Parish Church of St. Nikolaus (Balzers)

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Parish Church of St. Nicholas

The parish church of St. Nikolaus is the Roman Catholic parish church of the municipality of Balzers in the Principality of Liechtenstein . The church, consecrated to Nikolaus von Myra , was built between 1909 and 1912 and replaced the old parish church of St. Nicholas.

location

The (new) parish church of St. Nikolaus is located between the two districts of Mäls and Balzers, right at the foot of the Gutenberg castle hill . Together with Gutenberg Castle and the community buildings (community administration and schools), it forms the center of the community of Balzers. The new church building was built around 600 meters south of the old parish church of St. Nicholas.

Old parish church of St. Nicholas

The early history of the old parish church is only very fragmented: In the Churrätischen Reichsgutsurbar of 842/843 two churches are mentioned for the parish of Balzers . One of them could be that chapel or a predecessor of the chapel that was elevated to parish church in 1305. It is not known which patronage the church had in the early days. At least until the end of the 11th and beginning of the 12th century, however, Nikolaus von Myra cannot be assumed as the titular saint.

Church tower of the old parish church

On the other hand, there is no doubt that the parish church was destroyed in a village fire in 1795 - along with 34 houses and the rectory. The foundation stone of the new church was laid on May 2, 1805 and on July 25, 1808 the newly built parish church was erected in honor of St. Consecrated to Nicholas. Since then, the church building has consisted of a single nave and a choir closed on three sides . The right of patronage was exercised by the owners of Gutenberg Castle until 1824. Together with the acquisition of the castle in 1824, the municipality of Balzers took over the right of patronage from the Habsburgs and thus the duty to preserve the parish buildings. Due to the limited space available, enlarging the parish church became an issue at least from the 1870s. In 1904, however, the episcopal ordinariate in Chur decided against an extension and instead opted for a new building near the Gutenberg castle hill.

The future of the old parish church was discussed for a long time. The Historical Association for the Principality of Liechtenstein, for example, suggested using the old parish church for the collection of artistic and historical objects. However, the parish assembly decided in September 1925 to demolish the parish church. This approach was also confirmed in 1926 in an expert opinion commissioned by the Vicariate General in Chur: This came to the conclusion that “the church building […] is not worth preserving”, but it is good “if the church tower remains as a landmark of the earlier church . ”Accordingly, the old parish church was demolished in 1926, with the exception of the tower. However, burials took place on the site of the former parish church until 1966. In 1998, the last graves in the "Old Cemetery" were finally closed and the old graves with cast crosses and gravestones removed.

New parish church of St. Nicholas

history

Aerial view of the municipality of Balzers with the new parish church and the tower of the old church in 1927

The foundation stone of the new parish church was laid on October 24, 1909 after lengthy discussions about location and financing, with the princely court architect Gustav Neumann acting as the architect . The parish church was built from Balzner marble , which was extracted in the local quarry. The masonry and stone masonry was done by a master mason from Schaan , the carpentry and plumbing work by two companies from Vaduz and the roofing work by a Dornbirn craftsman. The total costs (excluding interior work) were around 300,000 crowns , of which the Princely House took over around 220,000 crowns, while the rest was borne by the community and private donors. On November 12, 1912, the consecration in honor of St. Nicholas. Due to a lack of money, the nave was almost empty at the time of consecration, with the exception of temporary benches and two emergency altars. Instead, the paintings in the nave and its furnishings were mainly carried out in the 1930s.

Between 1971 and 1974, various renovation work took place inside and outside the church: For example, the area with the cemetery and parking lots were redesigned, the church roof was re-covered, and damaged areas in the facade were also repaired. At the same time, the interior was completely re-plastered and painted in a white color, so that the larger-than-life wall paintings (which had been modified several times) disappeared. In return, the choir windows, which were walled up in 1934 - in order to be able to create large wall paintings - were reopened.

In the years 1981 and 1982 further transformations of the interior: So the existing banks were, for example, replaced largely by individual chairs, including a new altar , ambo and tabernacle purchased, at the entrance one was windscreen glass and metal installed and the floor in choir as well as in the nave were given a slab of porphyry and Balzner marble.

Building description

Parish Church of St. Nikolaus and Gutenberg Castle from the south

The new parish church of St. Nikolaus is a church building characterized by neo - romanticism , which is made of natural stone masonry (Balzner marble). A lower choir with an apsidal closure adjoins the hall with a high gable roof . On the east side of the choir is the addition of the sacristy and on the west side the church tower. The main entrance is located on the north side of the church building, while the parish church is also accessible via an arcade on the east side. In addition, there has been a cemetery chapel on the east side of the church since 1992.

Furnishing

In the course of the renovations in the 1970s and 1980s, a large part of the interior was changed: the interior of the church has a much simpler appearance, particularly through the removal of the large-scale wall paintings, but also through a new ceiling design and the replacement of most of the benches with individual chairs receive. The same applies to the four-legged altar made of wood with a canteen made of black stone (altar consecration on December 8, 1982), the ambo made of roughly worked stone and the celebrant's chair made of wood, which make for a more modern choir furnishings.

Other objects, however, date from the first half of the 20th century. These include, for example, the stations of the cross on the east and west walls of the nave, which were consecrated in 1914. In addition, some furnishings from the old parish church of St. Nicholas were transferred to the new parish church. This includes in particular ten pews, which form the front rows on the west side.

Mosaics at the main entrance

Outside there are three mosaic pictures made of gold glass and Venetian enamel , which are located above the main entrance. These mosaics, installed in 1928, show St. Nikolaus as a helper in distress, on the right St. Martin on horseback with a beggar - the two patrons of the parish of Balzers. The center, on the other hand, is dominated by the prince and state coat of arms as well as the words: “Jubilee Church built to commemorate the 50th return of the reign of His Highness Prince Johann II of Liechtenstein.” Accordingly, the parish church of St. Nicholas has - to commemorate the 50th year The reign of Prince Johann II in 1908 - also known as the "Prince Johann Jubilee Church".

organ

For the old parish church of St. Nikolaus, an organ was purchased from the parish of Tschagguns (Vorarlberg) in 1816 . This single manual organ was built in 1746 and expanded in 1776. In 1894, the organ was replaced by an organ built in the Mayer brothers' organ workshop in 1874 - this came from the parish church of St. Laurentius in Schaan. After the construction of the new parish church St. Nikolaus, this organ was finally transferred to the new parish church and was in use there until 1949. In June 1949 a two-manual organ was consecrated, which came from the workshop of the Späth brothers (Rapperswil). For their installation, the old gallery parapet of the parish church was removed and a reinforced concrete structure was installed. This was finally replaced in 1982 by a new, three-manual organ from Späth Orgelbau AG (Rapperswil).

Bells

The parish church of St. Nicholas today has a peal of five bells : the bell foundry Grassmayr Brothers in Feldkirch poured in 1912 four bells, which have been given the bells from the old parish church in payment. In October 1965 the fifth and largest bell, which came from the Karl Czudnochowsky bell foundry (Erding, Bavaria) , was finally consecrated . For their installation the bell cage of the church was renewed and a steel construction was installed.

literature

  • Arthur Brunhart: 100 years of the Prince Johann Jubilee Church 1912-2012. In: 9496. Information magazine of the municipality of Balzers, No. 185, August 2012 , pp. 14-25.
  • Cornelia Hermann: The mosaics on the entrance facade of the parish church of St. Nikolaus in Balzers. In: Balzner Neujahrsblätter 2013 , pp. 15–25.
  • Cornelia Hermann: The art monuments of the Principality of Liechtenstein. The Oberland. 2007, pp. 33-50.
  • Judith Niederklopfer-Würtinger: Parish Church of St. Nicholas. In: Historical Lexicon of the Principality of Liechtenstein .

Web links

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

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Cornelia Hermann: The art monuments of the Principality of Liechtenstein. The Oberland. 2007, p. 33.
  2. ^ Cornelia Hermann: The art monuments of the Principality of Liechtenstein. The Oberland. 2007, pp. 28, 33.
  3. ^ Cornelia Hermann: The art monuments of the Principality of Liechtenstein. The Oberland. 2007, p. 35.
  4. ↑ a b Cornelia Hermann: The art monuments of the Principality of Liechtenstein. The Oberland. 2007, p. 36.
  5. ↑ a b c d e f Cornelia Hermann: The art monuments of the Principality of Liechtenstein. The Oberland. 2007, p. 37.
  6. ↑ a b c d e Cornelia Hermann: The art monuments of the Principality of Liechtenstein. The Oberland. 2007, p. 41.
  7. ^ Cornelia Hermann: The art monuments of the Principality of Liechtenstein. The Oberland. 2007, p. 37; Judith Niederklopfer-Würtinger: Parish Church of St. Nicholas. In: Historical Lexicon of the Principality of Liechtenstein. Volume 2, 2013, p. 705.
  8. ^ Cornelia Hermann: The art monuments of the Principality of Liechtenstein. The Oberland. 2007, pp. 39-40; Arthur Brunhart: 100 years of the Prince Johann Jubilee Church 1912-2012. In: 9496. Information magazine of the municipality of Balzers, No. 185, August 2012 , pp. 14-25.
  9. ^ Cornelia Hermann: The art monuments of the Principality of Liechtenstein. The Oberland. 2007, pp. 38-41.
  10. ↑ a b c Cornelia Hermann: The art monuments of the Principality of Liechtenstein. The Oberland. 2007, p. 40.
  11. ^ Cornelia Hermann: The art monuments of the Principality of Liechtenstein. The Oberland. 2007, p. 42.
  12. ^ Cornelia Hermann: The art monuments of the Principality of Liechtenstein. The Oberland. 2007, p. 50.
  13. ^ Cornelia Hermann: The art monuments of the Principality of Liechtenstein. The Oberland. 2007, pp. 40-42.
  14. ^ Cornelia Hermann: The art monuments of the Principality of Liechtenstein. The Oberland. 2007, p. 43.
  15. ↑ a b c d e f g Cornelia Hermann: The art monuments of the Principality of Liechtenstein. The Oberland. 2007, p. 45.
  16. ^ Cornelia Hermann: The art monuments of the Principality of Liechtenstein. The Oberland. 2007, p. 44.
  17. ^ Cornelia Hermann: The art monuments of the Principality of Liechtenstein. The Oberland. 2007, p. 41; Cornelia Hermann: The mosaics on the entrance facade of the parish church of St. Nikolaus in Balzers. In: Balzner Neujahrsblätter 2013 , p. 15.
  18. ^ Cornelia Hermann: The art monuments of the Principality of Liechtenstein. The Oberland. 2007, pp. 45-46.
  19. ↑ a b c d Cornelia Hermann: The art monuments of the Principality of Liechtenstein. The Oberland. 2007, p. 49.

Coordinates: 47 ° 3 '55.2 "  N , 9 ° 30' 8"  E ; CH1903:  seven hundred and fifty-six thousand seven hundred forty  /  214762