Parish church of St. Leonhard in Lavanttal
The Roman Catholic parish and pilgrimage church of Bad St. Leonhard in Lavanttal has a collection of Gothic glass paintings that is unique in Carinthia . The church is located east of the city on a slope. The fact that the church is outside of the city may have something to do with the maintenance of an old cult site that later acquired Christian significance.
history
The church has its origins in a Leonhard chapel, the "capella sancti Leonardi in Gaminare", which was founded by Bamberg Bishop Otto I between 1106 and 1139. There are only traces of the parish church, first mentioned in 1278. The construction of the church that exists today began in the first third of the 14th century and was largely completed by 1340. Even before the Hungarian invasion in 1485, the church was surrounded by a mighty defensive wall, of which only remains are preserved in the cemetery wall. The massive west tower, which was renewed after a fire in 1591, dates from this time. In the 17th century the tower of the church received an onion helmet , a new portal in the defensive wall, an outside staircase at the west portal and the church received new altars. Sankt Leonhard was administered by the Bamberg diocese until 1675 and was in its possession until 1759. The pulpit, statues and oil paintings were added to the church furnishings in the 18th century . In 1826 the Leonhardikirche was raised to the status of an independent deanery parish church. In 1885 a fire damaged the tower and the church roof. This was followed by a comprehensive restoration, which included the re-erection of the roofs, the repair and addition of the building sculpture, the painting of the interior, the restoration of the altars, the addition of the glass paintings and the purchase of new organs and bells. After the helmet of the tower, which was rebuilt in 1885, again fell victim to the flames in 1917, the decision was made to replace the baroque onion helmet with a copy of the original tower end with a weir core documented on a votive picture. Since there was a lack of money at the time of the Great Depression, twelve of the Gothic glass paintings were sold to America for the tower. These are now in The Cloisters of the Metropolitan Museum in New York . The remaining stained glass was removed and kept safe during the Second World War. From the 1950s to the late 1970s, the windows were restored and reinstalled. In 1986, numerous works of art were stolen during a break-in, including the four Gothic altar wings of the St. Anne's Altarpiece, two of which were found and returned to the church in 1993. In another break-in in 1987, a stained glass, the Crowning of Thorns , was destroyed.
Building description
Outside
A late mannerist cemetery portal built by Hans Schmitzberger in 1645 leads into the churchyard . It is around an arched square portal with volute keystone, blown gable and three obelisks .
The church is a three-aisled late Gothic basilica with an elongated choir. The south facade facing the valley is more elaborately designed than the north facade. The lower aisles are supported by buttresses. On the south side in the area of the upper aisle of the central nave there are three smaller rose windows and on the choir wall above the sacristy two larger rose windows. The choir has two-tiered buttresses with pinnacles and blind windows with pointed gables over the lower roof. A low sacristy is built into the southern corner of the choir. A buttress arch goes over the sacristy , which is supported by a wall and a buttress with a branch crown. On the south side of this buttress are two consoles crowned by Gothic canopies with the statues of Saints Leonhard and Laurentius from the 14th century.
The south portal with a stairway has a multi-profiled Spitzbogengewände, the two towering Fialtürmchen with crab and finial framed and from one with a central rose window and further tracery equipped gable is crowned. The depiction of the holy head in the rosette dates from the 19th century.
The mighty church tower in the west facade was built around 1485, the end of the tower in 1930, planned by Karl Holey, was reconstructed according to old views. The bell storey has two sound openings with segmented arches and four protruding corner bay windows with conical roofs around the pointed pyramid roof. A large pointed arched window with rich tracery has been preserved above the west portal of the tower. On the south wall are the spoils of a previous building: console sculptures of a nymph-like figure and the evangelist symbols bull and lion. The ogival, Gothic west portal with an outside staircase built in the 17th century has an iron-studded door with shooting holes. In the southern area of the western wall of the nave, a wall painting with Christ in the mandorla and angels was partially exposed.
The church is surrounded by a Leonhard chain, which was forged 1910–1912. The original chain was donated around 1480 by a farmer who was captured and released by the Turks. This chain looped around the church twice and was removed during the time of Joseph II .
On the south side of the church there is a gravestone with a relief cross, the donor's gravestone of Konrad Popp with a relief of the family of seven under the crucifix from 1593, the epitaph of Catharina Popp created by Hans Denk in 1593 , a coat of arms gravestone with a portrait relief of Wolfgang Aschinger and Mrs. Maria Zellerin walled in from 1547. The grave stone of Georg Sigismund Lechner with a children's relief from 1583 can be found in the cemetery wall.
Inside
Inside, the church presents itself as a three-aisled basilica with staggered choirs. The central nave with three rectangular bays is vaulted with cross ribs . The tall nave wall of the central nave, rising over pointed arches, rests alternately on pillars and columns without capitals. The tower yoke above the west gallery has wide pointed arches on the four sides . The gallery was built into the central nave and the north aisle in the second half of the 16th century. It is arched under with barrels with stitch caps. A pilaster-like balustrade is in front of the gallery parapet. Above this, the Gothic pointed arches are partially visible. A high, profiled triumphal arch connects the nave with the choir. The three-bay choir with a five-eighth end is vaulted with cross ribs, with the western, square yoke separated from the others by a strap. The choir vault rests on consoles with vine leaves relief and countersinks on which the four evangelist symbols are depicted. In the southern wall of the choir there is a seating niche for two celebrants, which is crowned by two eyelashes with a three-pass closure. Next to it, a portal with an iron-studded door leads into the single-bay sacristy with a five-eighth lock and a rosette keystone in the ribbed vault. The fresco with the Archangel Michael weighing souls on the north wall of the choir was painted in the early 15th century.
The four-bay north aisle has a ribbed vault, partly over bundled round bars. A chamfered triumphal arch connects the aisle with the north side choir. The two-bay side choir with a five-eighth closure has a ribbed vault that rests on small figural consoles. These depict a man in pain with the tools of suffering, a kneeling donor and a bearded man with a headgear, probably a self-portrait of the sculptor. A stone spiral staircase leads from the choir to the attics of the aisles and the central nave.
The four-bay south aisle with a straight end is vaulted with ribs and two vegetable consoles. The wall painting remains from the 15th century in the western yoke depict the Deesis and the Mount of Olives scene .
The one-bay chancel in the south aisle has a ribbed vault over sunken cores with figurative consoles. In the wall there is a sacrament niche with tracery.
Stained glass
The eight tracery windows in the choirs and in the nave are furnished with around 140 glass paintings, which were made around 1340 by the first and around 1400 by the second Judenburg workshop. The original arrangement of the discs was changed when they were reinstalled after the Second World War. Many scenes from the life of Christ that are now in the north aisle were originally built into the tall, lancet-like chancel windows behind the high altar .
In the first window in the north aisle, starting from the west, the donor couple Heinrich and Kunigunde Croph are shown kneeling in front of the standing Holy Mother Anna with Mary, above the Madonna of the Annunciation flanked by the holy royal couple Heinrich and Kunigunde . In the upper part of the window scenes from the Leonhard legend and St. Martin are depicted.
In the second window, starting from the bottom left, the following are shown: the Annunciation to Mary, the Visitation of Mary , the birth of Christ , the offering in the temple , the adoration of the kings , Jesus among the scribes, the baptism of Jesus , the miracle of bread and fish , the last supper , Christ on the Mount of Olives, the kiss of Judas and the arrest of Jesus.
Lower partial view of the second northern window
Upper partial view of the second northern window
The third window shows Christ before Pilate, the flagellation of Christ, the crowning of thorns, the carrying of the cross, the crucifixion, the descent into hell , the resurrection , the ascension and " Noli me tangere "
The first three windows were made around 1340, the fourth around 1360. In the fourth window the Saints Augustine , Nicholas , Erasmus , Martin as well as Ursula and Kunigunde are shown.
Saints Barbara , Ursula, Stephanus and Ulrich can be seen in the southern end of the choir window . The first four stained glass of the window were made around 1360, the following around 1340. Above them are the apostles Andrew , Phillipus , Petrus and Paulus as well as Mary and Christ, above the apostles Bartholomäus and Andreas.
In the first window from the east in the south aisle, scenes from the life of Mary and Christ are depicted: the Visitation, the birth of Christ with a reclining Madonna, the flight into Egypt, the Mount of Olives scene, the Judas kiss and the resurrection. The stained glass on this window was made around 1340.
The stained glass on the second window was made around 1380. They show a man of sorrows with a cross and a crown of thorns on the crossbar as well as a spear and cross presented by an angelic figure. Furthermore Peter and Paul can be seen.
The third stained glass window was painted around 1410. It shows: the apostles Judas Thaddäus and Bartholomäus, the saints Laurentius and Leonhard, two apostle representations from more recent times, the saints Agnes and Margareta , a Madonna with child in an artistic throne architecture, the saints Dorothea and Katharina , above the picture of the mercy seat and as a conclusion the handkerchief of Veronika .
The fourth, five-lane window was built around 1400. It shows: St. Leonhard, a kneeling donor, the Madonna with Child Jesus, St. Ursula and Barbara, another donor, above two prophets with turban-like headgear, above the apostles Judas Thaddäus and Peter , Noli me tangere, a mercy seat, the coronation of Mary , Saints Dorothea and Elisabeth , above that four other prophets.
Facility
High altar
The early Baroque high altar was in 1640 by Kaspar Alger from Gmund created and 1646 by Johann Seitlinger taken . The three-storey altar fills the choir almost to its full height and width. A rococo tabernacle from the third quarter of the 18th century stands in the high basement of the low cafeteria . There are two arched sacrificial portals to the side . Above this is the main floor in the triumphal arch type. The central picture from the first half of the 18th century shows the Assumption of Mary and is flanked by the statues of Saints Leonhard and Laurentius. On the upper floor are the sculptures of Saints Heinrich and Sebastian on the left and those of Kunigunde and Rochus on the right . The top picture shows the torture of St. Laurentius. The top of the high altar is a tondo , showing St. Leonhard with the prisoners, and the statues of Michael, Katharina, Barbara, Georg and Florian .
Leonhardi altar
On the north side of the choir is the Leonhardi Altar, which was built around 1670 and is the actual destination of the pilgrims. The black and gold triumphal arch altar with painted antependium contains St. Leonhard in the central niche and John the Baptist and St. Christopher in the side niches . The two angels with cartouche reliefs with miraculous representations on the bent sides were created by Michael Zill. In the shrine of the tower in the blown gable stands a mother of God with child. The conclusion is formed by a ray halo with IHS mark between two decorative vases.
Catherine Altar
The Katharinen altar from the middle of the 17th century is in the northern side choir. The Adikula altar with console pilasters depicts the mystical marriage of St. Catherine with the baby Jesus. The figures of the two Johns are placed next to it. The top picture with the Assumption of Mary is flanked by the figures of St. Barbara and probably St. Elisabeth . The crowning piece is the statue of Francis of Assisi . The birth of Christ is depicted on the antependium.
Anne Altar
In the southern side choir is the late Gothic Anne altar. The winged altar from 1513 probably comes from the Judenburg workshop and was made by Lorenz Schwaiger. The painter of the altar wings was Master Melchior of Saint Paul. The altar shrine contains a group of Anna-Selbdritt figures and in the background five half -figures of the holy clan . In conversation Enge , the sculptures are the saints Helena , Lawrence and Leonhard. On the inside of the wing, scenes from the legend of Joachim and Anna are depicted: in the upper left the sacrifice of Joachim is rejected; In the upper right corner, an angel tells Joachim to return to Anna; below left Joachim meets Anna at the Golden Gate and the picture below right shows the birth of Mary. Twelve standing saints are depicted on the outside: top left: Andrew, Bartolomäus and Philip; below Laurentius, Sebastian and Stephanus, right above Fabian , Matthäus and Pope Stephan and below Vitus , Sigmund and Achatius . These altar wings were stolen in 1986 and brought back in 1993. The inactive wings with the paintings of Saints Catherine, Ursula, Barbara, Margaretha, Helena, Odilia , Kunigunde and Petronilla are still missing .
On the secluded back of the shrine in the central niche is the figure of St. Christopher, surrounded by St. Benedict , Lamprecht , Magdalena and Agatha, as well as the coat of arms of the Greissenegk family.
Anna Selbdritt altar
In the western yoke on the left pillar there is a simple baroque adicular altar with console pilasters and a painted antependium from the middle of the 17th century. The middle picture shows Maria and Anna kneeling in front of a manger, Anna holding the baby Jesus in her arms. The side console figures under canopy arches made of cartilage represent Saints Leonhard and Sebastian. The sculpture of Saint George is placed in the top.
Anthony Altar
The Antonius altar stands on the southwest pillar. The redesigned altar with probably a new shrine goes back to an altar that was probably made in a Judenburg workshop around 1513. In the shrine are the figure of the apostle Paul, who was reworked from a statue of St. Anthony, a sculpture of Peter that was originally probably Gregory the Great and St. Christopher. An apostle, who cannot be specified, and St. Roch are set up in the burst. A third, originally existing figure is missing.
Mary Altar
The Marian altar on the west wall of the south aisle is an aedical altar with console pilasters and delicate cartilage ornaments from the middle of the 17th century. The altarpiece shows Mary in a circle of angels. St. Rupert with the salt barrel stands on the left and St. Virgil on the right . The top picture shows God the Father flanked by female saints, presumably the Saints Hemma and Kunigunde. The sculpture of Archangel Michael forms the conclusion above the blown gable.
pulpit
The rococo pulpit dates from 1779. The princes of the apostles Peter and Paul sit on the bulges of the pulpit. On the parapet of the pulpit, there are reliefs in rocailles frames depicting the fish haulage, the handing over of the keys and the sower. The back wall forms a rocailles frame with the chronogram : “eX pIIs paroChIanorVM / obLatIs CatheDra eXorta” (1779 This pulpit was erected as a pious donation from the parish). The allegorical female figures “Faith” with chalice and “Hope” with anchor sit on the sound cover . The third Christian virtue , "love" is represented by the boy Jesus with a cross in his hand and a heart on his chest.
Lenten cloth
On the north wall of the choir has been hanging the late Gothic Lent Shawl by Reichenfels from around 1520 , which contains seven scenes from the Old and eighteen scenes from the New Testament in 25 fields. The individual depictions draw their motifs from engravings from Dürer's surroundings .
Further facility
- Opposite the pulpit is a statue of an enthroned Madonna from around 1330/40. This was set in gold and crowned in the baroque era.
- Under the gallery is an octagonal marble baptismal font from the mid-14th century, which has quatrefoil subdivisions on the parapet fields.
- The monumental lecture cross on the northern triumphal arch pillar from the second half of the 18th century has an INRI tablet in Hebrew, Latin and Greek letters.
- A statue of John Nepomuk from the second half of the 18th century stands on the western round pillar on the north side .
- Procession poles with the baroque statues of Saints Sebastian and Florian from the second half of the 18th century are set up on the east side of the western pillars .
- The tomb of Sigmund von Pain from 1596 on the south west tower pillar shows in relief the resurrection of Christ, including the family of the deceased, kneeling before the risen one.
- On the north pillar of the west tower is the tombstone of Christoff Rösch, who is shown in relief kneeling in front of the crucifix.
- On the west side of this pillar is the grave slab of Gregor Jöstl with three coats of arms crowned by artistic helmets.
- Votive pictures in the choir, in the aisles and in the vestibule. Only eight of the once numerous survive.
Baptismal font (14th century)
Votive picture on the west wall of the vestibule
Karner
The Romanesque Karner north-east of the church is a two-storey round building with a conical roof from the second half of the 12th century with a profiled arched portal, a tracery window and small arched windows, a polygonal eaves. The leg chamber is in the basement, and a chapel with an altar consecrated in 1654 is upstairs. In the altar shrine there is a plastic representation of St. George fighting a dragon. A representation of the Lord's Supper is painted on the antependium.
Importance as a pilgrimage church
The pilgrims, who came mainly from Carinthia and Upper Styria, appealed to Saint Leonhard to intercede against diseases of cattle and humans, but also to free them from captivity, with votive offerings made of iron. The main days of pilgrimage are Whit Monday and November 6th. A large number of forged iron votive offerings have been preserved in the church, depicting people and animals in simple forms.
literature
- Dehio manual. The art monuments of Austria. Carinthia . Anton Schroll, Vienna 2001, ISBN 3-7031-0712-X , pp. 39–44.
- Barbara Kienzl: The baroque pulpits in Carinthia. Verlag des Kärntner Landesarchivs, Klagenfurt 1986, ISBN 3-900531-16-1 , p. 259.
- Gottfried Biedermann, Karin Leitner: Gothic in Carinthia. With photos by Wim van der Kallen. Carinthia Verlag, Klagenfurt 2001, ISBN 3-85378-521-2 , pp. 35-37, 110, 217, 222-224.
- Barbara Neubauer -Kienzl, Wilhelm Deuter, Eduard Mahlknecht: Baroque in Carinthia. With a contribution by Eva Berger. Universitätsverlag Carinthia, Klagenfurt 2000, ISBN 3-85378-489-5 , p. 87.
- Eduard Mahlknecht: Bad St. Leonhard in Lavanttal . Kunstverlag-PEDA, Passau 1995, ISBN 3-930102-07-2 .
Web links
Coordinates: 46 ° 57 ′ 43.1 ″ N , 14 ° 48 ′ 1.6 ″ E