Parish Church of Mülln

Night view

The Roman Catholic parish church of Mülln, Our Lady of the Assumption , also Augustinerkirche or Müllner Church , is located on the northern edge of the Mönchsberg in the old suburb of Mülln in the city of Salzburg .

The church is a listed building and is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Historic Center of the City of Salzburg .

History of the church

A first chapel in Mülln was first mentioned in 1148. Archbishop Gebhard had the dilapidated altar of the Marien-Kapelle renewed. In this ancient suburb of the city, however, a small church may have stood much earlier. As a very old Salzburg suburb, Mülln was soon militarily secured as a fortification of the city and provided with walls and strong defense towers. The church, at that time probably located on Müllner Hauptstrasse, was also included. An old Romanesque crucifix has been preserved from this period.

Archbishop Johann II von Reisberg began for a church community that had now grown significantly in 1439 with the construction of the new church in the form of a Gothic hall church, the basic substance of which has been preserved to this day. The two master builders of the church were Ulrich Dankl and Heinrich Murauer. This church became a parish church shortly after 1460, when Archbishop Burkhard von Weißpriach separated Mülln and Maxglan from the cathedral parish and raised them to their own parishes. The archbishop entrusted pastoral care to a collegial foundation he had founded. The church deteriorated in the following years due to lack of financial possibilities. After 1525, only one or two priests lived in this financially weak monastery. Archbishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau then renewed the church, rebuilt it and handed it over to the Augustinian hermits as a new monastery church in 1605 . Under Max Gandolf von Kuenburg the church was redesigned in baroque style. In 1833 the church was handed over to the Benedictines in Michaelbeuern . Since 1835 it has been an incorporated parish of the Michaelbeuern Benedictine Abbey . Today's parish districts Lehen, Taxham, Leopoldskron-Moos, St. Vital and St. Paul once belonged to this parish.

The Mülln collegiate monastery and the Augustinian monastery

Archbishop Burghard founded the Augustinian collegiate monastery to look after the newly created parish, the establishment of which was confirmed by Pope Paul II in 1465. The monastery first consisted of ten priests (world priests, called canons) and a monastery director (dean). After 1525 only one or two priests lived here. Archbishop Wolf Dietrich handed the now completely orphaned monastery over to the Augustinian hermits as a new monastery church. Next to the parish church of Mülln is the former monastery of the Augustinian hermits, who worked here from 1605 to 1818. The monastery building consists of various buildings that were mainly designed in the early 17th century, but some of which date from the 15th century.

The Augustinians founded their brewery in Mülln here in 1621. The former monastery building has been used as a brewery inn since 1890. The hall fixtures were built in 1907, 1913/14 and 1927. Today's Augustinerbrauerei with the adjacent Müllner Bräustübl is Austria's largest beer restaurant.

Church building

Nave and steeple

The four-bay hall building was baroque in 1735–38. The Gothic ribbed vaults above the drawn-in baroque ceiling have been preserved. In the crown of the vault there are fields with the monogram of Christ, Mary and St. John and a dove of the Holy Spirit. The side medallions represent the four church fathers and the Annunciation of Mary. The pulpit has rich carvings and was created by Johann Georg Hitzl in 1739. The four canvas pictures above the entrances to the four chapels are by Vinzenz Fischer . They show the marriage, the Annunciation, the Visitation and the Ascension of Mary.

The holy water font dates from the 16th century. The painting of the sacristy door shows depictions of two Augustinian saints. The wall stucco in the sacristy with a relief of St. Bernard comes from the well-known plasterer Diego Francesco Carlone and was made in 1709.

The essentially late Gothic (but perhaps also much older) church tower now has three and four-part romanised acoustic arcades. The east and west sides of the tower are adorned with the splendid coats of arms of Max Gandolf von Kuenburg , who redesigned the tower in 1674 and had it fitted with a baroque double lantern.

Baroque altar

The Viennese painter Vinzenz Fischer created the design for today's baroque high altar in 1758–1760. The figures on the altar were designed by Lorenz Wieser . The representation of the Holy Trinity and allegorical figures of Fides (faith) and Spe (hope), crowned by the figure of St. Augustine, form the upper end of the altar, which is flanked by two double columns each. The Gothic miraculous image of the Madonna stands in the middle of the baroque altar, surrounded by baroque putti. The side statues depict the following saints: Alexius, Katharina, Barbara and Wilhelm von Maleval.

Miraculous image

Today's late Gothic miraculous image of Our Lady of Mülln has stood on the high altar of the Mülln church since 1453 . It was probably made by Jakob Kaschauer . (A final clarification of the authorship could be made possible by the faithful restoration of the original state of the Madonna). This beautiful Madonna with the baby Jesus was the focus of a pilgrimage in the late Middle Ages until the early 16th century. In the middle of the Gothic carved altar, she once stood surrounded by Saints Barbara and Katharina. Due to its great importance in the population, the statue has been preserved to this day. In the course of the relocation of the late Gothic statue from the former carved Gothic winged altar to today's baroque grand altar, the statue was changed: the once plain colored version of the pleated dress was massively gilded, Mary and the baby Jesus received mighty gold crowns. Until the 19th century, the figure was also dressed in heavy pompous robes. A faithful restoration could revive the old original Gothic appearance.

organ

The organ of the church, which Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau had already renewed in 1607 and repaired in 1614 and 1675, was gradually no longer functional. Therefore the church received a new instrument in 1679/80, which was built by the organ builder Christoph Egedacher , who was born in Straubing in 1641 and who lives in Mülln . The magnificent baroque case of this organ that has been preserved is adorned with the coats of arms of the abbots of St. Peter , Edmund Sinnhuber and Beda Seeauer . The organ was rebuilt several times and finally replaced in 1870 by a new organ with 14  registers by Matthäus Mauracher .

In 2003, the Kögler company from St. Florian built the current organ with 22 registers, the tonal structure of which is again a Baroque organ, and thus corresponds to the style of the case. The instrument is equipped with a wedge bellows with a pedal device and a tremulant that affects the entire work.

I Hauptwerk C, D – d 3 1. Principal 8th' 2. Piffaro 8th' 3. Dumped 8th' 4th viola 8th' 5. Octave 4 ′ 6th Nasard 3 ′ 7th Octave 2 ′ 8th. third 1 3 ⁄ 5  ′ 9. Mixture major IV 10. Mixture minor III

II Oberwerk C, D – d 3 11. Coppel 8th' 12. Quintadena 8th' 13. flute 4 ′ 14th Octave 2 ′ 15th flute 2 ′ 16. Cornettino II 17th Cimbel II

Pedals C, D – d 1 18th Sub bass 16 ′ 19th Octavbass 8th' 20th Octave 4 ′ 21st trombone 16 ′ 22nd Trumpet 8th'

• Coupling: II / I, I / P, II / P

Side chapels

From 1605 to 1610 Archbishop Wolf Dietrich had three side chapels and a sacristy built in the choir head. Three of the four side chapels (including the tower chapel) were built as burial places for his brothers, none of whom died in Salzburg and were therefore not buried here. Altar structures: The high altar was built in 1758/60 by master stonemason Jakob Mösl according to plans by Vinzenz Fischer . In 1766 the altar in the tower chapel was created by the brothers Johann Baptist and Wolfgang Hagenauer. In 1768 the altars for the three chapels originally intended for Wolf Dietrich's brothers followed, which were also built by Jacob Mösl.

The north-western chapel: was built for Hans Ulrich (II.) Von Raitenau (1567–1622), Commander of the Teutonic Order. However, he died in Blumenthal near Aichach (Bavaria) and is also buried there. The cover grille, made around 1610, shows the Raitenau coat of arms with the coat of arms of the Teutonic Order, here as a red cross on a white background. The stucco work was created around 1690. The marble altar with the altar sheet dates from 1768. The altar sheet shows how Christ appears with the cross to St. John a San Facundo OESA and embraces him. The full-body relic of St. Maximus is in a glass shrine. On the east wall is a Christmas picture (early 17th century) by Otto van Veen, on which, according to tradition, the portraits of Wolf Dietrich and Salome Alt should be seen.

The north-eastern chapel (sacrament chapel): was built for Hans Werner (IV.) Von Raitenau (1571–1647), Maltese commander. However, he died in Orsingen (Baden-Württemberg) and is buried there, as is Wolf Dietrich's mother Helena von Raitenau. The coat of arms of the Raitenau with the coat of arms of the Order of Malta, but here a red cross on a white background, is attached to the lattice. The stucco work and the final grille were created around 1610. The altar sheet was created in 1690 by Johann Michael Rottmayr . It shows St. Nicholas of Tolentino in his vision of the Christ child. The altar structure was erected in 1768 by Jacob Mösl. The late baroque tabernacle was made by Johann Georg Hitzl .

The southeast chapel: is on the ground floor of the old tower of the parish church (tower chapel). It should serve as a burial place for Salome Alt. The altar there with its side statues of St. John the Evangelist and the prophet Isaias was created by Wolfgang Hagenauer and his brother Johann Baptist Hagenauer . The miraculous image there shows Mary of the good advice of Genazzano. In the chapel there is an octagonal baptismal font made of Adnet marble with a late baroque lid.

The southwest chapel was built for Hans Rudolf von Raitenau (1575–1633) and his wife Maria Sydonia Freiin von Welsperg-Primör. Hans Rudolf died in Gmünd (Carinthia) and is buried there. The closing grille shows the coat of arms of Hans Rudolf on the left and the coat of arms of the Welsperg-Primör family on the right. It contains reliefs of the four evangelists and of God the Father. The altar with its altarpiece of St. Mary venerated by St. Augustine, Monika and Nicholas of Toledo was created in 1768. The side statues show Pope Gelasius (?) And Bishop Thomas von Villanova (?).

Staircase

From 1605 to 1609 today's staircase was placed in front of the west facade, which was connected to the old monastery building in 1614 via a flying buttress. Canvas pictures, framed by chapels, decorate the walls:

• Christ falls under the cross (created around 1600)
• Martyrdom of St. Ursula, presumably by Johann Bocksberger
• Vision of St. Augustine in the desert (lunette picture, created at the beginning of the 17th century)
• Flagellation
• Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian
• Descent from the Cross
• Pieta (around 1720)
• Chapel at the first landing of the staircase with altar around 1660
• Trinity Chapel

So-called. Schifferkreuz at the old sacristy in Mülln

Skipper's cross on the old sacristy

Accessible from the cemetery you can see the so-called late Gothic boatman's cross at the rear of the old sacristy; it has a length of approx. 2.2 m and a width of 2 m, the body is situated on wooden beams under a sheet metal cover. The so-called Schifferkreuz was mentioned for the first time in 1590 and was originally a soft cross at Gstättengasse No. 41, where it marked the city limits. It has been attached to the Müllner church since 1730 and the actual skipper's cross was equipped with a new baroque body and located on the Salzach. In 1735, Franz Anton Danreiter shows the cross on the eastern outer wall of the Müllner Church in his Müllner view. The local cross was presumably used as a presbytery cross in the former Gothic interior of the church and moved to the outer wall of the sacristy in 1730. The cross was recently restored by H. Helminger, but is still exposed to the elements.

Cemetery and the cemetery chapel (Kreuzkapelle)

Kreuzkapelle Mülln

Ceiling painting of the Kreuzkapelle Mülln

Altar of the Kreuzkapelle Mülln

The cemetery chapel is clearly elevated above the Müllner Hauptstrasse and a little below the parish church. This chapel was built in 1665 and renovated in 1709 in the baroque style. On the west facade it has a turret that has an onion dome and a bass violin window. The ceiling decoration of the chapel comes from Josef Schmidt, the baroque altar from Johann Michael Greiter. The ceiling paintings depict prayer, alms, fellowship and sacrifice. The chapel also served as a funeral chapel and has around 40 seats. The church has recently been restored and rededicated in 2007. A karner was also uncovered during the restoration work . Today the chapel is used again as a funeral hall for urns; In front of the chapel there is an "organic urn cemetery" where the ashes of the deceased can be scattered.

The cemetery was laid out in 1453 and has been abandoned since 1879, when the Salzburg municipal cemetery was founded . He stretches around the church. It is currently freely accessible again. Among other things are buried here:

• Franz Anton Alexander von Braune , a famous Salzburg botanist
• Heinrich Esser , court opera conductor and composer

The Mülln cemetery also includes the monk's columbarium under the church, accessible from the cemetery area , where 60 grave niches are arranged on both sides of an old vault and the path leads to another collective vault under a floor slab. In 1946, a Müllner Benedictine was buried here for the last time. In 2010 the columbarium was blessed again and the monk's crypt is accessible again from the former cemetery.

literature

• P. Petrus Buchwinkler (editor): 525 years of the Mülln Parish Church, Mülln Parish, Salzburg, 1978
• Lieselotte v. Eltz-Hoffmann: The churches of Salzburg. Verlag Anton Pustet, Salzburg 1993, ISBN 3-7025-0308-0 , p. OA
• Bernd Euler, Ronald Gobiet, Horst Huber: Dehio Salzburg - City and State: d. Verlag Anton Schroll & Co, Vienna 1986, ISBN 3-7031-0599-2 , p. OA

Web links

Commons : Pfarrkirche Mülln  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Commons : Totenkapelle Mülln  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Parish of Mülln , homepage
• Parish Church of Mülln, Our Lady of the Assumption . In: Salzburger Nachrichten : Salzburgwiki .

proof

1. ↑ Information on the historical organ ( Memento from December 3, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
2. ↑ Information on disposition  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the website of the organ builder  
3. ↑ Here, where beauty is the guardian of the dead ... (Nikolaus Lenau) . The former parish cemetery of Salzburg-Mülln and its monks' columbaria, ed. by Franz Lauterbacher OSB, Salzburg 2010.

Coordinates: 47 ° 48 '20.1 "  N , 13 ° 2' 6.1"  E