the Institute for Art History of the RWTH Aachen in cooperation with the Episcopal Academy of the Diocese of Aachen. Aachen 2012, pp. 94–121.
  2. ↑ Hans Siemons : The custody right of the city of Aachen to the four great sanctuaries and to three royal insignia. In: Journal of the Aachen History Association . Vol. 102 (1999/2000), pp. 137-163.
  3. ↑ Eckhard Hoog: Exciting book about the riddle of the Marienschreins . In: Aachener Zeitung from June 11, 2014.
  4. ↑ Herta Lepie, Georg Minkenberg: The treasury of the Aachen cathedral . Aachen 1995, pp. 90-91.

Coordinates: 50 ° 46 ′ 29 ″  N , 6 ° 5 ′ 3.2 ″  E