Parish Church of St. Jakob (Steinen SZ)

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The parish church of St. Jakob from the southeast

The Catholic parish church of St. Jakob in Steinen in the canton of Schwyz is one of the oldest houses of worship in the canton and is a listed building.

history

Interior of the parish church

Today's church is at least the third building at this point. Because on the occasion of the archaeological excavations 1963-65, two previous buildings could be proven. Older foundations were found under the Romanesque church from 1125, which are assigned to an undated chapel. The Romanesque church was donated as a parish church by Counts Roman von Lenzenburg and Arnold von Lenzburg . The deed of foundation is also the oldest document in which this church is mentioned. It is one of the three ancestral churches of the Canton of Schwyz, at that time Steinerberg , Sattel and Biberegg in Steinen were parishioners. With the extinction of the Lenzburg family in 1173, their property in the state of Schwyz, including stones with court and church, first fell to the Kyburgers and then to the Habsburgs . First Count Adalbert von Habsburg and in 1232 Rudolf the Silent . From this it came to the Count Eberhard, under whom the church members of Steinen bought themselves free of the landlord rights in 1296 (end of serfdom). After the ransom, the now free people joined the state of Schwyz. The right of patronage came in 1273 through the sale to Rudolf II of Habsburg Austria. At the time of purchase, a quarter belonged to Einsiedeln Monastery , which also had rights to the church tenth. The monastery probably received these partial rights as early as the 10th century as a gift from Count Ulrich von Schänis . The Austrian part of the church was bequeathed by King Sigismund the Ammann and the councilor of Schwyz in 1433. On December 28, 1465, the monastery also renounced its rights to church law in favor of Schwyz.

Building history

The ossuary

On the foundations of a Romanesque church consecrated in 1125, a new Gothic church was built at the beginning of the 14th century and consecrated in 1318. The nave and choir were new, and the Romanesque tower that had been taken over was increased in 1540 under Jakob Anderrüti and given a pointed helmet. At the same time the choir was redesigned and expanded. The interior was redesigned in Baroque style between 1660 and 1670, and in 1740 the tower was given a new domed spire based on the model of the church in Schwyz. In 1842/43 a comprehensive renovation took place, in 1893 a partial renovation of the interior. In 1963/65 and 2002/03 they were restored again and archaeological excavations were carried out. The Romanesque and Gothic foundations under the choir were exposed and made accessible.

In the case of exterior renovations in 1831, 1900 and 1933, new documents were placed in the tower ball according to Schwyzer custom, which already contained documents from 1664 and 1740.

Ossuary

The late Gothic building of the ossuary was consecrated in 1509 and has a striking wooden ceiling, wall paintings and a Gothic winged altar. It houses countless bones and skulls that were reburied there after the cemetery was cleared.

Works of art

Holy grave

The high altar from 1673 was heavily changed in 1790 and decorated with wooden statues by Joseph Anton Janser .

A holy grave ordered by the parish from the painter Joseph Schilter in 1916 fell out of use and forgotten over time. At Easter 2009 it was rediscovered, measured and photographed by former mayor Albert Grossmann and Harry Guzek in an old shed belonging to the community. A model was then reconstructed from these images. In 2010, before Easter, the original of the tomb was put back in the church for the first time in sixty years.

Web links

Commons : Parish Church of St. Jakob  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ B objects SZ 2018 . Canton Schwyz KGS inventory, B objects, as of 1.1.2018 (no changes compared to 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; 331 kB, 8 pages, updated annually, no changes for 2018).

Coordinates: 47 ° 2 '59.9 "  N , 8 ° 36' 46.5"  E ; CH1903:  689,225  /  two hundred and eleven thousand six hundred sixty-two