Michaelskapelle (Oppenheim)
The Michaelskapelle in Oppenheim - a former cemetery chapel - is considered to be one of the largest and best preserved ossuary in Germany.
history
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The chapel opposite the churchyard in the rear area of the Gothic Katharinenkirche is dedicated to the Archangel Michael , who is considered the protector and companion of the dead souls in the realm of the dead.
It is no longer possible to trace exactly when construction of the two-story chapel building began. It is believed that it originated at the beginning of the 11th century. Other reports, however, assume that it was built in the 14th century. Between 1400 and 1750, the basement area as served ossuary (neulateinisch also Ossuary or charnel house called). During this time the remains of up to 20,000 people were kept there.
Due to a fire disaster in 1689, the Michael's Chapel was in ruins for a long time. It was only rebuilt in 1889 in the course of the renovation of the Katharinenkirche.
The ossuary is not open to the public, but can only be viewed through a grille. However, the vault can be visited on special tours.
Trivia
In the middle of the pile of bones is a skull completely covered in gold, the remnant of a television recording that was left in this location after filming was over. It is a real human skull.
See also
literature
- Hildebrand Gurlitt : The Katharinenkirche in Oppenheim a. Rh. Urban-Verlag, Freiburg i. Br. 1930 (under the title Building History of the Katharinenkirche in Oppenheim a. Rh. Dissertation, University of Frankfurt 1924).
- Bernhard Schütz: The Katharinenkirche in Oppenheim. de Gruyter, Berlin 1982, ISBN 3-11-008349-3 .
- Georg Dehio : Handbook of German Art Monuments , Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich 1972, pp. 686–691.
Web links
- Article about the ossuary in the FAZ
- Report from the Allgemeine Zeitung ( Memento from February 25, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
Coordinates: 49 ° 51 ′ 15 " N , 8 ° 21 ′ 15.3" E