Mission museum in Sankt Ottilien
 Entrance to the Mission Museum |
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| Data | |
|---|---|
| place | Saint Ottilien |
| Art |
Museum with objects from Asia and Africa
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| architect | Michael Kurz |
| opening | 1887, in the current rooms since 1912 |
| Number of visitors (annually) | 50,000 |
| management |
P. Theophil Gaus OSB
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| Website | |
| ISIL | DE-MUS-182216 |
The Mission Museum in Sankt Ottilien is a museum established in 1887 in the rooms of the Archabbey of Sankt Ottilien , which consists of an ethnological and natural history collection from the mission areas of the monastery and documents the history of the Benedictine Congregation of St. Ottilien . The collection focuses on the original mission areas in German East Africa , the northern part of Korea , Manchuria and Zululand . Sankt Ottilien is a suburb of Eresing in the Landsberg am Lech district in Upper Bavaria in the Free State of Bavaria .
After being closed for two years due to renovation, it reopened on October 18, 2015.
Mission and purpose of the mission museum
The whole life of the monks should serve the glorification of God: Ut in omnibus glorificetur Deus . Before that, however, there were rather more profane hurdles that had to be overcome. In 1887 the congregation received state permission and the church mandate to send missionaries to German East Africa. Large parts of Manchuria and northern Korea were added in 1910. Zululand, a tribal area in South Africa , 1921. Since the beginning of the missionary work, the monks have sent ethnologically or zoologically remarkable pieces from their new sphere of activity to the mother house of the congregation in Sankt Ottilien. This resulted in a focus on the German East Africa collection. It provides information about traditional religions , ancestral cults and sorcery . Holdings from Korea and Manchuria depict the Buddhist religion, household appliances, weapons, clothing and jewelry. This gives an insight into the everyday life of the peoples among whom the Missionary Benedictines work.
The museum sees its task in the documentation of the missionary aspects of the Congregation of the Mission Benedictines. That is why it contains a series of mission statistics, boards, maps and photographs of the mission area. The ethnological collections essentially close with the decay of native cultures around the time of the First World War . The ethnological and zoological collection does not claim to be complete, even if it is superior to some state collections.
The zoological collection has an African focus because the flora and fauna there differs to a much greater extent from the European and Asian flora and fauna. All animals are stuffed and prepared in realistic positions.
History of the mission
Room I gives an overview of the history of the congregation and the abbots of the archabbey, its daughter foundations and the location of the mission area. The biological collection begins on the left. At the front of room II hangs a display with the title Germany sends missionaries - heralds the good news to the Gentiles . In addition, the room deals with biological and ethnological subjects from East Africa. In a large diorama , horse and lyre antelopes, gazelles, klipspringer and various types of monkeys and semi- apes can be seen. Parts of the animal body such as elephant skulls, tusks and molars are exhibited in various showcases.
The large wooden figure of a Tanzanian guard , who should deter theft and laziness when the host is absent, stands on the right side of the room. A pot with bones, pieces of wood and predatory claws shows the utensils of the African fortune teller . Amulets for straight teeth and partly medicine, which are based on well-founded folk medicine , mark the field of fortune-telling.
animals and plants
Room III is dedicated to the insects , snakes and birds of East Africa. Room IV contains a collection of spears and wood carvings . Room IV deals with the immigrant Arabs of the coastal region and their Islamic culture. A display case documents the slave trade in the area when the Christian missionaries arrived in 1887. Old and modern Arabic clothing ornate wooden sandals and a map of Islam in Africa .
memorial
Room V in the basement has a special place . The focus is on a larger than life statue of Pope Gregory the Great , made by the sculptor Berthold Müller-Oerlinghausen , who sent 596 monks on a missionary trip to England under the leadership of the later Augustine of Canterbury . The statue is flanked on the left and right by mortuary tablets with the dead missionaries of the congregation.
A plaque with the inscription of brothers, sisters and fathers killed during the Arab and Wahehe uprisings of 1889 and 1910, as well as the Maji-Maji uprising of 1905:
- Bishop Cassian Spiss
- Br. Benedikt Kantwerg
- Br. Petrus Michl
- Sister Martha Wansing
- P. Franz Leuthner
- Br. Gabriel Sunday
- Br. Andreas Scholz
- Sister Felicitas Hiltner
- Sister Cordula Ebert
- Sister Walburga Diepolder
To the right of this is a memorial plaque to the victims of the Korean War with images and objects from members of the congregation who were shot and who died in the Oksadok camp :
- Abbot-Bishop Bonifaz Sauer
- P. Rupert Klingeis
- Br. Petrus Gernert
Zululand
Room VI is about Zululand and South Africa . A glass wall with the abundant and colorful jewelry of the Zulus . Display desks divided into jewelry of the Zulu woman and the Zulu man. Household appliances, clothing and utensils of a Zulu sorceress are the subject of another showcase.
The Zulu sorceress had an elaborate supply of utensils with her. In addition to medicine and other bottles of mandatory may Gnuschwanz -Wedel, the elaborate beaded wig and graceful dance shield the sorceress not be missed.
Religion in the mission countries
Room VII is dedicated to the topic of religion in the mission areas. The fathers, monks and sisters encountered the respective ethnic religions in the mission areas , Islam in the coastal regions of Africa and Buddhism as a religion in the Asian regions. An Old Manjuran mandarin robe and a cast-iron samurai helmet serve as an indication that Buddhism was the state religion in Manchuria. It is made clear that the samurai in Japan was servant of the God-King Emperor. The public Buddhist cult with wooden Buddha figures, mandorla and candlesticks. In front of the temple prayer strips, rolls or slips are offered, which are then placed in front of the images of the gods in the temple. A sheet of instructions for praying a Buddhist rosary , old drawings of Confucian saints .
Korean ghost stakes on pedestals decorated with dragons, which were set up at the entrance to the village to ward off evil spirits. A differentiation followed upwards and downwards. The figure with the name of the Great General was responsible for the above-ground area and the Female General for the underground area. Pedigree charts, which were made for every male who died after the period of mourning, and gifts in kind of tobacco, schnapps and rice give an insight into the burial culture of Korea.
Korea and Manchuria
Rooms VIII to XI are about Korea and Manchuria. In room VIII Korean warfare is presented: mail-shirt with leather scales, red dress uniform with Busch helmet, swords and swords , arrows and quiver snakeskin or cardboard , armed fork and hatchets. Large work straw hats from agriculture, sickles, racks and a model of a plow can be seen. Room IX is dedicated to the typical Korean men's clothing: the white jacket and trousers of older men, the white raw-linen mourning clothing, a large face umbrella and hat. The first missionaries were able to come into the country protected. The tortoiseshell decorated wooden belt and the breast coat of arms, which provide information about the social position of the man. Korean women’s and children’s clothing, including children's shoes. The subtly colored dresses of taller girls, the white dress of older women. Robes of the bride and groom.
Room X is about Korean writing, musical instruments and science . Room XI is dedicated to various works of art. Finally, the history of the Korean mission and a map of the dioceses.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Brochure of the Archabbey from 2008
- ↑ Ingo Barlovic: The reopening of the museum Mission St. Ottilien. In: About Africa. October 30, 2015, accessed June 25, 2019 .
literature
- Father Arnold Walloschek OSB (editor): Mission Museum in Sankt Ottilien. Missionsprokura St. Ottilien (Ed.)
Web links
- Mission Museum of the Archabbey of St. Ottilien
- Landratsamt Landsberg am Lech - local museums and galleries in the Landsberg am Lech district
Coordinates: 48 ° 5 ′ 49 ″ N , 11 ° 2 ′ 44 ″ E