Minster Church of St. Alexandri (Einbeck)

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South side of the minster church of St. Alexandri

The Minster Church of St. Alexandri was founded in the 11th century as a collegiate church . It is located in the northern part of the old town of Einbeck in southern Lower Saxony . The red sandstone building is one of the largest Gothic hall churches in northern Germany. The choir stalls from 1288 are the oldest dated choir stalls in Germany.

The monastery existed until the 19th century. The cathedral church is today by the ev.-luth. Parish of Einbeck used.

History of the pen

Interior view through the central nave
Two-storey twin towers with a baroque spire

Count Dietrich II and his wife Gertrud the Younger of Braunschweig founded a collegiate foundation at their manorial estate in Einbeck north of the Bachaue des Krummenwassers around 1080 , which they apparently provided with rich goods - the deed of foundation has not survived. The first monastery buildings and the church were completed in 1108. The patronage of the martyr Alexander of Rome is very rare in Lower Saxony and can be documented for the first time for the Einbeck monastery by means of a seal from the early 13th century.

Gertrud's daughter Richenza may have brought the relic of the Holy Blood to St. Alexandri at the beginning of the 12th century - although it is documented only in 1306 - whereupon it became a place of pilgrimage. Under their heirs, especially under Heinrich the Lion from 1143 and under Heinrich Mirabilis , the influence of the monastery increased continuously through land ownership and privileges such as its own administration and jurisdiction. In terms of space, too, it was initially separated from the market settlement that emerged at the beginning of the 13th century by the approximately 200 meter wide flood plain of the Krummen Wassers.

After the founding of the Duchy of Braunschweig-Grubenhagen , Heinrich Mirabilis began converting the Romanesque basilica into a significantly larger, today's Gothic hall church. The importance of the monastery was emphasized by the fact that the Archbishop of Mainz hived it off from the Archdiakonat Nörten around 1300 and made it the center of its own diaconate, to which the other churches in the city and the surrounding areas were subordinate. With a maximum of 18 canon positions in the late 13th century, St. Alexandri was a stately institution.

A provost as head of the St. Alexandri Monastery is first recorded around 1137 . Provost Ekkehard († 1165) was a long-time confidante of the Saxon dukes and for several years also headed the office of Emperor Lothars von Süpplingenburg . Since the late 13th century, later-born sons of the dukes of Braunschweig-Grubenhagen have often been found as provosts.

The dukes of Grubenhagen had the right to hold important offices such as provost. The provost was also archdeacon . He administered the goods. However, he did not exercise jurisdiction himself, but instead hired a clergyman with the title "Official" for this purpose. The dean was elected by the collegiate chapter. The pin field in the narrow sense, because of its own jurisdiction also Stiftsfreiheit called, was exclave in the surrounding spiritual area. However, since it supported the pastors in the area, its sphere of influence in this sense bordered on the Diocese of Hildesheim in the north, on the Diocese of Paderborn in the west and on the Archdiaconate of Nörten in the south. His arch priestly seats (Sedes) were Einbeck, Salzderhelden , Stöckheim , Markoldendorf and Greene .

The pen was endowed with numerous full or partial tithe rights . These included: 23 hooves at Einbeck, 49 hooves at Holtensen , 43 hooves at Edemissen , 19 hooves at Negenborn , 25 hooves at Vogelbeck , one hoof at Kuventhal , one hoof at Andershausen , one hoof at Kohnsen and 62 Meierhöfe in the offices of Grubenhagen , Hunnesrück and Brunstein . In addition, the Kalandsbrüder in the area around Einbeck ceded a third of their property to the monastery in 1413.

The Alexander-Stift initially remained Catholic when the city of Einbeck converted to Lutheran doctrine in 1527, and was not forcibly reformed until 1545. The lords of Braunschweig-Grubenhagen took over the provost and church property. Some of the books in the well-stocked abbey library, mainly works from the decades around 1500, were transferred to the Göttingen Royal Library in 1831 . At the beginning of 1837, the monastery jurisdiction was transferred to the city administration, the special position of the monastery district within the city was thus canceled. At that time, the monastery freedom comprised 30 residential buildings with 205 inhabitants, i. H. about 4 percent of the city's population. Like all Hanoverian men's pens, the monastery was dissolved by law in 1850 and the property was allocated to the general monastery fund. After a transition period, the monastery chamber of Hanover has managed the monastery assets since 1863 until today.

Since 1209, a Latin school, famous in northern Germany, has been part of the monastery, where training was given up to the time of ordination. In the middle of the 18th century, however, the number of pupils had dropped sharply and, due to the loss of the Latin class, it was only a second-class elementary school . The pen school existed until the end of 1847.

building

crypt

The monastery consisted of two buildings, the church and the residence of the canons , which also included a refectory , a chapter house , the library, the cloister and a school. The inner courtyard of the cloister was also the cemetery. On July 26, 1540, most of the buildings were destroyed by fire. The monastery buildings with the school and library, as well as the western part of the church roof and the organ, were burned to the south of the church building. Only the church and the chapter house survived the fire, but the latter was demolished in 1873.

Parts of the original church building were discovered in 1975 when an underfloor heating system was installed in today's cathedral church. The previous building was a three-aisled basilica with an eastern transept and a transverse rectangular western building, which was flanked by two round towers. In connection with the renovation, a stone-enclosed grave was found in a special location in the central axis of the transept, which can be regarded as the burial place of the founder, Count Dietrich II. The tomb of Archbishop of Mainz Heinrich I, who died in exile in Einbeck on September 3, 1153, was found in the north transept .

The expansion and new construction during the reign of Heinrich Mirabilis was probably connected with the increasing importance as a place of pilgrimage and with the choice of St. Alexandri as a ducal burial place. Around 1290 work began on the construction of a new Gothic choir made of red sandstone in the east of the collegiate church and, unusual for a Gothic church, a crypt below . The old nave was initially still used, while in the following 200 years a larger hall church with a length of 74 m was built around it. The central nave is twice the width of a side aisle. The transepts were built in the 14th century. The builder Molderam was involved in the construction work on the ship. The windows were probably colorfully glazed. Of the former chapels , three are still preserved, including the blood chapel on the east wall of the south arm of the transept. Only after a long interruption was a larger twin tower built in the west, but it was discontinued in 1506 at the height of the nave walls with the provisional construction of a belfry. Today's baroque tower tower was not erected until 1735.

Equipment of the church

Due to the important Holy Blood relic and the pilgrimage associated with it in the Middle Ages, the furnishings of St. Alexandri were above average. There are said to have been 22 painted table altars and numerous altar shrines and antependums .

Choir stalls

Part of the carved choir stalls from 1288

The two-part choir stalls made of oak can be dated to the year 1288 with a Latin inscription, making it the oldest dated choir stalls in Germany. The inscription reads: ANNO D (OMI) NI MCC LXXXVIII DVX HENRICVS HAS SEDES ORDINAVIT (Duke Heinrich donated these seats in the year of the Lord in 1288). It shows a close stylistic correspondence with the choir stalls from the former Pöhlde monastery, which were created around 1284 . Several masters, probably stonemasons , were probably working on the Einbeck stalls , as there are differences in the quality of the depiction of the carved faces.

The choir stalls have been preserved in almost their original condition, only the roof-shaped end with a crenellated wreath and part of the back wall painted with a diamond-shaped pattern are new. It consists of two parts with nine seats each over a length of 5.79 m between high outer walls. There are partitions between the seats. The front of each partition is decorated in the lower part with carved columns with a base and capital. Above it, the partition recedes in a semicircle and ends in a leaf knob on which the armrest rests. There is an additional leaf knob on each of these arches, which should serve as a support when standing up. Each knob is worked out into an individual, expressive head. The misericords also have individually carved human heads (with the seats folded up). The leaf ornaments that often grow out of the mouth, eyes, nose and forehead are striking. The end cheeks show tendrils that end in dragon and snake-like structures. One of the tendrils grows from a youthful head with a prince or count hat. It could be an image of the founder, Duke Heinrich.

Wheel candlesticks

A late Gothic brass wheel chandelier with a diameter of around 3.25 m hangs above today's main altar , as an image of the " Heavenly Jerusalem " with its twelve gates. The year 1420 is written on the inscription on the support crown. Canon Degenhard Ree is said to have donated the wheel chandelier. Due to the stylistic similarity, especially the inscriptions, it is assigned to the same artist as the baptismal font. The composition is said to be based on a model that has not survived in Pöhlde Monastery. The twelve apostles under the arches and the twelve prophets of the Old Testament are shown alternately ; There is a candle holder in front of each figure. It is likely that some figures or their halos have been exchanged over time. At the feet of the apostles there is a part of the Apostles' Creed in Latin.

The wheel chandelier is now covered by a thick layer of paint. It is unknown which workshop created it or whether it was painted from the beginning.

Baptismal font

Baptismal font

A bronze baptismal font that is now in the Holy Blood Chapel was also donated by Degenhard Ree in 1427. The baptismal font stood in the west of the church until the 19th century. An octagonal baptismal font rests on a strong metatarsus, supported by four lions with coats of arms in front of their chests. Eight fields, separated by Gothic pillars, show Christ with his right hand raised in blessing, holding the globe in the left, the Mother of God Mary, John the Baptist, the disciples John and Peter (at his feet the name of the founder Regnerus Hennyngus), St. Alexander and next to him his mother, St. Felicitas and St. Thomas (kneeling in front of him is the founder of the baptismal font with the year 1427). Verses 9 and 10 of Psalm 51 run around the top .

Holy Blood Chapel

Holy Blood Chapel with baptismal font and tabernacle

In the south-eastern part, not far from the choir, there is the Holy Blood Chapel from the second half of the 14th century, in which some drops of Christ's blood are said to have been on a linen cloth in a gold chalice with a lid, which was worked as a winged angel figure. An existing barred sacrament house was used to store the relic . The relic was taken over in 1675 by the then sovereign Duke Johann Friedrich and is now lost.

The 70 cm high, carved Salvator figure (around 1400), which is today on the pillar opposite the pulpit, probably originally stood in the wall niche to the right of the reliquary cabinet. The Salvator belonged to the veneration of the Holy Blood.

The heavily weathered sandstone relief to the left of the entrance to the chapel may also be related to the Holy Blood relic.

In the 1830s, Lucas Cranach the Elder created Ä. an altar for the Holy Blood Chapel, which was intended to hold the Holy Blood relic. The central panel shows the crucifixion, the two inner side panels the figures of saints Alexander and Felicitas, while the outer side panels show scenes of martyrdom. The winged altar also remained in St. Alexandri until 1675, although the monastery converted to the Lutheran faith in 1545, and is now in the Kreuzkirche in Hanover.

Other furnishings and works of art

Wooden figure of the patron saint St. Alexander
  • Winged altar by the painter Hans Raphon (around 1500), today in the Hanover State Museum
  • Altar of Mary by the carver Bartold Kastrop (around 1500), today in the State Museum Hanover
  • The winged altar of the Virgin Mary by an unknown master (around 1500) shows Mary with the child on a crescent moon and St. Vitus and St. Erasmus, the helpers in need
  • Life-size, colored wooden figure of St. Alexander in knight armor with lance and shield (around 1500) in a niche in the north transept
  • in a showcase the remains of the church grave of Archbishop Heinrich von Mainz, who died in Einbeck in 1153, with a wooden crook, remains of fabric made of silk interwoven with gold and a lead tablet with an inscription
  • numerous epitaphs of important persons of the monastery or patricians of the city, which are placed in the church today, u. a.
    • Grave slab for the provost of the monastery Johann von Braunschweig († 1367), son of Duke Heinrich of Braunschweig (the miraculous) and his wife Agnes, daughter of the margrave Albrecht von Meissen . The plate is made of cast bronze and measures 202 × 70 cm. The cathedral provost is shown as a high relief. The inscription and coat of arms refer to its noble origins.
    • small bronze plaque of the patrician and canon Otto Ernst († 1495) from Einbeck ; u. a. 1476 rector at the University of Rostock .
    • Epitaph of Canon Hildebrand von Uslar from 1559
    • Epitaph of canon Meinberg from 1605, who was canon of the monastery for 43 years
    • Grave slabs of the preacher and canon Ernst Sonnemann , editor of the first Lüneburg evangelical hymn book and his wife
  • neo-Gothic high altar and pulpit as well as the stained glass of the apse from the middle of the 19th century
  • in the crypt the altarpiece and nine colored glass windows in medieval technique by the local artist Günter Wilhelms

More chapels and altars

Marien Altar in the St. Thomas Chapel
  • The chasm or crypt (crypt) under the choir is Einbeck's oldest monument, as it comes from the original collegiate church. It had 3 altars: St. Nicolai, the altar of St. Lucia and Margaretha and the altar in honor of the 11,000 virgins.
  • Holy Blood Chapel with altar in the south-eastern part of the church (see above). In 1489, Bishop Julian von Ostia allowed the golden chalice with the blood of the Savior to be carried through Einbeck in processions.
  • St. Thomas Chapel with altar on the north side of the church
  • St. John's Chapel with an altar in the cloister

The altars in the collegiate church were called:

  • St. Cyriaki
  • St. Georgii
  • St. Petri and Pauli
  • Altar of the Holy Virgin
  • St. Theobaldi
  • Holy Trinity Altar
  • St. Annä, donated in 1475 by Dieterichlesenberg, dean of the Marienstift
  • St. Jacobi, Johannis and Andreä
  • St. Michaelis
  • Altar to the glory of God, the Holy Virgin Mary, St. Andrew, Laurentius, Liborius
  • Altar of St. Margaretha
  • Altar of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Cross, the Blessed Virgin Mary (he stood near the tower)

organ

organ

An organ formerly floating on the west side of the church is said to have been destroyed in the great fire in 1540. From 1732 an organ by Christian Vater from Hanover is occupied with 33 registers on the main work, the Rückpositiv and the pedal . After a neo-Gothic redesign of the church, the organ was redesigned by Carl Giesecke in 1866 using the original pipes and was given a new prospectus . Further modifications and extensions of the organ took place in 1934 and 1984. In 1999 a second small organ with 4 registers was added.

In 2008 a new organ was inaugurated. The instrument comes from the organ builder Martin Hillebrand in Altwarmbüchen. It has 37 stops on two manuals and a pedal . The playing and stop actions are mechanical.

I Hauptwerk C – g 3
01. Principal 16 ′
02. Octave 08th'
03. Gedact 08th'
04th Gamba 08th'
05. Hollow flute 08th'
06th Octave 04 ′
07th Gemshorn 0 04 ′
08th. Fifth 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
09. Octave 02 ′
10. Cornet III
11. Mixture IV
12. Sharp III
13. bassoon 16 ′
14th Trumpet 08th'
II Hinterwerk C – g 3
15th Drone 16 ′
16. Violin principal 08th'
17th Lovely Gedackt 0 08th'
18th Unda maris 08th'
19th Fugara 08th'
20th Principal 04 ′
21st Slack travers 04 ′
22nd Nasat 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
23. Octave 02 ′
24. third 1 3 ⁄ 5  ′
25th Fifth 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
26th Sharp III
27. oboe 08th'
Tremulant
Pedal C – f 1
28. Principal bass 16 ′
29 Sub bass 16 ′
30th Violon bass 16 ′
31. Quintbass 10 2 ⁄ 3  ′
32. Octavbass 08th'
33. Dacked bass 08th'
34. Octavbass 08th'
35. Rauschpfeife III
36. Trombone bass 16 ′
37. Trumpet bass 0 08th'

Bell jar

The existing bell from 1601 was made by the bell founder Friedrich Bielefeldt and bears the inscription: SAN (CTVS) · ALEXSANDER · M (EISTER) FREDDERICH BILEFELDT HAD GEGOSEN ME · IN GOD'S NAME I AM DVRICH DAS FVIER FLOSEN.

See also

literature

  • Franz Hoffmann: St. Alexandri Einbeck . In: Large architectural monuments . 2nd Edition. No. 318 . Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich 1981.
  • Klinkhardt: History of the St. Alexander-Stift in Einbeck up to the church separation . In: BC von Spilcker, AK Broennenberg (ed.): Patriotic archive for Hanoverian-Brunswick history . Born in 1834. Herold und Walstab, Lüneburg 1835 ( limited preview in Google book search).
  • Art monuments and antiquities in Hanover, vol. 2: Principality of Göttingen and Grubenhagen together with the Unter-Eichsfeld, the Hanoverian part of the Harz and the county of Hohnstein , Hanover 1873, p. 40.
  • Helga Wäß: Form and perception of Central German memory sculpture in the 14th century: Volume 1: A contribution to medieval grave monuments, epitaphs and curiosities: A contribution to medieval grave monuments, epitaphs and curiosities in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, North Hesse, East Westphalia and South Lower Saxony in two volumes, Volume 2: Catalog of selected objects from the High Middle Ages to the beginning of the 15th century , Bristol a. a. 2006, ISBN 3-86504-159-0 .

Web links

Commons : St. Alexandri (Einbeck)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Andreas Heege: Einbeck in the Middle Ages . Isensee, Oldenburg 2002, ISBN 3-89598-836-7 , p. 19 .
  2. ^ Alfred Bruns: Medieval libraries in Einbeck . In: Einbecker Jahrbuch 25, 1961/62, pp. 24–56
  3. ↑ Erich Meyer: Biedermeier and Revolution. The period from 1813 to 1850 in the mirror of the Einbeck weekly newspaper . 1st half band. Einbeck 1982, p. 100-102 .
  4. ↑ Erich Meyer: Biedermeier and Revolution. The period from 1813 to 1850 in the mirror of the Einbeck weekly newspaper . 1st half band. Einbeck 1982, p. 8 .
  5. ↑ Erich Meyer: Biedermeier and Revolution. The period from 1813 to 1850 in the mirror of the Einbeck weekly newspaper . 2nd half band. Einbeck 1982, p. 61-63 .
  6. ↑ a b Andreas Heege: Einbeck in the Middle Ages . Isensee, Oldenburg 2002, ISBN 3-89598-836-7 , p. 132-138 .
  7. ^ Horst Hülse: DI 42 / No. 8, St. Alexandri . In: www.inschriften.net
  8. ^ Einbecker Geschichtsverein eV (ed.): History of the city of Einbeck . tape 2 . Einbeck 1992, ISBN 3-88452-411-9 , pp. 229-233 .
  9. ^ Einbecker Geschichtsverein eV (ed.): History of the city of Einbeck . tape 2 . Einbeck 1992, ISBN 3-88452-411-9 , pp. 233-236 .
  10. ^ Einbecker Geschichtsverein eV (ed.): History of the city of Einbeck . tape 2 . Einbeck 1992, ISBN 3-88452-411-9 , pp. 236 .
  11. ^ Einbecker Geschichtsverein eV (ed.): History of the city of Einbeck . tape 2 . Einbeck 1992, ISBN 3-88452-411-9 , pp. 236-238 .
  12. ^ Einbecker Geschichtsverein eV (ed.): History of the city of Einbeck . tape 2 . Einbeck 1992, ISBN 3-88452-411-9 , pp. 245-246 .
  13. ↑ Münsterkirche St. Alexandri, Einbeck, in: Wäß 2006, here vol. 2, p. 113 ff. With illustration cat. No. 133 a.
  14. ↑ www.inschriften.net
  15. ↑ a b Website of the congregation on organs in St. Alexandri ( Memento from September 1, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  16. ^ Horst Hülse: DI 42 / No. 134, St. Alexandri . In: www.inschriften.net

Coordinates: 51 ° 49 ′ 16 ″  N , 9 ° 52 ′ 5 ″  E