Merklinghauser Chapel
The Merklinghauser Chapel of the Assumption of Mary is a Catholic pilgrimage church in Hallenberg in the Hochsauerlandkreis .
The church is located in the south of today's city of Hallenberg and used to be the parish church of the disappeared Hofgut and Merklinghausen . It was the first parish church in this area. Together with Merklinghausen, it belonged to the Deutz Benedictine monastery .
The oldest part of the church dates from the 12th century. The interior is a small vaulted hall with a rectangular choir. Inside there are late Romanesque wall paintings, which probably date from the 13th century and were uncovered in the 1980s. The work is strikingly similar to that in the churches in Schmallenberg-Berghausen and Schmallenberg-Wormbach . In the Westjoch there are decorative elements such as trees of life, octagonal stars and rosettes. In the east yoke, Christ is depicted as the judge of the world, surrounded by evangelist symbols.
The church is considered an early testimony to Benedictine devotion to Mary, first mentioned in 1161. Since the 13th century it has been an important place of pilgrimage at times. The basis was the image of grace “Our Lady of Merklinghausen” from the 13th century. Even today, the image is carried in a procession to the parish church of St. Heribert on the first Sunday after the Assumption of Mary , exhibited there and brought back to the chapel in a procession of lights in the evening.
In addition to the Madonna, the chapel contains a forked cross from the 14th century and a winged altar dated to 1562. This used to be part of the high altar of the parish church.
In the years 2016–2018, the church was extensively restored partly with funds from the Federal Commissioner for Culture and Media and the German Foundation for Monument Protection . In July 2019, representing many Romanesque churches in the Sauerland, it was named Monument of the Month in Westphalia-Lippe by the LWL Monument Preservation, Landscape and Building Culture in Westphalia .
literature
- Ingrid Reissland, Friedhelm Ackermann: Art landscape Hochsauerland . Guide to sites of artistic and cultural historical interest. Brilon 2000, pp. 64f.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Bettina Heine-Hippler: Monument of the Month: Pilgrimage Church of the Assumption of Mary in Hallenberg. Exemplary restoration with federal funds and funds from the German Foundation for Monument Protection. LWL monument preservation, landscape and building culture in Westphalia, accessed on August 17, 2019 .
Coordinates: 51 ° 6 ′ 31.5 ″ N , 8 ° 37 ′ 30.9 ″ E