Plague Cross (Koblenz)

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The plague cross from 1669 in the southern suburb of Koblenz

The Plague of 1669 recalls a plague - epidemic in Koblenz . After the forgotten plague cross was restored in 2011, it was repositioned in a more prominent location in the southern suburb .

history

After the Thirty Years War , the city of Koblenz was badly damaged and many of its residents died. The surviving people had to fight hard in everyday life for their livelihood. Their greatest enemy in the 16th and 17th centuries were the many deadly epidemics, especially the plague, but also typhus . Plague epidemics are historically documented for the years 1581, 1597–1598, 1611–1613, 1621–1623 and for the last time 1666–1668. The last epidemic was probably the worst. The dead were buried in mass graves outside the city gates. One of these cemeteries was probably on Löhrstrasse (Obere Löhr). The plague cross , which is still preserved today, was erected here in 1669 to commemorate the dead .

In modern times, the plague cross was forgotten in a backyard at Löhrstrasse 82. The weathered and heavily attacked plague cross was restored in 2011 on the initiative of the German Foundation for Monument Protection and with financial support from neighboring business people for 5000 euros. It was then repositioned at a more prominent location, on the heavily frequented route from the city center to Koblenz main station (Löhrstrasse / corner of Rizzastrasse).

construction

The baroque plague cross from 1669 is a field cross made of sandstone . The actual cross stands on a curly pillar with a weathered relief of a Pietà on the front. The date " Anno 1669 " is on the strut of the pillar . On the pillar there is a wide, curved cartouche stone, on which the inscription, which is now illegible, is: " O you all who pass by this way see whether a pain presses on him my pain ". On this is the actual cross with a heavily weathered Christ body.

Monument protection

The plague cross is a protected cultural monument under the Monument Protection Act (DSchG) and entered in the list of monuments of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate . It is in Koblenz-Südliche Vorstadt on Löhrstrasse / corner of Rizzastrasse .

The plague cross has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Upper Middle Rhine Valley since 2002 .

literature

  • Reinhard Kallenbach : Koblenz's story retold. Mittelrhein Verlag, Koblenz, 2012, ISBN 978-3-925180-03-3
  • Herbert Dellwing (editor): Cultural monuments in Rhineland-Palatinate. Monument topography Federal Republic of Germany. Volume 3.1: City of Koblenz. Southern suburb and Oberwerth. Schwann, Düsseldorf 1986. ISBN 3-590-31033-2
  • Ulrike Weber (edit.): Cultural monuments in Rhineland-Palatinate. Monument topography Federal Republic of Germany. Volume 3.3: City of Koblenz. Districts. Werner, Worms 2013, ISBN 978-3-88462-345-9 .

Web links

Commons : Pestkreuz  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Pestkreuz recalls bad years in: Rhein-Zeitung , July 24, 2011
  2. ↑ General Directorate for Cultural Heritage Rhineland-Palatinate (ed.): Informational directory of cultural monuments - district-free city of Koblenz (PDF; 1.5 MB), Koblenz 2013

Coordinates: 50 ° 21 ′ 15.2 "  N , 7 ° 35 ′ 22"  E