Althofen parish church
The Roman Catholic parish church Althofen is located in the high northern part of the Upper Market in Althofen and can therefore be seen from almost the entire Krappfeld . The church is the only one in Carinthia that is dedicated to St. Thomas of Canterbury .
history
The church was mentioned for the first time around 1307 and was under the patronage of the Archpriest of Friesach , the Modestus Chapel dates from this time. A new building took place in the 14th century. In the 18th century the interior of the church was redesigned in Baroque style. In 1884 and 1908–1910 there was a historicizing renovation under the direction of the conservator P. Grueber and the architect K. Badstieber. In 1993 there was a complete interior restoration with the partial restoration of the historical architectural polychromy and from 1995–1997 the outside of the church was restored.
Building
The nave consists of a two-bay nave and a single-bay choir with a 5/8 end . Two chapel extensions adjoin the north side of the nave. A small, slim tower with Gothic twin windows and a pyramid roof rises above it. The mighty Gothic tower stands south of the western nave yoke. It is crowned by a dome with a lantern . The tracery of the sound window was renewed. The choir is supported by three-tiered buttresses . Under the choir there is a leg chamber with a ring barrel vault, which is supported by an octagonal central pillar. A small oratorio annex adjoins the choir to the south . The one-bay Modestus chapel with a 5/8 end is a little north of the church and is used as a sacristy and is connected to the choir by an annex with another oratory on the first floor.
The west portal with its richly profiled garments and Gothic console angels from around 1400 was renovated in 1884. The side pinnacles , the Gothic Pietà painting in the tympanum were redesigned and the tracery of the three round windows in the west facade were redesigned. The ogival south portal also dates from this time. The Roman tombstone of P. Aelius Tertullus and Maxima Secunda is embedded on the north buttress of the west facade. A satyr and a maenad are shown in relief on the sides of the tombstone . On the north wall of the church there is another Roman tombstone for Commodius and Commodinus, donated by Finitus, the slave of Claudius Priscus. The two tombstones on the west facade with the motifs of the crucifixion and the resurrection date from the early baroque period.
Inside, a ribbed vault spans the nave , which rests on round services or consoles. The three-axis, two-bay west gallery is vaulted with cross ribs and was reconstructed using original Gothic parts. A pointed triumphal arch connects the nave with the ribbed vaulted choir with figural keystones. A neo-Gothic portal leads from the north wall of the choir into the sacristy, and the oratorio parapet is located above the portal. Both the choir and nave have two-lane tracery windows.
Facility
At the beginning of the 20th century, the baroque altars were replaced by neo-Gothic ones.
The neo-Gothic high altar hides the statue of Thomas Becket in the central niche, which is surrounded by four angels. In the side niches on the left are Saints John the Evangelist and Peter , on the right Paul and Adalbertus . In the is conversation narrow a guardian angel represented, flanked by the Holy Gisela and Zita . On the predella , polychrome reliefs show the birth and resurrection of Christ. The antependium consists of mosaics depicting the Lamb of God and a blood donating pelican . The high altar was not completed until 1920 by the Klagenfurt company Mathias Slama, but the statues were created by Marcellus Geiger before 1917. Two of the sculptures depict the namesake of Gisela von Österreich and Zita von Bourbon-Parma , both members of the Austrian imperial family , which had to resign in 1918.
The two altars on the triumphal arch wall consist of consoles with a canopy and brackets . On the left is a statue of the Sacred Heart , which was made by Marcellus Geiger before 1916. The right altar with a statue of St. Joseph and the child , like the Maria Lourdes altar in a side chapel, is a work by Mathias Slama from 1915/16.
In the other is an altar from the first quarter of the 18th century with the altarpiece of the Exaltation of the Cross and a Baroque antependium with figuratively enriched monograms of Christ and Mary , which are unique for Carinthia. The sideboard with crucifixion group in the sacristy was created by C. Badstieber around 1912.
The baroque pulpit from 1760 is attributed to Josef Mayer. Four angels with attributes of the Church Fathers sit in front of the pilasters of the pulpit : a tiara for Gregory the Great , a beehive for Ambrosius , a miter for Augustine and a skull for Hieronymus . Below are symbols of the four evangelists . A picture of the Good Shepherd hangs on the back wall of the pulpit . At the sounding board that sit Lamb of God with the book with seven seals and three angels . The top of the cover is formed by the tablets of the law with a palm branch and a flaming sword in a halo .
The four white-framed console figures under canopies in the choir, which depict the saints Florian , Stanislaus , Urban and Georg , date from the Baroque period . A radiant wreath Madonna from the end of the 17th century stands on a console on the left triumphal arch . On the nave walls are small console figures from the 18th century, a Saint Sebastian and an unknown bishop.
The baroque painting, which is attached to the north wall of the nave and depicts the glory of St. Thomas of Canterbury over a topographical view of Althofen, was the center image of the former high altar from the second half of the 18th century. Other paintings show a Holy Family from the 19th century and Mary's teaching , probably from the 17th century.
literature
- Dehio manual. The art monuments of Austria. Carinthia . Anton Schroll, Vienna 2001, ISBN 3-7031-0712-X , p. 12 f.
- Matthias Kapeller: Churches, monasteries and culture - meeting places in Carinthia. Carinthia Verlag, Klagenfurt 2001, ISBN 3-85378-539-5 , p. 26f.
- Barbara Kienzl : The baroque pulpits in Carinthia. Verlag des Kärntner Landesarchiv, Klagenfurt 1986, ISBN 3-900531-16-1 , p. 255.
Web links
Coordinates: 46 ° 52 ′ 31 " N , 14 ° 28 ′ 26.6" E