Peter and Paul Altarpiece (Comburg)

The Peter and Paul altar after removal of the statues of Peter, Paul and Mary

The Peter and Paul Altar , also known as the Eltershofenscher Altar , is located in the choir of the Church of St. Nicholas in the former Comburg monastery and is used as a sideboard during church services . At the beginning of the 17th century , Veit Nagel von Eltershofen had the side altar consecrated in the choir of the old Romanesque church consecrated in the 16th century into a grave monument for his family. After the altar had found a place as Martin's altar in the tavern chapel for 150 years from 1689, it was placed in its current location in the baroque collegiate church in 1840.

history

A Peter and Paul altar was consecrated in 1560 in the choir of the old collegiate church by the Würzburg auxiliary bishop. As a reredos, it probably had a sandstone relief on which the poor souls ask for redemption in purgatory before the Holy Trinity. Thanks to a donation from Veit Nagel von Eltershofen , the altar was converted into a grave monument around 1610/20 and received its current appearance by using the sandstone relief as an antependium and making a new reredos. Around 1689 the altar was removed from the choir of the church, placed in the middle of the east wall of the bar chapel and consecrated to St. Martin. Numerous donated masses for the soul were read here at this altar. In 1840 it was placed on the north wall of the east choir of the new collegiate church next to the abbot's chair, in about the same position in front of the north tower as it was in the old church. The altar, which today serves as a sideboard, was donated by Veit Nagel instead of an epitaph for the members of his family.

description

In front of the altar table as an antependium is a sandstone relief from the 16th century, which was framed with volutes during the baroque redesign of the altar. A band of clouds over a formation of angels divides it into two areas. In the lower part the poor souls can be seen in the form of people with pleadingly raised arms in the flames of purgatory. The Holy Trinity is enthroned at the top in the middle, flanked by intercessing saints. Among them are patrons of chapels and altars of the monastery: on the left Peter, John the Baptist and Mary, on the right Nicholas and Benedict. Below the relief is a verse from the Old Testament in Latin: Miseremini mei, miseremini mei, saltem vos, amici mei, quia manus Domini tetigit me ( Job 19.21  EU ).

An extensive inscription in memory of members of the von Veit Nagel von Eltershofen family is attached to the reredos in the predella zone. Above it, flanked by two columns, is an alabaster relief that can almost certainly be attributed to Michael Kern and was made in 1610/20. Christ carrying the grave is chosen as the motif. The men who carry the body of Jesus are far from the empty cross. In the right foreground, the mourning Mary Magdalene kneels before Jesus, while his mother Mary is in the background.

The extension of the altar consists of a blown volute gable, which is decorated with two small alabaster reliefs, which are also attributed to Michael Kern. The left shows Peter walking on the water and sinking before Christ, the right shows his crucifixion with his head down. The coats of arms of the nobles von Eltershofen and von Rinderbach can be found above the reliefs. The excerpt used to be crowned with a statue of the Madonna, the two small reliefs were surrounded by alabaster statuettes depicting Peter and Paul. All three figures have been removed, the Madonna and Paul are considered lost.

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  Relief of Christ carrying the grave, around 1610/20, attributed to Michael Kern

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Gradmann calls this altar "Eltershofenscher Altar" after its founder .
2. ^ Elisabeth Schraut (Ed.): The Comburg - From the Middle Ages to the 20th Century. P. 77

literature

• Eugen Gradmann : The art and antiquity monuments of the city and the Oberamt Schwäbisch-Hall . Paul Neff Verlag, Esslingen a. N. 1907, OCLC 31518382 , pp. 138 ( archive.org ).
• Elisabeth Schraut (Ed.): The Comburg - From the Middle Ages to the 20th Century. Jan Thorbecke Verlag, Sigmaringen 1989, ISBN 3-7995-3303-6 , p. 77