Our Lady Chapel in the Ritzinger Feld
The Mother of God Chapel in the Ritzinger Feld is also known as the Ritzingerfeld Chapel . The pilgrimage chapel is located on the ground of the municipality of Goms VS , between the villages of Ritzingen and Gluringen , both in Switzerland. It is located above today's main road in Ritzinger Feld, on the old connecting road between the two villages at an altitude of 1357 meters above sea level. The chapel is listed as a monument of the middle protection level (B object).
history
The chapel was first mentioned in 1592, when a chapel consecrated "vnser frown" was mentioned in Ritzinger Feld. The chapel is, however, in a place where it seems reasonable to assume that there has been a chapel here since the Middle Ages, as the Ammann of the county was chosen here in the Ritzingerfeld. In 1638 canon Caspar Imboden asked Bishop Bartholomäus Supersaxo on behalf of the county to restore and expand the chapel. Renewals are known in 1641 and 1650/51. In 1679 the nuncio Cybo was again brought in and complained about the impending deterioration of the chapel. As a result, it was decided to rebuild the chapel.
The chapel book begins in 1687, which also coincides with the dates on the top of the portal and in the archivolt of the sacristy door. The building was most likely consecrated on July 14, 1693. The chapel was hit by an avalanche on the night of February 9, 1807. The avalanche tore down the north wall of the chapel and devastated the interior. The tower and the choir were not damaged. Reconstruction started in the same year.
Renovations and repairs are known from the years 1851, 1863, 1867–69 and 1873. The last renovation was carried out in 1968, whereby the damaged relief on the front facade portal had to be renewed in 1973.
When the parish of Gluringen was founded in 1920, the chapel was assigned to the parish of Biel. With the right that the pastor of Gluringen can celebrate Holy Mass in the chapel at any time.
Building
The structure is geost. The nave is rectangular, while the choir is a slightly indented rectangle. The tower meets the northeast end of the ship. To the west of this is the sacristy with a tent roof.
The roof has a common ridge over the choir and nave. The gable roof dome is strongly hilted on the choir side, but only slightly on the facade side. The building was covered with asbestos cement (Eternit) on the occasion of the renovation in 1968 . The foundation consists of a jointed quarry stone wall. In addition to the main portal, which is framed in a gilt stone, on the west-facing facade, there is also a side portal facing the street on the south wall of the ship. This side portal can be reached via a three-sided staircase.
The ship is vaulted by a spear cap barrel and divided into three full yokes and a narrow yoke section at each end.
The symmetrically arranged, unequal caps of the choir gather in a stucco rosette.
Interior
The high altar was created in 1690 by two unknown masters. The high altar is assigned to the Mannerist early baroque. The acanthus tendrils and other subsequently added parts were created by Johann Ritz.
The right side altar is the altar of the Holy Family . It was donated by the pastor of Biel, Christian Huser († 1701). It was completed in 1691 and is an early work by Johann Ritz (1666–1729). The altar was consecrated in 1709 according to the cartouche of the predella.
The left side altar is the Catherine altar . It was donated by the brothers Johann and Andreas Ritz in 1713 and carved in their workshop. The altar was damaged in the avalanche in 1807, so that it was repaired by the sculptor Anton Lagger between 1808 and 1809. The barrel work was carried out by Johann Joseph Pfefferle.
The pulpit was destroyed when the north wall of the chapel collapsed during the avalanche in 1807. The statues of the pulpit, which was probably built by Johann Sigristen around 1700, have been preserved. Because with the new pulpit, which was built by Anton Lagger in 1808, he reused the parts that were still usable, including the statues by Johann Sigristen. The pulpit version is by Johann Joseph Pfefferle.
The original organ in the pulpit was also destroyed in 1807. An organ builder Walpen was mentioned for the new building in 1810. The organ itself was completed by Anton and Felix Carlen from Gluringen in 1813. It is located on a wooden gallery covered with plaster. During the reconstruction in 1807/08, this was painted by Johann Joseph Pfefferle based on the model of the Antonius Chapel in Münster.
A bell with a diameter of 54 cm hangs in the tower.
Moved works of art
In 1902 a fragment of a reredos painted on both sides was found in the chapel. Probably originated in the 2nd quarter of the 14th century, it is now owned by the Swiss National Museum in Zurich.
Also in 1902 a seated Mother of God was discovered, the creation of which is estimated around 1400. It could be the statue of the main altar that was replaced in 1690. It is also now in the possession of the National Museum in Zurich.
Literature and Sources
- Walter Ruppen: Art Monuments of Switzerland Volume 64 "The Art Monuments of the Canton of Valais Volume 1 Obergoms" . Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel 1976, ISBN 3-7643-0728-5
Individual evidence
- ↑ B – Objects VS 2018 . Canton du Valais Inventaire PBC, Objets B, État: 1.1.2018 (pas de changements pour 2018) / Kanton Wallis KGS inventory, B objects, status: 1.1.2018 (no changes compared to the previous year). In: babs.admin.ch / kulturgueterschutz.ch. Federal Office for Civil Protection FOCP - Department of Cultural Property Protection, January 1, 2018, accessed on December 31, 2017 (PDF; 357 kB, 11 pages, updated annually, no changes for 2018).
- ↑ The document about the blessing lacks the date, but it was filed in the archives of Biel under 1693 with the note 14 July
- ↑ O. Steinmann is of the opinion that the statue in the central niche must be assigned to a different master than the rest of the main altar
- ↑ , probably to make the case
- ↑ The order was settled with 300 Valais guilders. The old organ pipes were used as material donations
- ↑ However, it cannot be ruled out that it is a statue from another chapel that is stored here
Coordinates: 46 ° 27 '37.2 " N , 8 ° 13' 36.8" E ; CH1903: 660,554 / 145748