Parish church of St. Leonhard near Freistadt
The Catholic parish church of St. Leonhard in St. Leonhard near Freistadt is a listed church building and a pilgrimage church . The parish belongs to the deanery Unterweißbach in the diocese of Linz .
history
The monks of St. Emmeran in Bavaria and St. Florian Christianized the area after several attempts at the end of the 8th century. The origins of the church go back to the beginning of the 12th century. At that time the area belonged to the parish in Gutau . The name of the church was mentioned in 1150. Hans von Kapellen, a wealthy noble landlord, appointed a permanent pastor for the church in 1337, the way to Gutau was too far for the believers. The pride fees were not enough for the pastor's upkeep, Hans von Kapellen assigned him land and a house and gave him the little tithe . However, the pastor of Gutau, whose subsidiary church was St. Leonhard, still had the right to a tithe on a number of houses. Erhard, the last male descendant of the Kapellen family, died in 1406. The property was inherited by the daughter Dorothea, who was married to Hartneid V. von Lichtenstein. Later the bailiwick came to the Lords of Zelking zu Weinberg. For the period around 1500, a brisk building activity is documented for the church, the Lords of Zelking are considered to be the builders of the church. At the beginning of the 16th century the church became Protestant, the priest Johann Hofstetter previously lived in the Catholic monastery of St. Florian. Hans Wilhelm von Zelking sold the bailiwick to Hans von Haym zu Reichenstein in 1584. After several quarrels, the community became Catholic again and received parish rights after 1644. The pilgrimage activity, which began early, was forbidden by the emperor in 1781 and the life-size statue of Leonhard was melted down. In the same year the cemetery was closed and a new cemetery was set up near the hospital. Since this terrain was very stony and rocky, burials turned out to be difficult, and from 1812 burials took place again in the old cemetery.
Building history
Before today's church there was certainly a wooden church, the builder of this Gothic building is not known. Parts of the church from the 14th century have been preserved in the west wall. The choir of today's church probably dates from the 15th century. The three naves were built until 1535 according to a name on a column at the main entrance. The building was considered to be in danger of collapsing at the end of the 16th century, buttresses solved the problem. The naves of the hall church with three vaults are the same length. The ribs of the vault in the choir cross and fork several times and form a regular network. The keystone shows a rose. In a major fire in 1825, the Gothic vault in the nave collapsed and the tower's helmet burned. The new barrel vault made of bricks looked unadorned, in 1890 ribs made of plaster were put in. The cruciform chapel, which was added to the church in 1698, as well as four chapels with statues standing on the cemetery wall were also damaged in the fire ; they were removed in 1825. A funeral hall was built in 1967 and in 1968 a new gallery replaced the old two-storey one. Extensive renovations of the interior and exterior were made from 1984 to 1994.
Furnishing
- A crucifix hangs over the sacristy ; it was carved by a sculptor from Freistadt in 1650. It used to be placed over the façade arch , today it serves as a mission cross.
- The previous Gothic altar from 1508 was dismantled in 1703; today's high altar is modeled on it. Many parts of the old altar are exhibited in the Upper Austrian State Museum in Linz. After the Gothic altar, a mighty black plaited altar in the Baroque style was purchased and demolished in 1899 due to excessive renovation costs. Today's altar in neo-Gothic style was built by the wood school in Hallstatt in 1904. The altar table and tabernacle are made of red marble, and the cafeteria is splendidly designed. The two ribbons Salve and Regina indicate the church as a Marian place of pilgrimage. The pictures on the predella, to the right and left of the tabernacle, show the church fathers Jerome, Gregory the Great, Augustine and Ambrosius. The figures in the shrine show Mary as Queen of Heaven in the middle and Dionysius and Leonhard on the sides. Three openwork wing towers rise up in the burst, the figure of the world savior is flanked by the saints Wolfgang and Maximilian. In the upper part, God the Father is enthroned, below him the Holy Spirit is depicted as a dove. In the side towers there are figures of John of Capestran and Franziska. Angel figures with banners complete the scenery. When the wings are closed, the so-called shrine guards Martin and Georg can be seen. The front of the altar wing shows the legend of Leonhard as a relief and the back shows the Passion of Christ.
Side altars
The side altars are built in the baroque style. The skeletons in the glass coffins belong to the catacomb saints of Helena in Rome. These skeletons of St. Felix and St. Christina were transferred to here in 1764. According to legend, a man came to a restaurant with Felix, his son. The waitress wanted to seduce the young man, but the latter refused. In revenge, the waitress hid a golden mug in the young man's backpack and accused him of theft. The boy was sentenced to death and his father was hung up with him. Ten years later the bodies were excavated, they began to speak, and demanded a place in the church.
The right side altar is a work from 1674, the large altarpiece shows the representation of the picture word Comment all to me, who are laborious and laden. I will give you rest . The flanking figures of Rochus and Sebastian are attributed to Meinrad Guggenbichler . The figures of Saints Dionysius of Corinth and Francis Xavier stand on the bust. The middle oval painting shows Mary with her son. The gable is crowned by Michael as soul guardian.
The left side altar was originally Johannes d. T. consecrated. The large altar painting showed the beheading of John, the picture was destroyed by moisture in 1906 and then replaced by the current one depicting the Holy Family. Florian on the left is shown as a Roman soldier in uniform, on the right next to the picture is Leopold. The figures on the sprinkling are Barbara and Katharina. The pediment is crowned by Christ in the pose of the good shepherd.
organ
The organ was built in 1753 by the organ builder Franz Lorenz Richter from Freistadt, it is one of the few surviving instruments by this master. It is equipped with a main work and a parapet positive so that the organist sits facing the altar. A register was replaced in the 19th century, and the case had to be increased by an attachment for the new, larger pipes. The key coverings of the lower manual were later renewed.
Painting above the triumphal arch
The mural shows handicapped people with various kinds of impairments. People make pilgrimages to the central sun and the cross and ask for rescue. The picture was painted by an unknown artist in the 20th century.
literature
- Brigitte Scheuchenpflug: St. Leonhard pilgrimage church near Freistadt. Kunstverlag Hofstetter, Ried im Innkreis.
- Friedrich Schober : The parish of St. Leonhard (near Freistadt). In: Mühlviertler Heimatblätter . Volume 8, Linz 1968, No. 9/10, pp. 166–168, online (PDF) in the forum OoeGeschichte.at.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Parish St. Leonhard near Freistadt on the pages of the Diocese of Linz.
- ↑ Brigitte Scheuchenpflug, pp. 2–6.
- ↑ Brigitte Scheuchenpflug, p. 8 f.
- ↑ Brigitte Scheuchenpflug, p. 12.
- ↑ Brigitte Scheuchenpflug, p. 13.
- ↑ Brigitte Scheuchenpflug, pp. 12-14.
- ↑ Brigitte Scheuchenpflug, p. 18.
- ↑ Brigitte Scheuchenpflug, p. 15.
Coordinates: 48 ° 26 '37.7 " N , 14 ° 40' 39.4" E