Quirinus Munster (Neuss)

Quirinus Minster, west facade

Quirinus-Münster, choir view

inner space

Floor plan of the Quirinus Minster

Floor plan of the crypt

The Quirinus-Münster is a church in the Rhenish transition style on the Lower Rhine and a landmark of the city of Neuss . It was built in the years between 1209 and 1230 and on October 6th, 2009 by Pope Benedict XVI. , at the request of the Archbishop of Cologne, Joachim Cardinal Meisner, raised to the status of a minor basilica .

history

In the year 16 BC The Romans set up a legion camp south of today's old town. Outside the military area, a civilian settlement soon emerged. On the basis of finds it can be assumed that - similar to Cologne or Xanten - there were also Christians among the Roman population .

As is customary with the Romans, the deceased were buried outside the settlement. Such a burial ground was in the area of ​​today's church. Remains of an apse from Roman times have been found under the cathedral . They are part of a cella memoriae , an ancient building for the memory of the dead and are visible through a glass plate in today's floor.

A monastery was founded around the year 850 . It is uncertain whether it survived the Norman invasion of 866. What is certain is that in the second half of the 12th century the monastery was converted into a noble women's monastery , a canonical monastery under the patronage of St. Quirinus. The St. Quirinus monastery was also the owner of the "Quirinushof", also popularly known as "Kringshof" or "Jungfernhof", in today's Oberkassel .

The first written mention of a church at this location comes from the year 1043 on the occasion of a donation by Heinrich III. The city ​​patron Quirinus is also mentioned for the first time in this document . According to old tradition, his bones were brought by the Neuss abbess Gepa, the sister of Pope Leo IX. in 1050 from Rome to Neuss. A brisk stream of pilgrims was the welcome result.

The resulting prosperity may have been one of the reasons that - after several previous buildings - led to the construction of today's church in 1209. The foundation stone with the name of the builder Wolbero can be seen in the church. The building was based - mainly recognizable by the three conches in the chancel - at the St. Maria im Kapitol Church in Cologne (choir around 1060) and its successors, Great St. Martin (around 1165) and St. Aposteln (choir around 1200). The exterior view of the choir also shows the influence of Cologne's Romanesque churches.

The landmark of the church was the almost 100 m high west tower, which shaped the cityscape of Neuss until the 18th century. As early as 1496, the west tower was struck by lightning and the bells in it were destroyed. In 1741 the church was again badly damaged by lightning and subsequent fire. The Gothic pointed helmets of the west and east towers above the crossing, as well as some dwarf galleries , were not rebuilt. Instead, the building received the baroque dome with the statue of Quirinus and a flat pyramid roof on the main tower.

The consequences of the French Revolution were devastating . Valuable items of equipment had been brought to safety from the occupation and never returned or were destroyed. The church served as a storage room, the monastery buildings were demolished.

The cathedral was also damaged in the following centuries - for example in 1914 in a fire in the tower and in 1944 in a bomb attack in which some people were killed in the crypt . Thanks to ongoing and extensive restoration work , the cathedral is still in very good condition 800 years after construction began.

architecture

Building inscription from 1209

The Quirinus Minster is an excellent example of sacred architecture in the transition period from Romanesque to Gothic in Germany. The gallery basilica for receiving the pilgrims is also the last large church building in the Rhenish triangular style - the transepts, like the apse, have a round end. Construction began on October 9, 1209. The date is known from the foundation stone set in the masonry in the south aisle. The translation of the Latin inscription reads:

In the year of the Incarnation of the Lord 1209 in the first year of the imperial reign of Otto [IV.] As Adolf Cologne bishop and Sophia [von Altena] was abbess, Master Wolbero laid the first foundation stone of this temple on the day of St. Dionysius the martyr.

The fact that Adolf von Altena was still titled Archbishop of Cologne in the inscription despite his removal can probably be seen as a favor to his sister Sophia. Since the cathedral church is also the burial place of the bishop, it has been speculated whether a representative grave building was aimed at at the same time as the new building.

The exterior of the Quirinus Minster is characterized by the color contrast between light tuff and black basalt . Both types of rock are of volcanic origin, were mined in the nearby Eifel and transported by ship on the Rhine to Neuss.

The chancel view is characterized by two-storey apses with superimposed blind arches and final dwarf galleries . These do not butt against each other, but the corners of the crossing tower remain visible as a gusset, which takes up their structure and appearance at the level of the dwarf galleries and continues with small double arcades. Above this are two more tower floors with small triangular gables.

The facade and the westwork of the minster are extremely richly designed: pilaster strips , large blind arcades and arched friezes are common in the Romanesque (their origin is in Lombardy ), but are nowhere to be found on a comparable scale. The original design probably provided for two towers, as the division in the lower part of the facade shows. The transition to the simple, central tower is made by decorations in the middle part of the facade. The new Gothic style already had an impact on the Neuss building, because you can see some pointed arches on the tower of the minster . With a height of almost 100 m, the tower was the highest in the Rhineland, but was reduced by more than 30 m in a fire after a lightning strike in 1741. At the same time, the crossing tower was given a baroque dome with a Quirinus statue as a crown.

Interior with choir

The main portal was reserved for the abbess and the high clergy, the pilgrims and the population used the more elaborate south portal. Since 1995, a portal created by the Cologne sculptor Elmar Hillebrand , which was donated by the Neuss Citizens' Rifle Club and which represents all the patron saints of his regiment, and gives a vivid impression of the shooting activities has been set in here. In front of the portal there is a statue of the Neuss citizen and Cologne Archbishop Joseph Cardinal Frings from 1998, who celebrated his primacy in the Münster and remained connected to his hometown throughout his life.

Lantern tower with corner pendentives , wreath of windows and a ribbed or umbrella dome at the end

The three-aisled interior is characterized by its almost Gothic height - the nave is only about 5 m lower than Notre-Dame in Paris. The wall structure is in three parts : a gallery opens over the arcades , and above it is the upper arcade with fan and keyhole windows that are rarely found elsewhere.

Under the altar one comes across the oldest part of the church - the crypt with two columns from around 1050 and remains of the floor from the 9th century. One of the tallest lantern towers in Central Europe rises above the altar ; it develops from a square basement with blind arcades and pendentives over an octagonal upper floor with window openings and closes with a ribbed or umbrella dome with a central oculus .

Furnishing

Quirinus statue on the dome

Pieta around 1430

Originally, the Quirinus Minster was very splendidly furnished: a ciborium in neo-Gothic style was built over the main altar, similar to St. Paul Outside the Walls and other churches in Rome . Many other, in some cases very valuable, objects were destroyed in the Second World War , so that there is not much left of the former splendor today. Nevertheless, the cathedral has noteworthy items of equipment:

• The eye-catcher is the Quirinus shrine from 1900, which is set up in the apse and contains the relics of the saint . It is the work of the Aachen goldsmith Bernhard Witte . The slab that supports the shrine rests on four stone prophets by Hein Minkenberg from the former high altar . Two candles on candlesticks from the 19th century to the left and right of the shrine are a reminder of the successful defense against the city siege by Charles the Bold . On the sides behind the shrine, Tintinnabulum and Conopeum are placed as visible signs of a minor basilica . The shield of the Tintinnabulum shows 9 round objects. The middle one houses a beehive bell. The “nine balls” were a symbol for Saint Quirinus von Neuss in the 14th century. The shrine replaces an older one, dating from 1597, which is now in the city's Clemens Sels Museum . The original medieval shrine was previously destroyed in 1585.
• Also noteworthy are a Roman sarcophagus with a late Romanesque grave slab and a Quirinus statue from the 16th century in the south side altar. Quirinus is shown here as a knight with a shield and a lance. It comes from the workshop group of the Cologne sculptor and carver Tilmann van der Burch .
• A forked crucifix, the so-called plague cross (1360), which shows the suffering Christ with ulcers, can be found on a northern pillar of the nave.
• The late Gothic Madonna, also a beautiful Madonna around 1400–1430, is an important work of the “ soft style ” of the Rhineland.
• On the southern pillars of the nave there is an Anna Selbdritt from the beginning of the 16th century, a Pieta from around 1430, a Baroque Matthias sculpture and a figure of Peter from the 16th century.
• At the height of the organ gallery, in the center of the nave, hangs a large wooden cross made in 1592 with a moving representation of Christ.
• Large-format murals by the Düsseldorf Nazarene Franz Ittenbach , who created them in 1863–64, can be found in the cones .
• In 1871 the Joseph altar was built in the north aisle for the silver pontifical jubilee. The pontiff Pius IX . is depicted on the altar in a prayerful posture. This shows that there was an early connection between the minor basilica and Rome.
• The larger than life statue of Christophorus by Hein Minkenberg by the portal on the north west tower pillar in the main nave (1936/37) as well as the tabernacle , ambo , rood screen and a way of the cross , all by Elmar Hillebrand, are more recent .
• The choir stalls from the 15th century, which were partially destroyed in the Second World War, are located in the north and south cones .
• Under the dome is the modern people's altar made of Portuguese aurora marble, which Elmar Hillebrand created in 1970 and consecrated to Cardinal Frings on January 12, 1971. The salvation-historical events of the birth of Christ, his death on the cross, the resurrection and the second coming are depicted in flat reliefs on the four sides under high arcades.
• The bronze figure erected in the immediate vicinity in August 2000, which depicts the Archbishop of Cologne, Josef Cardinal Frings, who was born in Neuss, also comes from Hillebrand.
• Since June 29, 2010, an enamelled metal shield with the Benedict XVI coat of arms, made in Italy, has been on the organ loft. attached, under whose pontificate the Neuss Minster was elevated to a minor basilica.

• 

  Plague Cross, 1360

• 

  so-called Beautiful Madonna, 1430

• 

  Choir stalls, around 1550

• 

  Quirinus Shrine from 1900

organ

Seifert organ and cross from 1592

The large organ was built in 1907 by the organ builder Ernst Seifert (Cologne-Mannsfeld and Kevelaer). The instrument initially had 78 stops on three manuals and a pedal (pneumatic membrane drawer ) and was placed on the two side galleries. After the tower fire of 1914, in which the organ was affected, the organ was electrified and received a new console that was placed on the north gallery. In 1942 the instrument was relocated to protect it from the effects of war. In 1947 the organ was repaired; In the course of this, the disposition was lightened according to the sound ideals of the time. The instrument received a new console. In 1955 a fourth manual was added to the organ.

In 1993/94 the organ was cleaned, the swell mechanism was installed in a new case made of solid spruce and the organ case was given a new color. Today the instrument has 85 sounding registers on four manuals and a pedal, making it one of the largest organs in Catholic churches in the Archdiocese of Cologne. The actions are pneumatic.

In 2015 the instrument was completely refurbished and completely cleaned by the builder company Romanus Seifert & Sohn. It also received a new console according to the latest standards of the Association of German Organ Builders; an electronic typesetting system from SINUA also allows thousands of register combinations to be saved and the organ to be tuned by one person via remote control; the organist can also record and play the organ again. In 2015, the non-functional prospect pipes, which had been added in the 1930s and were intended to give the instrument “a dignified appearance”, were also removed; As a result, the organ has gained in power and volume, and the sound can once again penetrate the nave unchecked, as was the case in 1907 when it was built.

I Hauptwerk C – g 3 01. Principal 16 ′ 02. Drone 16 ′ 03. Principal major 00 08th' 04th Open flute 08th' 05. Principal 08th' 06th Viol 08th' 07th Gemshorn 08th' 08th. viola 08th' 09. Dumped 08th' 10. Harmony flute 08th' 11. Fifth 05 1 ⁄ 3  ′ 12. Praestant 04 ′ 13. recorder 04 ′ 14th Fifth 02 2 ⁄ 3  ′ 15th Octave 02 ′ 16. Cornett IV 0 17th Mixture V 0 18th Cymbel V 0 19th tuba 16 ′ 20th Trumpet 08th' 21st shelf 08th'

II Positive C-g 3 22nd Dumped 16 ′ 23. Principal 08th' 24. Tibia 08th' 25th Praestant 08th' 26th Lull major 08th' 27. Quintad 08th' 28. Distance flute 08th' 29 Octave 04 ′ 30th Hollow flute 04 ′ 31. Dulciana 04 ′ 32. Super octave 02 ′ 33. Forest flute 02 ′ 34. Sesquialter II 0 35. Octavcymbel III 00 0 36. Mixture IV 0 37. Rankett 16 ′ 38. horn 08th' 39. shawm 04 ′

III Swell C – g 3 40. Lovely Gedackt 16 ′ 41. flute 08th' 42. Violin principal 08th' 43. Tube bare 08th' 44. Delicately packed 08th' 45. Aeoline 08th' 46. Vox coelestis 08th' 47. Transverse flute 04 ′ 48. Gemshorn 04 ′ 49. Violin praestant 00 04 ′ 50. Piccolo 02 ′ 51. Sesquialter II 0 52. Scharff V 0 53. Terzcymbel III 0 54. Dulcian 16 ′ 55. Bear whistle 08th' 56. Clarinet 08th' 57. oboe 08th'

IV Kronwerk C – g 3 58. Principal 08th' 59. Reed flute 08th' 60. Gedacktpommer 0 08th' 61. octave 04 ′ 62. Pointed flute 04 ′ 63. Night horn 02 ′ 64. Fifth 01 1 ⁄ 3  ′ 65. Terzian II 0 66. Scharff IV 0 67. Krummhorn 08th' 68. Vox humana 08th' Tremulant

Pedal C – f 1 69. Contrabass 32 ′ 70. Principal 16 ′ 71. Violon 16 ′ 72. Salicet 16 ′ 73. Dacked bass 16 ′ 74. Sub bass 16 ′ 75. Quintbass 10 2 ⁄ 3  ′ 76. Octavbass 08th' 77. cello 08th' 78. Flute bass 08th' 79. Lovely Gedackt 00 08th' 80. Choral bass 04 ′ 81. Quintad 02 ′ 82. Mixture V 0 83. trombone 16 ′ 84. Trumpet 08th' 85. tuba 08th'

• Pairing :
  • Normal coupling: II / I, III / I, IV / I, III / II, IV / II, IV / III, I / P, II / P, III / P, IV / P
  • Super octave coupling: I / I
• Playing aids : Fixed combinations (organ pleno, generaltutti), three free combinations, crescendo roller storage.

Bells

The church tower hides seven church bells (the tower currently has space for an eighth bell), which is one of the largest in the Archdiocese of Cologne; For reasons of voluntary immission control, the sound windows were closed to a large extent during the last renovations so that the sound in the bell chamber can mix and be directed into the distance. The two big bells from 1922 are the remainder of an originally six-part chime in the strike tone sequence g sharp ⁰ –h ⁰ –c sharp ¹ –dis ¹ –f sharp ¹ –g sharp ¹ . For new acquisitions after the Second World War , the ringing was extended to seven bells. From May 2012 to December 2016 the Quirinus bell was out of order due to damage.

No.	Surname	Casting year	Foundry, casting location	Ø (mm)	Mass (kg)	Percussive ( HT - 1 / 16 )
1	Quirinus	1922	Heinrich Ulrich, Apolda	2010	5750	gis 0 -8
2	Maria ( comforter )	1922	Heinrich Ulrich, Apolda	1700	3231	h 0 -5
3	Joseph	1949	Petit & Gebr. Edelbrock , Gescher	1516	2270	cis 1 -2
4th	Salvator	1949	Petit & Gebr. Edelbrock, Gescher	1330	1470	dis 1 -2
5	Joseph	1959	Petit & Gebr. Edelbrock, Gescher	1245	1250	e 1 -2
6th	Donatus	1959	Petit & Gebr. Edelbrock, Gescher	1097	850	f sharp 1 -2
7th	Sebastianus	1959	Petit & Gebr. Edelbrock, Gescher	975	600	gis 1 -3

Ringing motif : Te Deum laudamus , Praise to God No. 379

Web links

Commons : Quirinus-Münster Neuss  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Website

See also

• List of the abbesses of St. Quirin in Neuss

Individual evidence

1. ^ Neuss-Grevenbroicher newspaper on the basilica survey
2. ↑ A region is organized. In: Hans-Joachim Neisser: 100 years of Düsseldorf on the left bank of the Rhine, or how Düsseldorf came across the Rhine. Grupello Verlag, 2009, ISBN 978-3-89978-099-4 , p. 15. (grupello.de , PDF)
3. ↑ Quirinstrasse with an explanation of the origin of the name: The Quirinushof belonged to the noble women's monastery St. Quirinus, now (1932) in Oberkasseler Strasse 64 , In: Address book for Düsseldorf city and surroundings. 1932, p. 309.
4. ^ Wilfried Koch: Architectural Style. Orbis, Munich 1994, ISBN 3-572-00689-9 .
5. ↑ Max Tauch: St. Quirinusmünster Neuss . In: Quick Art Guide . 2nd Edition. No. 1400 . Schnell & Steiner GmbH, Regensburg 2002, ISBN 3-7954-5110-8 , p. 15 .
6. ↑ Information about the Seifert organ on the website of the Münsterchor
7. ↑ ^{a b} Gerhard Hoffs: Bell music in the city dean of Neuss. Pp. 122-132. ( glockenbuecherebk.de ( Memento from October 6, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), PDF; 883 kB)
8. ^ Four years of mute - Quirinus rings again. In: Neuss-Grevenbroicher newspaper. December 23, 2016.

literature

• Complete St. Quirinus jubilee booklet, for pilgrims, containing the story of the conversion and martyrdom of St. Quirinis, and the transmission of His St. Relics to the city of Neuss; like that of Sr. Holiness Pope Pius IX. Anniversary bull issued in addition to the mass, litany, psalter and other devotions on May 5th and the 7 following days on St. Quirinus and when using Quirinus water. Engels & Lensch, Düsseldorf 1850. ( digitized version )
• Wilhelm Effmann : The St. Quirinus Church in Neuss - based on the restoration plans of the government architect Julius Busch . Düsseldorf 1890. ( digitized version )
• Max Tauch: The Neuss Minster. History - architecture - equipment. with photographs by Robert Boecker. JP Bachem Verlag, Cologne 2009, ISBN 978-3-7616-2297-1 .
• Helmut Wessels: Neuss and St. Quirin on foot - 3 tours through medieval Neuss and the Quirinus minster . 2004, ISBN 3-7616-1801-8 . (English ISBN 3-7616-1956-1 )
• Max Tauch: St. Quirinusmünster Neuss. (= Schnell art guide. No. 1400). 2nd Edition. Schnell & Steiner publishing house, Regensburg 2002, ISBN 3-7954-5110-8 .
• Hans-Peter Zils: Basilica, Conopeum and Tintinnabulum, title and insignia of the Quirinus Minster in Neuss. In: Novaesium. Neuss yearbook for art, culture and history. City of Neuss, Neuss 2013, ISBN 978-3-922980-48-1 , pp. 194-211.

Coordinates: 51 ° 11 ′ 56.6 "  N , 6 ° 41 ′ 35.5"  E