Hospital Church (Mannheim)
The Spitalkirche , also known as the Bürgerhospitalkirche , is a Catholic church in Mannheim . It was built between 1786 and 1788 according to plans by Johann Faxlunger and is one of the few buildings from the 18th century in Mannheim city center .
history
In 1775, Elector Carl Theodor ordered the establishment of the Catholic community hospital in Mannheim, which was to serve as a hospital for old, poor or sick Catholic citizens. In 1784 it moved to square E 6. The desire for a church of its own quickly resulted in concrete plans thanks to donations from the Electorate Mainz widow Elisabetha Josepha von Wincopp and Elector Carl Theodors. Nicolas de Pigage , Johann Griesemer, Johann Faxlunger , Joseph Hölzel and Jacob Schlichterle were asked to submit designs. Von Wincopp succeeded in ensuring that the church was not placed on the extended planks , but instead, according to Faxlunger's plans, in the side street to square E 5. In 1786 the foundation stone was laid. Most of the building material came from the demolished garrison church . After Faxlunger's death, Peter Anton von Verschaffelt completed the building. The capitals of the wall pilasters were made by court plasterer Joseph Anton Pozzi . On September 21, 1788, the church was consecrated to the Apostle Matthew by Auxiliary Bishop Stephan Alexander Würdtwein .
In 1793, the crypt for the donor was set up under the high altar. In 1804 another patron was buried here, Karl Ludwig Freiherr von Rodenhausen. In 1788 von Wincopp founded a chaplaincy . Since the benefices were lost, the pastorate remained vacant between 1804 and 1819. In 1824 the publicist and writer Karl Klein (1769–1824) died here as pastor . From 1846 the pastors of the Upper Parish supplied the hospital church before it was assigned to the Lower Parish in 1895 and finally, after its construction, to the Church of Our Lady .
When the planks were breached in the 1930s, the old hospital buildings next to the church were slated for demolition, but this never happened. Like the Spitalkirche, they burned down in an air raid during World War II in 1943 . After the war, the foundation of the community hospital could not raise the funds for the reconstruction of the church and in 1954 handed it over to the property of the city dean's office . By 1957, the hospital church was rebuilt in a simplified manner at a cost of 275,000 DM. With the surrounding ruins being demolished, it was now free-standing. The Catholic parish left the church to the Jesuits as the rectorate church until 1970 . Polish Catholics have been using the church for their native language worship since the 1950s . As part of the renovation work in preparation for the 98th Catholic Day in Mannheim, the hospital church was also renovated for € 1.35 million. The renovation was completed with the consecration of a new cross in the apse and the right side altar on September 28, 2014.
description
The church, which was built in the early classicist style, was given a façade only on the street front due to the originally existing neighboring buildings, while the long sides were made comparatively plain. The front is divided into three axes. The central axis is characterized by an architrave that rests on double columns of the Tuscan order . In between there is an inscription plaque:
"Triuni Deo / Electorali Munificentia / Caroli Theodori / et / Elisabethae Augustae / Cives Catholici / MDCCLXXXVII."
The triangular gable above leads to the square tower, the corners of which are emphasized by Ionic double pilasters . The single nave nave ends in a retracted choir with an apse . It is covered by a hipped roof.
The crucifix, made of brass, dates from 1780. The two side altars from 1900 and the organ were taken over from the Feudenheim St. Peter and Paul Church after the Second World War . In 1974 Hartwig Späth built a new organ with 15 registers . On the occasion of the renovation from 2011 to 2014, a new cross was installed in the apse, which was designed by the Archbishop's Building Authority in Heidelberg. The right side altar received an icon of St. Matthew. This reverse glass painting , over 1.80 meters high , was created by Maria Theresia von Fürstenberg.
The first bell was cast in 1777. The second bell from 1791 comes from the Weinheim St. Laurentius Church . When the bells that were drawn in during the war were returned, they accidentally ended up in the hospital church. Both bells were cast by Anselm Franz Speck in Heidelberg.
literature
- Hans Huth: The art monuments of the city district of Mannheim . Munich 1982, ISBN 3-422-00556-0 .
- Andreas Schenk: Architectural Guide Mannheim . Berlin 1999, ISBN 3-496-01201-3 .
- Foundation for the Catholic Citizens 'Hospital (Ed.): 225 years of the Foundation for the Catholic Citizens' Hospital . Mannheim 2000.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Reiner Albert: The Caritas Association Mannheim and its history , Volume 9 of: Sources and representations for Mannheim city history , Jan Thorbecke Verlag, 2005, p. 23, ISBN 3799509070 ; (Detail scan)
- ^ Franz von Besnard: literary newspaper for the Catholic clergy , twentieth volume, 2nd volume, Landshut 1829, pages 110 to 126 (digital scan)
- ↑ a b Church active , Katholisches Dekanatsblatt Mannheim, October 5, 2014, page 11 "Saint Matthew does not scold"
Coordinates: 49 ° 29 ′ 23 " N , 8 ° 27 ′ 43.5" E