Parish Church of St. Martin (Altdorf)
The parish church of St. Martin is the Roman Catholic parish church of Altdorf in the canton of Uri . The building, dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours , was built between 1602 and 1606 according to the plans of the builder Rocco Ruggia . The Altdorfer Martinskirche has a special place in the history of the development of Swiss sacred architecture , as it is the first early Baroque church building in German-speaking Switzerland. In the village fire of 1799, the original interior was largely destroyed and then replaced by a classical one. The church is classified as a cultural asset of national importance .
In addition to the parish church, the church district also includes the St. Anna ossuary chapel to the south , the Mount of Olives chapel to the north and the cemetery.
history
The patronage of the church has been known from a pictorial representation of St. Martin on a pastor's seal since 1260, and has also been documented since 1359. In favor of the Fraumünster in Zurich , the Bishop of Constance renounced the parish's income in 1244. At that time, in addition to Altdorf, this also included Attinghausen , Erstfeld , Flüelen , Isenthal , Seedorf , Seelisberg and Sisikon . With the split from Sisikon in 1387 the parish began to shrink until 1665 only the municipality of Altdorf belonged to it. Mayor and council of the reformed city of Zurich, legal successor of the Fraumünster Abbey, renounced the feudal obligation of the parish Altdorf in 1525, after which the church administration was completely transferred to the village. The parish in its current form has existed since 1846.
Excavations have shown that there were four previous buildings at the site of the church. The first goes back to the third quarter of the 7th century and had a nave about ten meters wide and three Alemannic stone graves with additions (these are exhibited in the Historical Museum of the Canton of Uri ). The second church from 9/10 The century was hardly greater, but unlike the first, traces of the choir have been preserved. In the 12th century a Romanesque hall church was built , which was the first to have a steeple. The fourth church, built in the first half of the 14th century in the Gothic style, exceeded the size of the previous buildings many times over. The nave was only slightly shorter than that of today's church, and there was a rood screen in front of the choir . The tower shaft (up to a height of 29.5 meters) and some parts of the furnishings have been preserved. This church is depicted in Johannes Stumpf's chronicle published in 1548 .
After an earthquake damaged the church in 1601, the church members decided a year later to rebuild the eastern part with the choir and sacristy . The Urner Landammann Sebastian von Beroldingen took over the planning and entrusted the builder Rocco Ruggia from Lugano with the execution. Ruggia built in the Baroque style , which had become fashionable in northern Italy and was now being used for the first time in German-speaking Switzerland. Since the Gothic nave no longer matched the newly built east section, Ruggia received the order in 1603 to convert this part as well. Lienhard Schläpfer from Appenzell was hired for the roof structure and the carpentry . In 1605 the exterior work was completed. In 1606 Schläpfer raised the church tower. The Bishop of Constance Jakob Fugger inaugurated the church on October 1, 1606. The construction costs totaled 28,300 guilders .
A devastating large fire destroyed around 400 buildings on April 5, 1799. The church was also affected: the fire destroyed the upper part of the tower, the roof of the choir and the nave as well as a large part of the interior. Joseph Ritter, the master woodworker of the city of Lucerne , recommended demolishing the uppermost part of the walls and raising them by 3.3 meters, as well as extending the choir by three meters. This work was carried out in 1801/02, from 1803 the church was usable again. Franz Josef Rey was in charge of construction. In 1895 an exterior renovation took place, in 1903 an interior renovation. A total restoration followed in 1965/71, accompanied by archaeological investigations.
Building
The church is located slightly above the town center, on a foothill of the steeply sloping Eggberge . It is arranged exactly in a west-east direction, with its 56-meter-long south facade facing the village. The structure is staggered in three ways: with the portico in front of the entrance portal, with the cantilevered side chapel and with the sacristy . Finely squared pilaster strips made of sandstone separate the individual components. A cornice forms the demarcation to a walled mezzanine section , which has several small round windows ( oculi ). Another cornice divides the side chapel and sacristy into a main floor and an upper floor. The shape and profile of the sacristy windows in the 2: 1 format resemble those of the drum windows of the Santa Maria Maddalena church in Rome, which was built 20 years earlier . The chapel window and the three windows of the nave are designed similarly, but significantly longer (2.5: 1 and 2.67: 1 respectively).
The main entrance to the left of the projecting chapel wing is surrounded by Doric pilasters decorated with elongated triglyphs and guttae . In between there is a wide frieze under a protruding segmented gable . The tympanum contains a cartouche with an inscription. The door leaves are decorated with carved patterns. The portal area is covered by a sign with a vault. Another entrance portal with a sign is on the western narrow side, under a gable with a crooked hip . It is designed as a round arch portal with a keystone adorned with laurel . The northern long side has no entrance. A structure with pilaster strips was omitted. Since the tower shaft, which was taken over from the Gothic predecessor building, protrudes uninterrupted with smooth wall surfaces, this facade facing the mountain slope appears sober. On the top of the arch of the church tower are dials, half of which protrude into the dome. At the top is a lantern with a small pointed helmet .
Furnishing
The nave with barrel vault is 36 m long, 16 m wide and 18 m high. The original stucco plastering from the early 17th century has been completely preserved in the upper part of the western entrance side, to a large extent also on the nave walls. The stucco and painting on the ceiling date entirely from 1802/03. The oval main painting extends over three yokes . It was made by Giovanni Battista Bagutti from Rovio and depicts Saint Martin of Tours ascending to heaven. Other oval paintings by the same artist show the miracle of raising a dead child (in the second furthest yoke) and Martin's death (in the second foremost yoke). Above the south portal is a large-format painting of Johannes Nepomuk from around 1740 . The attached sacristy has three floors, with the lower floor completely retaining its original state from 1602/03.
The choir, which has been raised by six steps , also has parts of the original stucco. The stone vault withstood the fire of 1799, but the stucco was removed there. The choir ceiling painting by Bagutti shows the adoration of the lamb from the Revelation of John , a motif that is rare in German-speaking Switzerland. The high altar , designed by Carlo Andrea Galetti in 1804 , combines two types of Italian altar, the ciborium and the retable . The base zones of both elements are made of marble , the upper parts of stucco marble . On the copper-gilded door of the tabernacle , the Last Supper is depicted in the form of a silversmith's work . From Franz Abart white combined wooden statues of the apostles come Paul and Peter , of Josef Anton Mesmer the altarpiece with a crucifixion scene. The choir stalls were created in 1808 by Felix Anton Hediger. Two paintings hang on the choir walls. The one on the south side shows the Adoration of the Shepherds, was made around 1605/10 and comes from an unidentified painter from Northern Italy. The painting on the north side dates from the second quarter of the 17th century, probably by a painter from the Veneto region ; The motif is the feast in the house of the Pharisee Simon.
The two side altars in the nave, both created by Galetti in 1804, are made of stucco marble as a flat retable. On the south side is the Joseph altar with a painting by Xaver Hecht (Death of Saint Joseph). The Marian altar on the north side contains a rosary by Joseph Anton Mesmer. The pulpit , designed by Galetti in 1803 and executed by Johann Josef Moosbrugger in 1804, is finely orchestrated and rich in figures. The main relief on the pulpit shows the wife of Zebedee , the medallion on the narrow side shows John the Baptist . The sound cover is decorated with numerous golden ornamental ribbons, the pulpit is complemented by sculptures of the evangelist symbols and a trumpet angel . The organ on the stucco gallery is the work of the Carlen brothers from Gluringen (1806–1809).
Bells
The parish church of St. Martin has a historically very valuable ensemble. The ringing consists of seven bells from different gissers, which were mainly active in the Aarau area. Sebastian Rüetschi is also a predecessor of today's H. Rüetschi company in Aarau, then still in Zofingen. The full bell is only reserved for the highest public holidays. On public holidays you ring the bell at 9:50 for 10 minutes. The big bell is used to ring the bell.
| No. | Surname | Casting year | Caster | Casting location | Weight approx. | volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Big bell | 1827 | Sebastian Rüetschi | Suhr | 3600 kg | A ° |
| 2 | Weather or fire bell | 1803 | S. Sutermeister, H. Kunz, J. Haller | Zofingen | 1800 kg | cis' |
| 3 | Wiseglocke | Sebastian Rüetschi | Suhr | 900 kg | e ' | |
| 4th | End bell | S. Sutermeister, H. Kunz, J. Haller | Zofingen | 540 kg | G' | |
| 5 | Children's teaching bell | 1871 | Gebr. Rüetschi | Aarau | 450 kg | a ' |
| 6th | - | 1803 | S. Sutermeister, H. Kunz, J. Haller | Zofingen | 250 kg | ais' |
| 7th | Children's end bell | 180 kg | cis '' |
literature
- Helmi Gasser : The parish church of St. Martin in Altdorf and its district . Ed .: Society for Swiss Art History . Swiss art guide, volume 826 , series 83.Bern 2008, ISBN 978-3-85782-826-3 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Gasser: The parish church of St. Martin in Altdorf and its district. Pp. 5-8.
- ^ Gasser: The parish church of St. Martin in Altdorf and its district. Pp. 8-12.
- ^ Gasser: The parish church of St. Martin in Altdorf and its district. Pp. 12-15.
- ^ Gasser: The parish church of St. Martin in Altdorf and its district. Pp. 15-17.
- ^ Gasser: The parish church of St. Martin in Altdorf and its district. P. 18.
- ^ Gasser: The parish church of St. Martin in Altdorf and its district. Pp. 19-20.
- ^ Gasser: The parish church of St. Martin in Altdorf and its district. Pp. 20-21.
- ^ Gasser: The parish church of St. Martin in Altdorf and its district. Pp. 21-24.
- ^ Gasser: The parish church of St. Martin in Altdorf and its district. Pp. 38-39.
- ^ Gasser: The parish church of St. Martin in Altdorf and its district. Pp. 25-29.
- ↑ Galetti, high altar (photo)
- ^ Gasser: The parish church of St. Martin in Altdorf and its district. Pp. 29-32.
- ^ Gasser: The parish church of St. Martin in Altdorf and its district. Pp. 32-35.
- ↑ Galetti, side altar (photo)
- ^ Gasser: The parish church of St. Martin in Altdorf and its district. P. 36.
- ^ Gasser: The parish church of St. Martin in Altdorf and its district. Pp. 37-38.