Schäßburg mountain church
The Schäßburger Bergkirche is a Gothic three-aisled hall church that can be seen from afar on the Schulberg plateau (429 m above sea level) in Schäßburg , Transylvania , Romania . Its high Gothic roof is crowned by a pointed bell tower. In addition to the clock tower , the mountain church, built between 1429 and 1488, is a landmark of the city. Until the Reformation in Transylvania it was under the patronage of Nicholas of Myra .
Building history
Overview
In the middle of the 12th century, a Romanesque chapel and a fortified tower stood on the originally narrow terrace of the Schulberg. In the second half of the 13th century, the north side of the terrace was widened by earthfills. Up to the middle of the 16th century, three major construction phases led to the current state of construction of the mountain church.
The first mention of the church and its patron saint is present from the year 1345, in a document of the Hungarian king I. Ludwig .
Main construction phase (1429–1488)
A building inscription on the western buttress of the south porch dates the start of construction work to the year 1429. An inscription on a window reveal in the south aisle with the date 1483 provides a terminus ante quem for the completion of the aisle. An inscription on the ground floor of the bell tower indicates that the building was finished in 1488 under Jakobus Kendlinger from St. Wolfgang.
North and south portal
The north portal with the coats of arms of Schäßburg and Wladislaus II dates from 1495, the south portal with the vestibule from 1525.
Furnishings and wall painting
The winged altar at the front of the north aisle is from 1513. In 1523 the choir stalls were completed.
The interior frescoes were probably painted in two stages: 1483 and 1488. The paintings from 1483 (choir and triumphal arch) probably belong to Valentinus Pictor (who becomes mayor in 1490), and those from 1488 (in the north and south aisles) probably painted by Jakobus Kendlinger. In 1777 the frescoes were painted over and a wooden floor was installed.
War damage 17th - 19th century
In 1601 the mountain church was devastated by the Szeklern people . In 1704 the roof structure and bell tower were set on fire in the course of the Kuruzenkrieg ; the bells melted. In 1797 Michael Thallmann cast the big bell around. In the earthquake of 1838 the vaults of the choir and the church hall were destroyed; In 1849 troops of the Polish general Bem devastated the interior of the mountain church.
Modern restoration; World Heritage
The frescoes were exposed again in 1934, and extensive renovation work took place from 1993 to 1999. The old town of Schäßburg has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999 .
Current state of construction
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Facades
In the west is the tower facade with the Gothic sound windows, tower cornices and a late Gothic porch, which is flanked by the west walls of the aisles.
Buttresses and three-part tracery windows structure the southern facade with the southern portal. Its walls are richly profiled and are closed by a cantilever arch , above which there is a triangular blind gable with crabs and a finial , which is flanked by pinnacles .
The buttresses of the choir reach up to a cornice under the eaves and are crowned by small eyelashes and decorated with statues under canopies at two-thirds of their height.
The north facade is similar to the Southern divided, wherein the Nordportal by a four-part over a tracery aufgekröpften Kaffgesims is highlighted. Aisles and choir have a base cornice.
inner space
The high Gothic windows of the choir and the church hall brighten the interior.
Wall painting
Until the mid-1930s, the entire interior was whitewashed. In 1934 large-scale wall paintings from the time before the Reformation were uncovered.
The oldest frescoes, dated to the end of the 14th century, can be found on the walls of the choir. They represent angels who carry instruments of torture, as well as St. Ursula.
On the wall of the north aisle there is a scenic depiction of St. George's fight with the dragon.
Further fresco fragments can be found in a vaulted gusset between the main nave and the north aisle (St. Michael weighs a soul); opposite a representation of St. Matthew with the year 1483.
Above the triumphal arch you can see the handkerchief of Veronica , a picture of the donor and the coat of arms of the painters' guild.
On the ground floor of the tower there are fragments of representations from the life of St. Francis and the story of the Passion .
A Last Judgment is depicted on the east wall of the north aisle , which due to its stylistic features is classified in the first quarter of the 16th century.
Items from other churches
The main altar of the church of Schaas , which was built before the Reformation, is now in the choir ; numerous works of art from other Transylvanian churches were brought to the Schäßburger Bergkirche to protect them from destruction and vandalism.
literature
- Hermann Fabini : Sacred architecture in Transylvanian-Saxon cities . monuMenta Verlag & Working Group for Transylvanian Cultural Studies, Sibiu (Hermannstadt), Heidelberg 2013, ISBN 978-973-7969-15-6 , p. 236-259 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Fabini (2013), p. 249
- ↑ AD MCCCCXXIX icepehops - A (nno) D (omini) 1429 i (n) cep (tum) e (st) ho (c) op (u) s - This work was started in the year of the Lord in 1429. Quoted from Fabini (2013), p. 249
- ↑ Michel Polner purgermaister 1483. Quoted from Fabini (2013), p. 249
- ↑ Old town of Schäßburg on the UNESCO World Heritage List, accessed July 6, 2018
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Fabini (2013), pp. 256-259
Web links
Coordinates: 46 ° 13 ′ 2.6 ″ N , 24 ° 47 ′ 26.5 ″ E