Parish Church Altheim (Upper Austria)
The parish church Altheim is in the town of Altheim in Upper Austria . The Roman Catholic parish church of St. Laurenz (patronage: August 10th) belongs to the dean's office Altheim in the diocese of Linz . The church and the cemetery are under monument protection .
Parish history
The local area of Altheim, located at the intersection of two important trade routes (Passau-Salzburg, Munich-Wels-Vienna) and at the confluence of the Ache valley with the lower terraces of the Lower Inn , has been populated since the Stone Age , as finds show . Extensive archaeological investigations in the 1990s also prove the establishment of at least three Roman manors ( Villae rusticae ) on the terraces of the Ach valley in what is today the municipality of Altheim.
Even if this cannot be confirmed due to a lack of research, it can still be assumed that the church consecrated to the Roman archdeacon Laurentius could be a place of worship founded in the late Roman era. The Christianization of the area on the Inn took place in post-Roman times mainly from the south (Salzburg) and the Bavarian region by St. Rupert and Bonifatius . The Christianization of the Antiesen and Achtales was carried out by the Münsteuer monastery (on the Antiesen), which was newly founded in Salzburg. One can therefore assume that a wooden church already existed in Altheim at the site of today's St. Laurentius church, from which the “ original parish ” was looked after.
At the turn of the first millennium, a parish was already occupied for this church, which reached its greatest extent around the middle of the 11th century, and which was pastoral care through the areas up to the Hausruck . At the end of the 11th century, this original parish was divided into four independent pastors. In the Altheim parish, the branches of St. Michael in Geinberg , St. Nikolaus in Nonsbach, St. Andreas in Polling , Our Lady in Mühlheim , as well as the subsidiary church St. Ulrich in Altheim, built in 1180, and from 1636 the St. Sebastian chapel remained in Altheim (today's market church St. Sebastian). A Ludwicus parrochians de Altheim was documented as the first pastor from 1196. In 1359 Geinberg and Nonsbach became independent, the other branch churches were subordinate to the Altheim pastor until the reign of Joseph II .
After Bavaria's cession of the Innviertel to Austria, the dioceses and parishes were also reorganized, triggered by the church policy of Joseph II. In the 1780s, the Polling and Mühlheim branches were detached from the parish, and the St. Ulrich branch church in Altheim was demolished in 1799. As a result of this restructuring, the rectory that had been on the Mauernberg for centuries was closed and a new building was built in 1895 in the immediate vicinity of the parish church of St. Laurentius.
Building history of the church
Investigations into previous buildings at this location have not yet been carried out. It can be assumed, however, that an early Christian cult site, located in the immediate vicinity of a Roman villa rustica (Simetsberg), could have existed here, which was later expanded into a wooden church, the center of an original parish.
The first secured building stock of the church can be dated to the late 14th century. The building at that time was probably a three-aisled room with an annex to the south that served as an ossuary . In a further construction phase in the late Gothic period , the building was built in its current size. The master builder Sebastian Junge, a graduate of the Burghauser School, created a hall church with a four-bay nave and two-bay choir , with an impressive spatial effect, between 1516 and 1525 . He included the nave of the early Gothic predecessor building and expanded it in the south and north to include chapels and gatehouses, whereby he also integrated the existing late medieval ossuary (today the Redeemer Chapel). He built the new choir, which ends with an apse at the end of the ⅜, in a wide arc around the existing apse, which was later demolished. The tower that adjoins the west side of the church was completed in 1539. It was built in the form of five square, two octagonal floors and an octagonal pointed helmet . The buttresses, which taper towards the top, give the impression of a tower that is tapered as a whole and that appears somewhat higher in perspective. In 1642 the pointed helmet was removed, the octagonal storeys redesigned in the early Baroque style and a shingle dome was added, which contradicts the illustration in the engraving by Michael Wening with a view of Altheim from 1705, on which a pointed helmet can be seen.
Renovations and restorations (1982-2006)
At the beginning of the 1980s, the structural condition of the church was in an extremely poor condition, so that a building authority closure had to be expected. The parish then decided to undertake a fundamental renovation, which began in 1982 with a large-scale exterior renovation and the renewal of the roof structure.
Then from 1986 the repair work inside the church continued. Here parts of the rich stucco work threatened to collapse, the room was heavily sooty and partly badly damaged by past overpainting (1828, 1892 and 1938). After the stucco-bearing layers had been secured, the original layers could be exposed by removing the overpainting. The coloring was finally based on the found shades of gray, old pink and light green, according to the late baroque room concept of 1737 that Johann Michael Vierthaler (approx. 1685–1743) and Johann Georg Reischl (dates of birth and death unknown) in the late baroque design of the church designed.
The frescoed ceilings needed basically just a cleaning, puttying and retouching. On the walls of the north chapels as well as in the nave and in the choir, numerous wall paintings were uncovered and most of them were preserved in the course of the restoration work. However, the large images of the apostles on the walls of the choir and nave could no longer be preserved in their original form and it was therefore decided to revise them.
At the same time, the inventory of the church was also renovated from 1987 onwards, in which an uncovering concept was agreed that reproduces the color scheme around or shortly after the stuccoing of the church in 1737 in order to achieve a harmonious unity of space and inventory. The second color version of the high altar was reconstructed between 1987 and 1989 (on the still preserved original version from 1664) and the figural furnishings were also adapted to those of that time. Since the pulpit had suffered from fewer changes, it was possible to concentrate here in 1990 on the visualization and renovation of the original color scheme and the restoration of the figurative furnishings.
The altars in the front side chapels (Marien Altar and Joseph Altar) were badly damaged by improper interventions in the 19th and 20th centuries and threatened to collapse. They were extensively reconstructed and restored in 1990. In 1991 the rear side altars followed (Magdalenen altar and misery altar), which were also reconstructed in their original condition. In addition, at that time part of the artistic inventory in the parish's possession was temporarily stored in attics and storerooms, which at the request of those responsible for the parish at the time should be returned to the church and thus made visible to the public. These objects were also properly restored and now fit harmoniously into the church and the chapels.
In 1991 the decision was made to completely renovate the organ, which after several renovations had become very unsatisfactory in the meantime. The work was based on a concept that was based on the still existing historical substance and was successfully completed in 1994.
In the years 1995–2001 the large nativity scene was gradually restored. In the years 2000–2002 the Chapel of the Redeemer underwent extensive restoration, during which the second room version from 1710 was exposed and restored. In the course of this work in 2001 a new external portal was made for the south entrance.
In 2006, in order to achieve a consistent restoration of the architectural concept of the late Gothic, it was decided to restore the original entrance to the church. After the north portal was bricked up in 1972, the church could only be entered via the south entrance. The door leaves for the new external portal were made and the chapel room (Resurrection Chapel) adjacent to the gate hall was equipped with a new room concept.
architecture
After the extensive renovation and restoration work of the past few decades, the "Dom des Achtales", as the church is also called regionally, forms a unified ensemble of artistic furnishings and architecture, from the early 16th century to the present, probably never known before.
Nave and choir
The interior of the church building is captivating today with its open and light character, which is created by Sebastian Junger's column-free late Gothic concept. The vaults, which were originally covered with mesh ribs, cover the 15 m wide nave and the only slightly narrower but just as high choir (presbytery) at a height of 15 m. The weight of the vault is diverted via buttresses , which Junge cleverly integrated into the walls of the choir, nave and chapel niches.
The current color scheme of the room and inventory is the result of extensive renovation and restoration work that was carried out between 1986 and 2006 and essentially reflects the effect of the room after the first major redesign in the late Baroque style. In 1737 Johann Michael Vierthaler (approx. 1685–1743) created the rich stucco work of the church interior and Johann Georg Reischl (year of birth and death unknown) the vault and wall frescoes (images of the apostles), the repainting of the high altar and the redesign of the four altars Side chapels.
Frescoes and wall paintings
In the ceiling frescoes of the choir, Reischl depicts the ordination of St. Lawrence as well as the martyrdom of Pope Sixtus II, who was executed with him . The three ceiling frescoes of the nave show (seen from the organ towards the high altar) the condemnation, martyrdom and the veneration of the church patron. The latter is particularly interesting, with the veneration of the church patron by the Altheim citizens and the clergy in front of the realistic representation of the market, in which the churches (St. Ulrich, St. Sebastian, St. Laurentius) and the town hall tower are clearly visible. The ceiling frescos of the two front side chapels depict Laurentius driving the devil out of a possessed person (Joseph's Chapel) and healing the sick (Marienkapelle) Replaced mirror. The ceiling frescoes in the side chapels are made using the Camaieu technique .
During the redesign in 1737, Joseph Georg Reischl put six images of the apostles on the walls of the choir and nave, but unfortunately they were so deeply destroyed by the repainting in 1828 and 1892 that they could not be reconstructed during the renovation in the 1980s. As a result, in 1896 the Linz artist Helmut Michael Berger was commissioned to recreate this monumental cycle of apostles, which blends harmoniously into the self-contained ensemble of the church, primarily through the use of the given color palette. On the south side of the choir, Berger shows the apostles Peter, Paul, James and John, on the north wall Philip, Matthew, Andreas and Simon. The pictures above the portals of the nave show Thomas and Matthias in the north and Bartholomäus and Thaddäus in the south.
In the course of the renovations in the 1980s, a few of the originally abundant wall paintings were uncovered. Above the two early Gothic interior portals of the church there are two large wall paintings in grisaille technique from the period after 1600 and stylistically assigned to the Danube School . Above the south portal, they show St. Stephen (diocesan patron of the then home diocese of Passau), as well as Hieronymus and Ambrosius. Above the north portal, St. Lawrence (church patron) and Gregorius and Augustine.
There are also extensive picture fields in the Marienkapelle , which date back to the time before the redesign in 1737: on the west wall, for example, the depiction signed 1525 (in Al-secco technique, stylistic assignment to the Danube School), which in the main picture shows Anna self-step and above shows the assumption of Mary into heaven. On the north wall there are depictions of St. Barbara and Katharina, above that of St. Peter and the Archangel Michael, and in the apex the two parish patrons Ulrich and Laurentius. The painting on the east side, above the altar structure, shows the electoral family of the Bavarian Wittelsbachers .
In the presbytery on the south side above the entrance to the sacristy there is an extensive picture field, the so-called “memorial picture”, which should serve as a souvenir of the families of the Altheim councilors Klinger and Ehnger and is signed with the year 158 (The fourth year was lost when the pulpit was installed in 1758).
In addition, on the northern arch of the presbytery there is a portrait of the builder of the church, Sebastian Junge, looking into the church from a window. On the south wall of the presbytery there are also two crosses of the apostles , which mark the places where the church was anointed around 1525. Behind the high altar is a fragment of the depiction of the apostle James .
Baptistery
The first floor of the tower, which is entered through a door under the galleries on the west side of the church, represents the former bell house. After the bell was electrified, this room was hardly used for decades. With the renovation in the 1980s, it was decided to set it up as a baptistery. The baptismal font , made of Adnet limestone ("marble"), is closed with a wooden dome. The painting on the west wall of the chapel, which Ignaz Jäger created in 1828, shows the Whitsun miracle . It is flanked by St. Ignatius Loyola and Francis Xavier . There are also wooden sculptures of St. Magdalena and Peter . The stained glass window ("Fall of Man in Paradise") from 1986 was made by Helmut Michael Berger .
Redeemer Chapel and southern gate hall
This room, together with the nave, is part of the oldest part of the church building and can be entered from the southern gate hall. It already existed as an extension to the previous early Gothic building, the construction of which can be assumed at the end of the 14th century. The rectangular room is laid out with two bays, with each bay forming a square with a side length of 7 feet (approx. 2.20 m), and is spanned by a ribbed vault. Originally what this church extension used as an ossuary ("ossuary"). When the church was rebuilt in the late Gothic style, this room was integrated into the newly created chapel and gate hall wreath by Sebastian Junge.
Over the centuries this room was used as an ossuary until 1830. Then epitaphs were presented there and the room was whitewashed. In the 20th century it was used as a storage room until it was decided to reactivate it in 1975. The murals that were discovered by chance were then “renovated” so improperly that the color version from 1740 (the most recent along with a version from 1681 and 1710) was completely destroyed. In 2002 it was decided to restore this chapel in the version from 1710.
Above the entrance to the chapel in the southern gate hall extends an impressive picture field of a “ Memento mori ”, on which dancing skeletons, a child blowing soap bubbles and a clock indicate the transience and nullity of life. In the center you can look through a round opening directly into purgatory , where a woman prays for her soul. On the west wall of the chapel Adam and Eve are depicted in purgatory, above the sky, which is opening and driving away the dark clouds of fire, with a monstrance carried by angels , the sign of Christ as the founder of a new covenant and savior, on which St. Lawrence and Stephanus (on the side) and the Archangel Michael with sword and scales (in the canopy).
In the two light niches ("occuli") discovered during the renovation in 2002, in which the "eternal light" originally found its place, we can find a late baroque reliquary of St. Thekla and a statue of St. Lawrence. Above the portal there is a figure of Christ on the globe, as a symbol of the victor over death.
Resurrection Chapel and Northern Gate Hall
The entrance area on the north side of the church was probably used most widely in its almost 500-year history. Once a staircase, later a mortuary chapel, autopsy room, storage room, installation site for the Christmas crib and holy grave, and finally a confessional chapel. Originally the room of today's chapel was separated from the gate hall by a wall and could only be entered from the nave. In the course of the Baroque transformation in 1737, Johann Michael Vierthaler established the spatial concept that can still be seen today by separating the staircase from the interior of the church, drawing in a vault, breaking out two windows and making it accessible from the gate hall. In 1972 the north portal of the church was finally closed and walled up. The nativity scene and the holy grave were set up in the room, which can only be accessed from inside the church, and it was used as a confessional chapel.
With the decision of those in charge of the parish to consistently implement the late Gothic room concept and to reopen the walled-up north portal, an artistic redesign of the adjoining chapel room was also sensibly possible and implemented in the concept of a resurrection chapel. The concept is based on the beginning and the end of human existence, creation and redemption, expressed in the texts of the 2nd symphony ("Resurrection") by Gustav Mahler : the "primal light" of the 4th movement and the text by Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock and Gustav Mahler in the finale of the symphony.
On the west wall of the chapel, the Viennese artist Eduard Rahs (* 1958) gives a clear view of the universe in his wall painting, and thus of the unimaginable of the infinite and eternal (“primeval light”). Bright, floating beings, which he dubbed “ Friends ” (a word common in the Baroque period for relatives) symbolize beings who still need an act of creation or souls freed from their human bodies by the redeeming act of Christ.
The glass windows designed by Helmut Michael Berger show the risen Christ (eastern window) and the hand as a symbolized " Thomas story " (western window). Fritz Radlwimmer (* 1963), the artist who lives in St. Marienkirchen near Schärding, has composed the basic conception of the texts from Mahler's “Resurrection Symphony” in eight clay relief panels that are attached to the south wall of the chapel in a cross shape.
On the east side of the gate hall, the original architectural situation was restored with a stone bench. Here in the seating niche there is a woodcut (1986) by the Linz artist Helmut Michael Berger, which shows the “true face” of Christ (“ vera ikon ”).
Furnishing
Today, the interior with its equipment is probably more harmonious than ever before. The renovation and restoration work made it possible to create a careful connection between the late Gothic feeling of space, the baroque sculpture and the color schemes of various eras up to the present day.
High altar
The structure of the high altar, which was created in 1664, still speaks the language of the Renaissance architecturally, but its design already reveals clear hints of the Baroque. Stylistically, this can be classified between the brothers Zürn and Thomas Schwanthaler. Between the two altarpieces on the entablature is the coat of arms of the donors of the altar, (the elector) Ferdinand Maria von Bayern (1636–1679) and his wife Henriette Adelheid von Savoyen (1636–1676). The creators of the altar as well as the altarpieces and the figural decorations are largely unknown. The large altarpiece, which is flanked by life-size statues of St. Florian and Sebastian , shows the martyrdom of Laurentius (church patron). The small altarpiece shows the stoning of St. Stephen (patron of the Passau diocese, to which Altheim belonged at the time). This picture is flanked by the St. Egidius and Johannes Nepomuk as well as the archangels Michael and Gabriel. In the gable, the altar was originally closed by a Madonna and Child, which is now more visible on the north side of the choir arch. The tabernacle structure was built around 100 years later. The original black and gold color scheme was retained and secured during the renovation work in the 1980s. However, in order to make the late baroque room concept visible again, it was decided to use the version from 1737 in which the altar is presented today.
pulpit
In the pulpit, which dates from 1758, the unknown creator presents a self-contained work in the Rococo style, which can still be seen today in its original coloring. The four evangelists can be found on the sound cover and pulpit, represented by their symbolic figures eagle (John), bull (Luke), lion (Mark) and winged person (Matthew). The two relief images on the pulpit parapet refer to the parables of the sower and the wheat in the weeds .
Side altars
The Marian altar in the front north chapel was built around 1758 and is made of stucco marble on which a stucco cloud halo is attached. In the center of the altar is an Immaculate, created by Leopold Raffetseder in 1992, flanked by St. Anna and St. Joachim by an unknown master. In the course of renovations in the 1980s, the late Baroque original version of the altar architecture was restored.
The Joseph Altar in the front south chapel dates from the same time as the Marien Altar and, like it, was restored to its late Baroque appearance. In the center you can see St. Joseph , flanked by St. Wolfgang and Nikolaus .
The Magdalene altar in the rear north chapel dates from around 1770 and, in terms of style, already shows clear signs of the incipient classicism. In the center is the depiction of St. Magdalena kneeling on the cross , below, flanked by two angels, the depiction of the Pietà .
The misery altar in the rear south chapel was created like the Magdalene altar around 1770. The focus here is Christ in the dungeon, with a picture below showing St. Aloisius .
Way of the Cross
Until the interior renovation of the church in the 1980s, there was a way of the cross by an unknown artist in the classical style, which was attached to the walls of the choir and nave. In the course of the renovation it was decided to create a new one and commissioned the Linz painter Helmut Michael Berger. In 1989 he created a cycle on elliptical wooden panels in grisaille technique, the color spectrum of which corresponds to that of the ceiling frescoes in the front side chapels. The boards are placed in stucco arches on the walls in the choir.
window
The window openings of the choir and the nave were originally designed in the form of pressed pointed arches and have been preserved to this day, although the window in the center of the apse behind the high altar was later bricked up. There were also originally window openings on the side walls of the choir, which were walled up at a later date. The glass windows in the windows today are foundations of Altheim citizens from the beginning of the 20th century. In 1992 and 1993, external protective glazing was attached to the windows on the north and east sides.
organ
Today's organ goes back to Ludwig Mooser , who created it in 1845. As a model for the design of the case , Mooser must have chosen the Salzburg cathedral organ that he had converted , as a comparison shows. His work for the Altheimer Kirche had 21 stops , divided between two manuals and a pedal . The initial euphoria about the new organ gave way in the following years, it was replaced by complaints and the like. a. about the poor wind supply and the sluggish action . Even Anton Bruckner , 1891 to guest in Altheim, noticed was that they were "extremely difficult to play." For this reason, numerous repairs and conversions were carried out (1875, 1908, 1930 and 1964), the last of which was the most serious, and basically a new version of the work in the neo-baroque sense was created, which nevertheless had so many technical defects that the Made the organ almost unplayable until the 1980s. Therefore, in 1991, a decision was made to build a new building that was tonally based on Mooser's original concept. The organ builder Sebastiaan F. Blank, based in the Netherlands, carried out this new construction. From the remaining historical substance (case, 4 wind chests and 645 pipes) he created a new organ (27 registers, divided into three manuals and pedal) with a tonal mixture of Baroque and Biedermeier features, which was completed in 1994. The architecture of the case was retained in its original state. Since the color scheme from 1845 did not fit in well with the new late baroque room concept, it was decided to revise it.
Disposition since 1994
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- Coupling : II / I, I / P
- Secondary register: 2 tremulants , " Tremolo Ripieno " on the whole work, " Tremolo Dolce " on the parapet positive
- Remarks
- ↑ Wood open, in 8 ′ position
- ↑ Major octave merged with Flauto 8 ′; overblowing from c 2
- ↑ Tongue in the manner of a Dulcian 8 ′
- ↑ Designates a completely communal Octavbass 8 ′
- ↑ In addition to pipes by Blank, it contains old pipes of unknown origin
- M = Ludwig Mooser (1845)
- B = Sebastiaan F. Blank (1994)
Technical specifications
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Mood :
- Wind pressure: 64 mm water column
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Mood :
- Altitude a 1 = 440 Hz at 20 ° C
- Well-tempered mood ( 1 ⁄ 6 Pythagorean comma )
Bells
The first bell that we know today dates from around 1700. As this sounded weak, a new bell consisting of the tones f ', g' and b 'was ordered in the Gugg bell foundry in Braunau in 1836 . In 1908, a fourth, large bell (cast in the Gugg bell foundry in Linz) was added to this bell on the occasion of the imperial anniversary. Except for the smallest bell, all of them had to be handed in during the First World War. In 1922 new bells were ordered from a Viennese bell foundry, but all but one of them had to be returned during World War II. The remaining bell was handed in when the new bell was ordered after the Second World War, and the current bell was then cast in 1949 by the Pfundner bell foundry in Vienna. The existing bell has a total weight of 4430 kg and consists of 4 bells in a major-minor motif, with the striking notes c ', es', g 'and b'.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Romans on the Lower Inn. On the history of a cultural landscape. Catalog accompanying the exhibition of the same name in the Ochzet-Haus, Altheim. Edited by Katharina A. Heinzl, supported by the Inst. For Classical Archeology of the Univ. Vienna (Vienna 1996)
- ^ Thomas C. Pumberger: Parish Church Altheim St. Laurentius. [Church leaders]. Rom. Catholic Parish Office Altheim (Ed.). Altheim, 1995.
- ↑ Bodingbauer, Lothar, Ingeborg Staufer: Altheim. Heimatbuch d. Market community. - Ried i. I. 1975.
- ^ Konrad Meindl: History of the city of Braunau am Inn. By Konrad Meindl, Canon in Reichersberg. 1st part. 1882.
- ↑ Bodingbauer, Lothar, Ingeborg Staufer: Altheim. Heimatbuch d. Market community. - Ried i. I. 1975.
- ^ Thomas C. Pumberger: Parish Church Altheim St. Laurentius. [Church leaders]. Röm Kath. Pfarramt Altheim (Ed.). Altheim, 1995.
- ^ Heinzl, Katharina A .: The Roman estate of Altheim-Simetsberg. The findings of the excavation campaigns 1991–1995. Textbd.-Taf.-Vol. - Diploma thesis Univ. (Vienna 1998).
- ↑ Thomas C. Pumberger: The regained beauty. Notes on the restoration of the Altheim parish church in general and its Redeemer Chapel in particular. In: Bodingbauer, Lothar, Rudolf Mitterbauer (among others): Book of the city of Altheim. The leap into the 3rd millennium. Ried im Innkreis 2003.
- ^ Thomas C. Pumberger: Parish Church Altheim St. Laurentius. [Church leaders]. Röm Kath. Pfarramt Altheim (Ed.). Altheim, 1995.
- ^ Thomas C. Pumberger: Parish Church Altheim St. Laurentius. [Church leaders]. Röm Kath. Pfarramt Altheim (Ed.). Altheim, 1995.
- ↑ Thomas C. Pumberger: The regained beauty. Notes on the restoration of the Altheim parish church in general and its Redeemer Chapel in particular. In: Bodingbauer, Lothar, Rudolf Mitterbauer (among others): Book of the city of Altheim. The leap into the 3rd millennium. Ried im Innkreis 2003.
- ↑ ibid
- ↑ ibid
- ↑ ibid
- ^ Thomas C. Pumberger: Parish Church Altheim St. Laurentius. [Church leaders]. Röm Kath. Pfarramt Altheim (Ed.). Altheim, 1995.
- ↑ ibid
- ^ Thomas Pumberger: History of the organ to St. Laurentius . In: Ludwig Mooser Organ St. Laurentius, Altheim , ed. from Orgelbauverein Altheim 1994, pp. 3–8.
Coordinates: 48 ° 14 '36.3 " N , 13 ° 13' 44.8" E