St. George's Chapel (Berschis)
The St. George's Chapel ( Sant Jöüri in the local dialect ) is considered the oldest Romanesque chapel in Eastern Switzerland and is the only example of a two-aisled vault building that has survived in Switzerland. It rises above the village of Berschis on a rock pinnacle, making it one of the most striking art monuments on the way between Zurich and Chur.
history
The St. Georgsberg, which slopes steeply on three sides, offered a naturally protected settlement area even in the early days. The excavations of 1937 brought to light the traces of a settlement from the later Bronze Age, the fortress, which is no longer visible today, dates from the late Roman era. It is probable that the complex was expanded into a fortified church in post-Roman times with the installation of the chapel towards the end of the first millennium.
The first written mention probably comes from the year 1253, but the document does not reveal whether there was already a village chapel in Berschis or, which is much more likely, the St. George chapel. The report by the Chur visitor from 1639 provides information about the original equipment and construction of the chapel.
Building description
The chapel faces southeast and ends in a semicircular apse with a tent roof. This with the two-aisled hall is the oldest part of the chapel and probably dates from the end of the first millennium. In the second half of the 17th century, an annex was added to the chapel on the north side and the affected arches were broken through in order to bring the whole thing under one roof. In order to make the altar more visible, the foremost pillar was broken off and replaced by a wooden support, but was added again during the renovation in 1900. Three short, cross-shaped pillars divide the Romanesque nave and are connected to one another or to the half-pillars on the side walls with simple round arches.
The entrance, which was set up later, is next to the tower on the south wall. The current tower stands in the place of the vestibule on the west side of the chapel and was built after 1655. The tower gate was walled up in the 19th century and broken into the west wall inside the chapel as the entrance to the tower.
The renovation carried out between 1900 and 1901 caused some damage, which was largely reversed in 1978: The tile roof was replaced by a shingle roof and the access to the tower on the south side was made visible again.
Interior fittings
The original Romanesque part is covered with wall painting: the architectural, organic and figurative decoration comes from a master with the monogram HW, whose style is similar to that of Hans Ardüser . The paintings were made around 1580. The figures of Saint Peter, Death ( Tötli ), Saint Wilhelm and Saint Paul in the apse are partly well preserved .
The floor is covered with square, unglazed bricks. The two bells in the tower probably date from the 14th century [HJ Gnehm].
The small baroque altar dates from the first part of the 17th century. The altarpiece depicts Christ crucified together with Mary, the evangelist Johannes and Magdalena. Behind the altar is the so-called headache hole , which was probably used for healing rituals. You probably put your head in the hole, asking for recovery or humming to achieve harmonic body vibration.
Web links
- Contribution by Doris Sonderegger-Marthy about the headache hole (pdf; 1.3 MB)
- Historical pictures and reflections on St. George's Chapel
- Bells and headache hole in the St. George's Chapel
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Die Kunstdenkmäler des Kantons St. Gallen , Vol. 1: The Sargans District by Erwin Rothenhäusler, Basel: Birkhäuser, 1951, p. 418.
- ↑ Codex Diplomaticus: Collection of documents on the history of Cur-Raetia and the Republic of Graubünden / ed. von Th. von Mohr [and] Conradin von Moor, Chur: Hitz, 1848-1899, Bd. 1, No. 227.
- ^ Monument Preservation in the Canton of St. Gallen 1975-1980 / Benito Boari; archaeological contributions: Irmgard Grüninger. - St. Gallen: Office for Cultural Maintenance, 1982, p. 212.
- ↑ The headache hole in St. George's Chapel near Berschis: a riddle from a bygone era / Doris Sonderegger-Marthy, Brigitte Aggeler in Terra plana , 2010/1, pp. 23-26.