Bellwald parish church
The parish church of Bellwald owns the Seven Joys of Mary as patronage and was built from 1698. The church , together with the ossuary built between 1733 and 1734 and the cemetery, form a striking assembly. It is classified as a monument of the medium protection level (B object) and is therefore listed.
Building history
In the visitation files of 1687 a chapel in Bellwald in honor of Jesus, Mary and Joseph is listed. In 1697 the bishop signed the deed of foundation for the construction of a new church. At this point the location had not yet been determined; In addition to the current location, the one in Lärch between Ried and Bodmen was also under discussion. Construction began in 1698, as noted in the Michel Chronicle of Ernen; the date in the portal forehead is also the same. The church was consecrated on September 10, 1704 by Bishop Franz Joseph Supersaxon. The wooden ceiling was not painted until 1717, and an organ gallery was added between 1717 and 1735.
In 1801 the bell tower was rebuilt, as indicated by the year on the northern dial. Between 1830 and 1833 a gypsum barrel was pulled into the ship, which was removed in 1976 and the shingle roof was replaced by Joseph Steffen. The tower was so badly damaged in an accident (earthquake?) In 1855 that it had to be repaired by 1858. This is indicated by the tin numbers on the northern flank of the tower spire. Extensive renovation work followed between 1881 and 1890, including replacing the stone slab floor with a concrete floor. Paintings were also carried out and the chairs replaced. The tower cross was replaced in 1869/1870, 1931 and 1976.
The cast iron communion bench was purchased in 1872/1873. The church was historically painted in the spring of 1920 by Anton Imhof from Lax. In 1930 repairs had to be carried out in the sacristy. In 1936 the portal door from 1879/1880 was replaced. In 1938 the breast paneling and the church pews were replaced. A total restoration was carried out between 1975 and 1977. The architect in charge was Amédée Cachin, with A. Schmied assisting him as an expert for the Federal Commission for the Preservation of Monuments .
Building
The building stands on the southern edge of the old village center of Bellwald and, together with the ossuary and the cemetery, forms a striking assembly.
Exterior
The main axis of the structure points from the portal entrance to the ship in a north-easterly direction. At the rectangular ship the side a little drawn, includes rectangular choir at. A saddle roof arches over the entire church and ends with a crooked hip above the choir . The roof of the sacristy , which is located in the eastern (right) armpit of the nave and choir, is covered with a tent roof that connects seamlessly to the main roof. In the north (left) armpit of the nave and choir is the square tower . It has a cantilevered bell storey with a profiled ledge. The tower is covered with a concave curved helmet. This helmet is square in the base, leads over an octagon into the conical tube tip.
The portal from Giltstein is kept simple and has profiled fighters. There is an empty arched niche above the top. The southwest (right) ship wall has three arched high windows. Between the southernmost window and the portal wall is an extraordinary astronomical sundial, which was restored in 1977. The north-eastern (left) ship wall has two arched high windows. Between them was a arched side door, but it was walled up. The choir has a round arched high window on both long sides. In the middle of the front of the choir is an ocolus and next to it on each side a bezel.
Interior
The two large rooms are only slightly separated by the triumphal arch. The frieze-free profile beams encircle both the choir and the nave and are cut with teeth. The profile on the back wall of the church was removed when the organ gallery was being built. During the renovation in 1977, the ship was again covered by a five-axis polygonal ceiling made of wood. The choir is covered by a pair of stitch caps that merge into a seven-part fan vault. These supporting arches are diverted onto the walls of the rectangular choir by trumpet-like, subdivided support caps, standing like arcades on the cornice. In the apex of the choir there is a plastic, scaled medallion.
High altar
The high altar is dedicated to the Seven Joys of Mary and is attributed to the Sigristen-Bodmer circle. However, the side statues don't really fit into this design. The single-axis altar with main and upper floors is decorated with a lot of tendrils. On the occasion of the consecration of the church in 1704, a main altar and two side altars were also consecrated. The dates and documents found there suggest that the altar was built in stages. In 1976 the year 1717 was found on the base of the altar with the remark; Version by Johann Franz Abegg.
The right side altar was dedicated to St. Consecrated to Joseph. It was rebuilt several times and therefore replaced in 1977/1978 by the altar from the Richene chapel. The left altar was initially dedicated to the Lady, but was consecrated to the Sacred Heart in the second half of the 19th century. In 1977 the altar was in such poor condition that it had to be replaced by the reredos from the Anna chapel. The baroque pulpit was built in the last quarter of the 18th century by Joseph Anton Langer from Rekingen.
literature
- Walter Ruppen: Art Monuments of Switzerland Volume 67 - The Art Monuments of the Canton of Valais Volume 2 Untergoms. Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel 1979, ISBN 3-7643-1080-4 , pp. 293-301.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ B – Objects VS 2018 . Canton du Valais Inventaire PBC, Objets B, État: 1.1.2018 (pas de changements pour 2018) / Kanton Wallis KGS inventory, B objects, status: 1.1.2018 (no changes compared to the previous year). In: babs.admin.ch / kulturgueterschutz.ch. Federal Office for Civil Protection FOCP - Department of Cultural Property Protection, January 1, 2018, accessed on December 31, 2017 (PDF; 357 kB, 11 pages, updated annually, no changes for 2018).
- ↑ Literally: Johann Frantz Abegg, born in Schweytz, painted the choir altar sambt dem gewelb umb 42 dublen Ao 1717.
Coordinates: 46 ° 25 '24.9 " N , 8 ° 9' 36.2" E ; CH1903: six hundred fifty-five thousand four hundred fifty-seven / 141,614