Parish church Altlichtenwarth
The Roman Catholic parish church Altlichtenwarth is located in the municipality of Altlichtenwarth in the Mistelbach district in Lower Austria . It is consecrated to St. Nicholas and belongs to the Poysdorf deanery in the vicariate Unter dem Manhartsberg of the Archdiocese of Vienna . The building is a listed building .
.jpg)
founding
The foundation of the church was the result of the development of the occupation of the eastern area along the March - bounded in the north by the Thaya and in the south by Fischa and Piesting - which was called Neu- or Ungarnmark . This name comes from the 19th century, as the area in the document of Heinrich III. of July 15, 1045 as "100 king hooves between Zaya, March and Sulzbach" were described, which were awarded to the aforementioned Siegfried in order to secure the border of the Holy Roman Empire with Hungary through the settlement of warriors . A network of fortified bases was created that could only be held by aristocrats with the help of the necessary warriors who had sufficient resources. As a result, Heinrich I von Lichtenstein counted seats on the Zaya and Staatzerweg as his property. Its location on an important long-distance trade route may be the reason why the parish church was placed under the protection of the saint for merchant settlements, St. Nicholas.
Construction phases
.jpg)
.jpg)
The church consists of a main nave which is oriented to the east with a deviation of 3.65 °. In the Gothic period around 1200, a side aisle added to the south was added , which is entered through arcades inside. To the east, both naves have choir areas. The choir of the main nave - originally square, today with an upstream, polygonal presbytery from the 13th century - was extended by a tower in the 15th century. Today the church is entered through an entrance area in front of the aisle.
Christian number mysticism is reflected in the dimensions of the foundation building. The basic dimension of a foot used for this building was 0.297 m, as is stored in the widths of the original windows that are still preserved. With this information, the dimensions can be determined in inches . The hall width is 333 inches, for example, and the length 600 inches. During the renovation in the 1990s, interesting details about the building's architectural history were discovered. Stone structures from different centuries came to light under the chipped external plaster. The different wall techniques recorded seven construction phases between the construction and the 15th century. Archaeological digs have uncovered burials from the 15th and 17th centuries under the floor.
.jpg)
Due to the redesign of the roof with late Gothic vaulted caps, traces of the previous architecture can be seen in the attic. The remains of four windows facing west and east from the first phase of construction are still preserved here. It is possible that the roof had to be rebuilt due to a fire, which is still evident today from the red color and the flaking of the stone blocks. Destruction may have been one of the reasons for the renovations, but also an increase in the souls to be cared for, both in the religious sense and in the protective function of the stone parish church walls from threatening enemies. Inside the church, numerous details such as columns, yokes, consoles and ribs point to the frequent redesign. In addition to their decorative effect, these also have a static function.
.jpg)
The keystones of the vaults stand out with their three-dimensional decoration and shoulder portals seen from close up provide information about the original ideas of the stonemasons.
Frescoes
In 1937 the frescoes in the apse of the chapel of the aisle were discovered. Presumably the builder, Heinrich II von Lichtenstein wanted to be buried here - the crypt is under the altar - and had the apse decorated with magnificent frescoes. They are among the most important of the early 14th century. Four prophets with scrolls and presumably the donor couple Heinrich II. Von Lichtenstein and his wife Petrissa von Zelking are in the triumphal arch that spans the entrance.
.jpg)
The Twelve Apostles , Peter and Paul are depicted on the walls with keys and swords. The naturalistic images and geometrically patterned frames are kept in red, blue and white.
Rocks of the altar
Pastor Josef Plack had the high altar built between 1740 and 1770. The central biblical representation is placed in a marble frame, which is a petrological and artistic treasure due to the structure and colors of the then very popular Adnet marble . This limestone formed around 208.5 to 201.3 million years ago in the tropical shallow water area and was subsequently backfilled in the deep water area with red-brown lime mud. These varied rocks, which were also used in Vienna's St. Stephen's Cathedral and Parliament, are quarried in numerous quarries in the Adnet region near Hallein .
Burials under the church
.jpg)
During archaeological investigations during the renovation work in 1992, 44 graves of 66 human individuals were discovered under the floor. These included not only women and men, but also children and adolescents, as well as toddlers and two newborns. The men of the 15th century died on average at 33 years old, in the 17th and 18th centuries they lived to be 38 years old. Two dead are so-called pot burials : A pot was placed on the corpse with the opening facing down. In a 20 to 25-year-old woman who had been sitting upright with her legs outstretched for several months before her death, the hip joints show abnormal changes. In this case the pot was found in the pelvic area. The crypt is located under the altar of the chapel in the aisle . Coincidental climatic conditions - a weak air flow - ensured that the dead, five men and two women, were mummified here . The average age at death was around 50 years, which is much higher than for burials under the floor. It can therefore be assumed that the personalities buried here had better living conditions. Elevated lead levels in the preserved bones indicate considerable wine consumption from drinking cups glazed with lead oxide .
literature
- Franz Sauer (Hrsg.): The parish church of Altlichtenwarth. Find reports from Austria, material booklet series A, special booklet 21, Ferdinand Berger and Sons, Horn 2014, pp. 4–72.
- Franz Sauer: The excavations in the parish church of Altlichtenwarth in Lower Austria. Find reports from Austria 38, Ferdinand Berger and Sons, Horn 1999, pp. 627–670.
- Andreas Rohatsch: The high altar of the parish church Altlichtenwarth. Find reports from Austria material booklet series A, special booklet 21, Ferdinand Berger and Sons, Horn 2014, pp. 76–77.
- Karl Großschmidt, Barbara Rendl, Andrea Straub and Michael Urban: Skeletons, mummies and apparent death. Find reports from Austria material booklet series A, special booklet 21, Ferdinand Berger and Sons, Horn 2014, pp. 92–99.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Lower Austria - immovable and archaeological monuments under monument protection. ( Memento from September 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) . Federal Monuments Office , as of June 27, 2014 (PDF).
Coordinates: 48 ° 38 ′ 51.3 " N , 16 ° 47 ′ 44.5" E