Parish church Altmünster
The Roman Catholic parish church Altmünster is a listed sacred building in the market town of Altmünster in the Gmunden district in Upper Austria . As a parish church , it belongs to the Gmunden deanery of the Linz diocese . It is under the patronage of St. Benedict .
history
Altmünster is one of the oldest parishes in Upper Austria. The history of the parish goes back to the 8th century. Between 748 ( Mondsee Monastery ) and 777 ( Kremsmünster Monastery ) a Benedictine abbey was most likely founded. In 909 the Altmünster monastery is mentioned in a document. The monastery was closed in 955 at the latest and the abbey became a parish.
Around 1150 a Romanesque church was built in place of the abbey church, of which the baptismal font and the 45 meter high church tower have been preserved. In 1269 the parish church was mentioned in a deed of donation.
In the second half of the 15th century (1470–1480) a three-aisled Gothic hall church with a ribbed vault was added to the Romanesque tower . Up to 1530 three chapels were added, the baptismal or Lady chapel, the confessional or Anna chapel and the All Saints Chapel.
In the middle of the 16th century, the Reformation found its way into the towns of the Salzkammergut . Only Protestant pastors were active in Altmünster until 1599 , when the Counter-Reformation began.
The presbytery (chancel) was built around 1625 in the Renaissance style. The canonical connection between the Altmünster parish and the Dominican Sisters of Imbach was dissolved in 1764, when Altmünster became part of the Passau diocese . In 1785 Altmünster was incorporated into the Linz diocese. For many years there was an Altmünster deanery.
Church building
- Church exterior
The massive west tower in the Romanesque style has an octagonal tower with a pyramid helmet. In the upper tower floor there are four Romanesque arched windows as sound openings. At the gates of the church (all shoulder arches) there are stonemason's marks.
- Church interior
The spacious late Gothic hall church is equipped with a baroque, heavily elevated choir. The nave in the late Gothic style has three aisles and four bays, around 1470. The ribbed vault is drawn down deep. The detached, barrel-vaulted stab cap has a 3/8 end and is dated around 1625.
The Marienkapelle (also: Frauenkapelle) is Gothic and has two bays with a 3/8 end, the gate is marked 1473, in front of it a star rib vaulted vestibule. To the east of the Marienkapelle is the All Saints Chapel, a former baptistery. It is dated to 1508 and has two bays with a 3/8 end. To the west of the vestibule is the confessional chapel (former Anna or death chapel). The confessional chapel was renewed in 1490/97 and has a Gothic gate to the vestibule.
Church furnishings
Altars and pulpit
A high altar completed in 1690 was dismantled in 1897 due to worm damage and replaced by a neo-Gothic one. In 1937 the remains of the “old” high altar were rebuilt, the altar table and tabernacle remained neo-Gothic. The painting Death of St. Benedict is referred to as 1636. The statues of St. George and St. Florian and two kneeling angels are from Michael Zürn the Elder. J., around 1690.
The left side altar in baroque form (Josefi altar) shows a picture by Hugo Löffler from 1903. The right side altar (Johannes von Nepomuk altar) has a painting Glorification of St. Johannes von Johann Karl von Reslfeld , 1697, and statues in the manner of Thomas Schwanthaler.
The rococo pulpit is from 1751. The statues in the choir were made around 1905.
The altar in the All Saints Chapel dates back to 1518. It is made of various stone parts and put together with a mass of plaster of paris and sand. This All Saints altar (with group of saints) combines the elements of late baroque and renaissance. The structure is similar to that of the altars in Zwettl Abbey and in Mauer near Melk . There is also the epitaph of Count Adam von Herberstorff in the chapel with a life-size relief portrait.
Christmas crib
The large church crib has been exhibited in the confessional or Anna chapel since 1974. The crib is one of the most popular motifs to re-carve for a typical Salzkammergut Christmas crib . The creator of the more than 60 figures was Johann Georg Schwanthaler in the last third of the 18th century.
Bells
At the end of the church renovation at the beginning of the 21st century, the church tower received six new bronze bells, which were consecrated on November 7, 2004.
Baptismal font
The Romanesque baptismal font from the end of the 12th century is octagonal. Reliefs on the outer surfaces show the bust of a person and three symbolic animals. The dove stands for innocence , the goat for sin and the fish for the water of baptism .
literature
- Association for the publication of a district book Gmunden (ed.): The district of Gmunden and its communities. From the beginning to the present . Upper Austrian Provincial Publishing House , Linz 1991.
- Bundesdenkmalamt (Ed.): Dehio-Handbuch Oberösterreich . 3. Edition. Anton Schroll & Co, Vienna 1958.
- Johann Lüftinger: The parish church of St. Benedikt von Altmünster on the Traunsee. Roman Catholic Parish Office Altmünster (ed.), Altmünster 2011, p. 32 (baptismal font).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Upper Austria - immovable and archaeological monuments under monument protection. ( Memento of June 8, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) . Federal Monuments Office , as of June 26, 2015 (PDF).
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Roman Catholic Parish Office Altmünster (Ed.): Parish Church Altmünster hl. Benedict . Salzkammergut Media, Gmunden 2011, p. 1-53 .
- ^ Heinrich Marchetti: Altmünster. Community mirror and history . In: Association for the publication of a district book Gmunden (Hrsg.): The district of Gmunden and its communities . From the beginning to the present. Upper Austria. Landesverlag. Linz. 1991. pp. 737-745.
- ↑ a b c d e f g Federal Monuments Office (Ed.): Dehio-Handbuch Oberösterreich . 3. Edition. Anton Schroll & Co, Vienna 1958, p. 21-22 .
Coordinates: 47 ° 54'4.5 " N , 13 ° 45'53.6" E