Marienstein (Falkenstein)

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Marienstein
Falkenstein market
Coordinates: 49 ° 7 ′ 16 ″  N , 12 ° 27 ′ 45 ″  E
Height : 529 m above sea level NHN
Area : 1.66 ha
Residents : 8  (2014)
Population density : 482 inhabitants / km²
Incorporation : 1971
Postal code : 93167
Area code : 09462

The place Marienstein consists of the Triassic church, school, inn and is located on a 500 m high hilltop above the Perlbachtal in the Upper Bavarian Forest near Falkenstein (Upper Palatinate) .

View of Marienstein near Falkenstein

First evidence

Over the centuries the place name changed from Ernstain to Mandlstoa , Marnstein to Marienstein .

The name Marienstein does not indicate a place of pilgrimage to Mary, but is derived from Ernstain or Märnstein and suggests that there was originally a castle on the Ernstein or that it was a cultic center from the early days. Historians assume that there was a place of worship in Marienstein even in pre-Christian times. The Madonna figure, which was formerly in Marienstein and is now in the Falkenstein rectory, also dates from the beginning of the 16th century.

History of the church

A legend reports The year 1525 and the Bachler, as the inhabitants of the old community Au are still called by the locals because of the Perlbach flowing past, were under the rule of the Satzenhofer from Sengersberg . Two brothers lived inside the keep at that time, but they were always hostile to each other. Hatred heated the minds of the two fighters, and ultimately one of them became his brother's murderer. In order to be freed from the terrible curse of killing, the murderer went on a pilgrimage to Rome and returned with a vow to build a chapel on the Mandlstoa. And so a small church was built on a huge rock, that the rock man Peter was recommended to protect it because of its stony subsoil. The legend tells that the fratricide felt deep shame about his horrific deed and therefore no longer wanted to be seen by the people. But in order to still be able to get to his atonement church, he had a suspension bridge built from the nearby Sengersberg high above the meadows of the Perlbach, which arched in a mighty arc over to the Mandlstoa without piers. On the back of the so-called Hohe Wacht, a huge rock on which today's church tower sits, you can still see the two carved holes in which the supporting timbers rested.

Another legend from the time of its origins suggests the former conflict between Christianity and paganism: on the day of the inauguration of the new church, early in the morning the devil in the form of a huge pig ran around the Kirchberg with a terrible grunt to drive away the believers. But his plan failed, because the people rushed to the church, locked themselves there and called Peter for help. The sword-like saint appeared immediately on the Märnstein and cut off the pig's head with a single stroke. It immediately solidified to stone and can still be seen today as a mighty boulder called the pig's head. The remaining part of the wild beast, Peter went down into the valley in holy anger. A hamlet and the mountain ridge of the same name "Schweinsberg" keep this legend alive today.

The history of the origins of the church in Marienstein cannot be documented. It is believed that there was a castle with a chapel on the Marienstein in the Middle Ages, which may have been destroyed by the Hussites.

The visitation reports of 1559 and 1590 show that the church in Marienstein was dedicated to St. Peter is consecrated and belonged to the parish of Zell, 14 km away. When the Palatinate part of the parish of Zell became Protestant in 1556, Marienstein belonged to the Catholic side.

The old church of Marienstein, which also included a rectory (on the Wiedenhof), a sacristan's house and a cemetery, was demolished in 1719. The new church was larger and cost 1,558 guilders. It was inaugurated on August 10, 1729 by the Regensburg Bishop Gottfried Langwerth von Simmern . In March 1821 parts of the church burned down as a result of a lightning strike; but they were rebuilt immediately afterwards. The church - in the form it still stands today - was inaugurated with an organ in October of the same year.

The church is a simple building with three window axes, which is rounded towards the east. On the west side there is a tower which is square in the lower half and octagonal in the upper half; at the top is the onion dome. The altar is made of marbled wood, has leaves and bands on the sides and was made in the years 1719–1729. The picture in the middle shows Jesus handing over the keys to Peter. Above is a small image with a papal crown and a shepherd's staff, the symbols for St. Peter. To the left and right of the high altar picture, reference is made to the life of Mary on two panels: on the left, Mary's walk to Elisabeth, on the right, the announcement of the birth of the Lord. On the north side there is a painted wooden statue of the Madonna, with both arms holding the child who is only dressed in a loincloth. Due to the plastic features, it is assumed that this statue is a work from the 15th or early 16th century. This is the center of the pilgrimage. The glass windows, which were designed by B. Spreng, Falkenstein, during the last renovation in 1978, refer directly to Peter and Paul. On the north side they show Peter the fisherman of men catching fish, in the middle Peter with the keys and the picture at the back shows the crucifixion of Peter. The south side depicts scenes from the life of St. Paul: in front Paul in the Pharisee school, in the middle Paul as persecutor of Christians and in the back the martyrdom by beheading with the sword. The two windows at the entrance were designed by the same artist. One shows Christ on the Mount of Olives, the other the stoning of St. Stephen. On the north side there is also a simple sculpture in the front corner that depicts Mary in the rosary. There is also a painting of the Annunciation, apparently from the 18th century.

In 1848 a staircase with 92 carved stone steps was added.

Filial church and inn

Since there was no longer a separate priest in Marienstein, at the beginning of the 19th century the pastor or his co-worker from Zell went to the branch church every second or third Sunday . This thinned-out support led to Marienstein seeking, from 1838, without success, the parish to Arrach and later to the parish of Falkenstein, which was newly founded in 1923. The parish to Falkenstein could be realized in 1938 and connected with it - with partial support from the monastery Hofstetten - the regular Sunday service could be guaranteed. In 1923 Marienstein got its own cemetery again.

The Marienstein church was renovated several times in the 20th century. For example, in 1929 on the occasion of the 200th anniversary, when, among others, the Falkensteiner church painter Rudolf Schmalzl participated in the redesign. In 1949 a sacristy was added to the church. The organ bought in 1953 was replaced by a digital organ in 1993. During a comprehensive interior renovation from 1996, on the one hand, the entire furniture was prepared and a heater was installed and, on the other hand, all the figures and the high altar were restored and two ceiling paintings were created by the artist Franz Berg from Michelsneukirchen. In 2000 these renovations were completed.

School and pub

The school in Marienstein was not much younger than the church. The sacristan's house also served as a schoolhouse; For a long time, the main occupation of the sacristan was tailoring. School lessons, which were voluntary for a long time, only existed in winter. Franz Xaver Sturm was employed as the first full-time teacher in 1827. In 1836 Marienstein was elevated to a school exposure by the episcopal ordinariate and the priest Karl Rath was appointed the first school exposure. When this position could no longer be filled in 1885, the government had to hire a teacher.

Until the 1960s, the old school house was inhabited by the teachers' family and students from 1st to 8th grade were taught in a single classroom. In 1961 it was decided to build a new school building as a two-class elementary school. In the course of the school reform in 1982, teaching in Marienstein was completely discontinued. The old schoolhouse was sold to private individuals and the new one was made available to KLJB Marienstein as "Haus Sankt Georg" as a youth home.

Like the church and the old schoolhouse, the old, listed tavern, which has been run by the Eder family for many generations, is still of great importance to Marienstein. On the one hand, not only Sunday worshipers meet in this inn, but also clubs and the people from the area who formed the independent community of Au until 1971. On the other hand, the “beautiful little mountain church” and the “Eder excursion restaurant” are always mentioned together in numerous tourist brochures when Marienstein is mentioned in the context of the sights of the Bavarian Forest.

literature

  • The art monuments of the Kingdom of Bavaria II / 1, Roding District Office, Munich 1905
  • Josef Heigl: History of Falkenstein / Opf. and surroundings with special consideration of church history. Self-published by Markt Falkenstein, 1954
  • Karl Schwarzfischer: Marienstein - Forgotten wooden castle and old healing practice, in: Oberpfälzer Heimat 16 (1972) 128ff
  • Ulf Forst: Marienstein, Au and Sengersberg. In: Freiwillige Feuerwehr Au-Marienstein: Festschrift for the 75th anniversary of the volunteer fire department Au-Marienstein , 1976, p. 42f
  • Katholische Landjugend Marienstein (KLJB): Festschrift for the 25th anniversary of the founding of the KLJB Marienstein , 1989
  • Church administration Marienstein: Festschrift and church chronicle for the 275th anniversary of the Church of St. Peter and Paul Marienstein: 1729–2004 , 2004
  • Heinz Glashauser: stoneware. Marienstein at the interface between pagan and Christianity , in: Falkensteiner Heimatheft 3, "Religious Monuments Wandering" . Kultur- und Heimatverein Falkensteiner Vorwald eV, May 2007

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Marienstein by Dr. Georg Turba , used the following literature: Die Kunstdenkmäler des Kingdom Bayern II / 1, Bezirksamt Roding, Munich 1905 Utz, Hans J .: Pilgrimages in the Diocese of Regensburg, Munich 1981 Schwarzfischer, Karl: Marienstein - Forgotten wooden castle and old healing practice, in: Oberpfälzer Heimat 16 (1972), 128ff.
  2. ^ Heinz Glashauser: Stoneware. Marienstein at the interface between pagan and Christianity, in: Falkensteiner Heimatheft 3, "Religious Monuments Wandering". Kultur- und Heimatverein Falkensteiner Vorwald eV, May 2007
  3. ↑ Josef Heigl: History of Falkenstein / Opf. and surroundings with special consideration of church history, self-published by Markt Falkenstein, 1954, p. 221
  4. ↑ Ulf Forst: Marienstein, Au and Sengersberg. In: Au-Marienstein volunteer fire brigade: Festschrift for the 75th anniversary of the Au-Marienstein volunteer fire brigade, 1976, p. 42
  5. ^ Kultur- und Heimatverein Falkensteiner Vorwald eV - picture puzzle 15th administrative association of the communities of Wald and Zell. Retrieved January 21, 2017.
  6. ↑ a b c Church administration Marienstein: Festschrift and church chronicle for the 275th anniversary of the Church of St. Peter and Paul Marienstein: 1729–2004, 2004
  7. ^ A b Josef Heigl: History of Falkenstein / Opf. and the surrounding area with special consideration of church history, self-published by Markt Falkenstein, 1954, p. 222
  8. ↑ Josef Heigl, p. 228
  9. ↑ Rudolf Schmalzl is listed by Max Schmalzl as his nephew and also a well-known church painter.
  10. ↑ Josef Heigl, p. 226ff
  11. ↑ Festschrift 1989

Web links

Commons : Marienstein (Falkenstein)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files