Michaelskirche (Fulda)

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Michaelskirche
Michaelskirche, interior

The Michaelskirche in Fulda was built in the pre-Romanesque Carolingian style by order of Abbot Eigil between 820 and 822. It is considered the oldest replica of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Germany and is one of the most important medieval sacred buildings in Germany. It served as the funerary chapel of the Fulda Monastery , founded in 744 , one of the leading cultural centers of the early Middle Ages , and as the burial place of its builder Eigil.

Its importance is also based on the fact that in the Vita Aegil Abbatis Fuldensis of the Fulda monk Brun Candidus a contemporary interpretation of the building symbolism has been preserved, which explicitly refers to Rabanus Maurus .

architecture

The Michaelskirche is located north of the cathedral on the Michaelsberg

The Michaelskirche stands in the immediate vicinity of the Fulda Cathedral on the Michaelsberg. Only the crypt has survived from the original Carolingian building. However, essential elements of the original architectural concept, which is attested by the description in the Vita Aegil by Brun Candidus von Fulda and which is described below, were replaced by the renovation of the 10th and 11th centuries after extensive destruction, possibly by an invasion of Hungary , retained. The central building , which is in the early Christian tradition, rose above eight columns as a rotunda . The central area was surrounded by what was originally a single-storey corridor, now two-storey. The rotunda originally had a vault or dome with a visible keystone . Under the church there was the crypt , which was laid out as a basement, arched over two concentric wall rings and a central column and accessible from the outside , which as the oldest preserved component dates back to the year 820 and, as a very early example of a hall-like crypt, is unique in its construction. It therefore had a central room, which was formed by the inner wall ring and here too was surrounded by a barrel-vaulted gallery. In the center was the short central column with its ionizing capital , which, together with the inner circular wall, supported the inner vault ring. The capital, which appears archaic despite the inclusion of antique elements, which for stylistic reasons is considered to be older than the building, is probably "secondary use" and "apparently comes from the Sturmiabbey around 750 or 765".

Furnishing

Conceived as the burial place of its builder, Abbot Eigil, the crypt originally had neither its own altar nor a spatial connection with the upper floor. Eigil's grave is still to this day together with another in the eastern part of the gallery. The ionizing column capital of the central column of the crypt probably comes from the Sturmius basilica from the second half of the 8th century, which had to give way to the new building of the so-called Ratgar basilica .

Central column in the crypt

The stylistically more modern Corinthian capitals of four of the eight columns that support the inner round on the upper floor can be dated to the 9th century, and at least one of them probably comes from the Carolingian founding building. On the other hand, the four other capitals are cube capitals of a special, pressed shape from the early 11th century. In the interior there are frescoes from the 11th century. The church originally had three altars, the titles of which were written by Hrabanus Maurus. The main altar, flanked by the two side altars, may have stood in the rectangular, semicircular east apse. Relics from the Holy Sepulcher belonged to the original furnishings, which were in the main altar along with other relics for men. In the 11th century, based on these prerequisites, there was an expanded conception and reorganization of the altar landscape, within the framework of which a replica of the holy grave was created in the center of the church.

Building symbolism

Brun Candidus interprets the overall concept as a symbolic representation of the relationship between Christ and the Church (Christi et ecclesiae puto praesignari posse figuram), the central column in the crypt and the keystone are symbols for Christ , who began and will complete the construction of the church, The eight pillars are symbols of the people who fulfilled the eight Beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount and could therefore be regarded as the pillars of the church, the circular shape symbolizes eternal life and the lasting rewards that the believers could hope for there. It is believed that the Anastasis rotunda of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem or late antique and early medieval round and polygonal buildings such as Santa Constanza in Rome, the Rotunda of Mary in Centula ( Saint-Riquier ) or the Palatine Chapel in Aachen served as inspiration. A tradition of two-storey grave structures that goes back to antiquity is also being considered.

history

On the site of the monastery cemetery, the church was designed based on the model of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem from 820 to 822 under Abbot Eigil by Rabanus Maurus (according to an outdated view by the monk and builder Rachulf, who also built the crypts in the Ratgar basilica ) and placed under the patronage of Archangel Michael on January 15, 822 by Archbishop Haistulph . The handling of the crypt served as a charnel house : this is where the bones were piled up that were hidden when graves were dug in the monastery cemetery.

A replica of the Holy Sepulcher with three altars on the upper floor was set up in 1093 at the latest, but it is no longer preserved. In the 10th and 11th centuries, extensive renovations took place after extensive destruction, the rotunda was expanded to form a cross and a west tower was added. In the second half of the 12th century the tower was given a bell storey. In 1618 the tower above the rotunda was raised and given a conical pointed helmet. In the years 1715 to 1716 the Rochus Chapel was built on the north side of the Michaelskirche.

The property of the monastery formed the Propsteiamt Michelsberg .

List of known provosts from Michaelsberg

  • Konrad von Bellersheim, officiated from 1357 to 1368
  • Gottfried von Bimbach, officiated from 1397 to 1415
  • Johann Küchenmeister, officiated around 1448
  • Johann von Ebersberg called von Weyhers, officiated around 1493
  • Philipp von Trümbach, officiated from 1535 to 1548
  • Philipp Georg Schenk zu Schweinsberg 1552 to?, 1567–1568 prince abbot, provost also on the Neuenberg, in Holzkirchen, on the Johannesberg
  • Philipp Schadt von Ostheim, officiated from 1569 to 1579
  • Kaspar (Caspar) von Wildungen (-12.7.1601), around 1587, also provost in Blankenau 1581–1601, provost in Holzkirchen 1593–1601 and in Zella around 1593
  • Johann Friedrich von Schwalbach 1590–1593, then provost on the Andreasberg in Blankenau, 1606 prince abbot of Fulda and 1607 provost from Johannesberg
  • Reinhard Ludwig von Dalwigk, officiated around 1600–1601
  • Daniel von Merlau, officiated from 1601 to 1609, also provost in Zella
  • Johann Bernhard Schenk zu Schweinsberg 1616–1618, then prince abbot of Fulda and provost on the Johannesberg, further provost in Blankenau and on the Neuenberg
  • Johann Friedrich von Kerpen, officiated from 1627 to 1630
  • Adalbert von Schleifras until 1683, partially overlapping with Blankenau, then provost von Neuenberg and dean, then prince abbot of Fulda
  • Stephan von Clodh, served from 1701 to around 1727
  • Emanuel Friedrich von Kötzschau 1735–1736
  • Heinrich von Warnsdorf (August 23, 1745-), sworn on September 11, 1763, capitular September 26, 1775, officiated from 1786, before that provost in Zella

Bells

Three bells hang in the massive west tower ; The large St. James bell was once cast for Wusen in East Prussia and came to Fulda as a replacement for the destroyed bells after the Second World War. The Mary's bell rings for the Angelus at 12 noon .

No.
  		Surname
  		Casting year
  		Caster
  		Nominal
  		Inscription
(translation)
1 James 1712 Michael Wittwerck, Danzig f sharp 1 The name of the Lord be praised. Michael Wittwerck , Danzig, created me in 1712. Sankt Jakobus in Wusen; Church patron Saint John the Evangelist, Saint Peter and Saint Andrew.
2 Maria 1958 Friedrich Wilhelm Schilling , Heidelberg g sharp 1 Dear Mary with the child, give us all your blessings .
3 Michael 1958 Friedrich Wilhelm Schilling, Heidelberg h 1 Archangel Michael, remember us .

Views

  • Michaelskirche in Fulda

  • Central tower

  • Bay window and sundial

  • Michaelskirche above the cathedral square

  • Wall at the cathedral square

  • Ewald Mataré : Memorial to the victims of the two world wars

  • Interior view, view of the central building

  • Interior view, view of the handling on the upper floor of the central building

  • Side altar

  • Round dome

literature

introduction

  • Fulda: St. Michael's burial chapel. In: Annett Laube-Rosenpflanzer, Lutz Rosenpflanzer: Churches, monasteries, royal courts. Pre-Romanesque architecture between the Weser and Elbe. Mitteldeutscher Verlag, Halle 2007, ISBN 978-3-89812-499-7 , p. 34 ff.
  • Johannes Burkardt: Fulda, Michaelsberg . In: Friedhelm Juergensmeier , Franziskus Büll, Regina Elisabeth Schwerdtfeger: The Benedictine monasteries and nunneries in Hessen = Hessen (= Germania Benedictina. 7). Eos-Verlag, St. Ottilien 2004, ISBN 3-8306-7199-7 , pp. 456-464.
  • Erwin Sturm : The Michaelskirche in Fulda. 20th edition. Parzeller, Fulda 2002, ISBN 3-7900-0150-3 .
  • Friedrich Oswald among others: Pre-Romanesque church buildings. Catalog of the monuments up to the exit of the Ottonen (= publications of the Central Institute for Art History in Munich. Vol. 3, 1, ZDB -ID 255790-3 ). Prestel, Munich 1966, pp. 87-89.
  • Werner Jacobsen among others: Pre-Romanesque church buildings. Catalog of the monuments up to the exit of the Ottonen (= publications of the Central Institute for Art History in Munich. Vol. 3, 2). Supplementary volume. Prestel, Munich 1991, ISBN 3-7913-0961-7 , p. 133.

Special questions

  • Günther Binding : The early and high medieval builder as sapiens architectus (= publications of the Department of Architectural History of the Art History Institute of the University of Cologne. Vol. 61, ISSN  0940-7812 ). Department of Architectural History of the Art History Institute, Cologne 1996.
  • Gereon Becht-Jördens: Vita Aegil abbatis Fvldensis a Candido ad modestvm edita prosa et versibvs. opvs geminvm of the IX. Century. Introduction and critical edition. Self-published by the author, Marburg 1994, pp. XIX – XXVIII, here pp. XXI f .; S. LI f.
  • Gereon Becht-Jördens: Text, image and architecture as carriers of an ecclesiological conception of monastery history. The Carolingian Vita Aegil by Brun Candidus von Fulda (approx. 840). In: Gottfried Kerscher (Ed.): Hagiography and Art. The cult of saints in writing, images and architecture. Dietrich Reimer, Berlin 1993, ISBN 3-496-01107-6 , pp. 75-106, here pp. 89 f.
  • Gereon Becht-Jördens: The Vita Aegil abbatis Fuldensis of Brun Candidus. An opus geminum from the age of the Anian reform in a biblical-figural background style (= Fuldaer Hochschulschriften. Vol. 17). Knecht, Frankfurt am Main 1992, ISBN 3-7820-0649-6 .
  • Gereon Becht-Jördens: The Vita Aegil of Brun Candidus as a source for questions from the history of Fulda in the age of the Anian reform. In: Hessisches Jahrbuch für Landesgeschichte. Vol. 42, 1992, ISSN  0073-2001 , pp. 19-48, here pp. 33-36.
  • Carsten Fleischhauer: The Vita Eigilis of Brun Candidus and the Michaeliskirche in Fulda. In: Fulda history sheets. Vol. 68, 1992, ISSN  0016-2612 , pp. 85-103.
  • Otfried Ellger: The Michaelskirche in Fulda as evidence of the care for the dead. For the conception of a cemetery and grave church in the Carolingian monastery of Fulda (= publications of the Fulda History Association. Vol. 55). Parzeller, Fulda 1989, ISBN 3-7900-0192-9 (also: Freiburg (Breisgau), University, dissertation, 1985).
  • Matthias Untermann : The central building in the Middle Ages. Form - function - diffusion. Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1989, ISBN 3-534-10267-3 , esp. Pp. 50-58.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Erwin Sturm (ed.): The Michaelskirche zu Fulda. 2002.
  2. ↑ Gereon Becht-Jördens: The Vita Aegil of Brun Candidus as a source. 1992, here pp. 33-36; Gereon Becht-Jördens: text, image and architecture. 1993, p. 89 f .; Gereon Becht-Jördens: Vita Aegil abbatis Fvldensis a Candido. 1994, pp. XIX-XXVIII, especially pp. XXI f., S. LI f .; Günther Binding: The early and high medieval builder. 1996. Carsten Fleischhauer's: The Vita Eigilis. 1992, expressed doubts about the authenticity of the interpretation are unfounded.
  3. ↑ Cf. Werner Jacobson et al., Pre-Romanesque church buildings. Supplementary volume (see literature below), p. 133; see. ders, Early capital art around the Fulda Abbey, in: Franz J. Much (Ed.), Architecture of the Middle Ages in Europe. , Hans Erich Kubach on his 75th birthday. Stuttgarter Gesellschaft für Kunst und Denkmalpflege, Stuttgart 1988, pp. 257–322, here pp. 289–293.
  4. ↑ Ellger: The Michaelskirche in Fulda as a testimony to the care for the dead. 1989, pp. 17–18 with reference to Werner Jacobsen; Fulda: St. Michael's burial chapel. In: Annett Laube-Rosenpflanzer, Lutz Rosenpflanzer: Churches, monasteries, royal courts. 2007.
  5. ↑ Hrabanus Maurus, carm. 42, ed. Ernst Dümmler. In: MGH Poet. Lat. II. Weidmann, Berlin 1884, p. 209: Hrabanus Maurus, carmen 42 (Altartituli by St. Michael) .
  6. ↑ Cf. Ellger: The Michaelskirche zu Fulda as a testimony to care for the dead. 1989, p. 19, p. 22.
  7. ↑ a b cf. Ellger: The Michaelskirche in Fulda as a testimony to care for the dead. 1989, pp. 20-30.
  8. ↑ Critical to Ellger: The Michaelskirche zu Fulda as a testimony to the care for the dead. 1989, pp. 31-51, esp. Pp. 32-33, pp. 35-36, pp. 38-40.
  9. ↑ Cf. Ellger: The Michaelskirche zu Fulda as a testimony to care for the dead. 1989, pp. 40-51.
  10. ↑ Cf. Ellger: The Michaelskirche zu Fulda as a testimony to care for the dead. 1989, pp. 52-60.
  11. ↑ Gereon Becht-Jördens: The Vita Aegil of Brun Candidus as a source. 1992, pp. 33-36
  12. ^ Fritz Usinger : Residence of Heaven . In: Die Rhön (= Merian , vol. 17 (1964), booklet 4), pp. 29–37, here p. 31.
  13. ↑ a b Michaelskirche in the Scientific Image Archive (April 2011)
  14. ↑ Susanne Bohl: Michaelskirche - the magic of a cemetery chapel . In: Susanne Bohl and others (ed.): Fulda. 50 treasures and specialties . Michael Imhof Verlag, Petersberg 2016, ISBN 978-3-7319-0425-0 , pp. 34–37, here p. 36.

Web links

Commons : St. Michaelskirche Fulda  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 50 ° 33 ′ 17.3 "  N , 9 ° 40 ′ 19.6"  E