St. Alexius (Herbolzheim)

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St. Alexius

St. Alexius (Herbolzheim) is the Roman Catholic parish church of Herbolzheim, the eponymous district of the city of Herbolzheim im Breisgau, which was enlarged by incorporations from 1972 to 1975 . Since 2015, the church has formed the parish and pastoral care unit of Herbolzheim-Rheinhausen with St. Hilarius in Bleichheim and St. Mauritius in Wagenstadt, two other districts of Herbolzheim, and St. Ulrich and Achatius in Rheinhausen .

history

In the early Middle Ages "Flecken", later "Marktflecken" Herbolzheim, which was elevated to town status in 1810, there were two churches, the parish church of St. Alexius in the south and the Margaret Chapel in the north of the two main settlement areas at the intersection of the north-south Main street with east-west streets. Both churches are first mentioned in the Tennenbacher Güterbuch in 1320 , but they are older. The Margaret Chapel, which has been rebuilt several times and recently threatened with demolition, has now been restored as an essentially Gothic building. It is used as a museum and exhibition space. In the 16th century a chapel was added to the southwest of the city on the north bank of the Bleichbach. Your new baroque building was first mentioned in 1666 as Maria in arenis - today's Maria Sand Church. Originally belonging to the diocese of Strasbourg , Herbolzheim came to the newly founded Archdiocese of Freiburg in 1821 .

Coat of arms on the choir arch (from left): Ettenheimmünster Abbey - Strasbourg diocese - Austria above, Brandenstein below - Schuttern Abbey - Tennenbach Abbey

Originally St. Alexius was in the middle of the cemetery. On the first Sunday of Advent in 1146, Bernhard von Clairvaux is said to have restored the sight of a blind man here. Repairs are reported after the Thirty Years War . In 1661 the cemetery was given a tall, heavy cross with a shingle roof. In 1662, the auxiliary bishops of Strasbourg consecrated the church and the cemetery, probably at the end of renovations. In 1751 the responsible bailiff reported that "unfortunately it was a country = well-known matter, what the church building in Herbolzheim was not completely ruined, more like a stable than a church, but also barely contained half of the population there". Pastor Anton Machleid confirmed the evil. After examination of the baupflichtigen tithe men , so the monasteries Tennenbach , Ettenheimmünster and Schuttern and the family von Brandenstein were removed the remains of the old church and reburied bones. The foundation stone for the new building was laid on October 29, 1752. The architect, building contractor and carpenter was Franz Rudhart (1708–1765) , who came from the Allgäu and lived in Kenzingen . The Herbolzheimers attended church services in the Margaret Chapel or in Maria Sand during the construction period . The church was consecrated on September 8, 1754. Pastor Machleid died on September 12, 1755 before the interior was finished. Major restorations were carried out in 1888–1889 under Pastor Wilhelm Thummel, in 1964, 1966, 1980 and most recently in 1999 under Pastor Wigbert Steinger (* 1936).

building

The church, a hall church with a tower in the middle of the west facade and the eastern choir with a five-eighth end , is the distinguishing feature of the place from a distance and dominates the southern entrance to the town. Pilasters at the rounded corners, a high all-round plinth and a strong eaves connect the building, including the tower and choir. On both sides of the facade gates lead to the simple side portals and the cemetery. The arched windows, five on each side in the nave and four in the choir, are also simple. The church tower rises in three floors, the square middle of which is supported by volutes and closed off by a cornice from which circular approaches arch upwards. The top, octagonal floor, the bell-shaped floor, opens with acoustic windows adorned with balustrades and is again closed off by a cornice with a circular approach. Above it, an onion cap , a lantern , a tapered tower onion and a cross point to the sky. There are urn-shaped vases on the corners of the facade. Similar churches in Rudhart are St. Brigitta in Niederschopfheim .

The baroque church stands on the site of the Romanesque predecessor building, but has one and a half times the area and an axis rotated by about 10 ° counterclockwise. The cemetery was completely relocated to the slope to the east when it was built. The space between the main street and the church, the churchyard , which gently rises towards the facade, is now free. It retains its medieval shape. In the Middle Ages, not only the church but also the buildings of the local rulership were located on it. To the west, across the main street, was the Wilginshof , the manor of the Counts of Nimburg , then the Üsenberger , and finally the Habsburgs and their governors such as Schmid von Brandenstein . On the south side of the churchyard there were, in remnants, farm buildings , namely the tithe press (tithe trot), in which the winemakers had to press their grapes while paying the tithe , the tithe cellar for storing the wine and the tithe barn . To the north of the church square are the rectory from the 17th century and the former schoolhouse built in 1790 and extended in 1887, today a Catholic parish hall. The churchyard was fortified. At the rear of the southern, and perhaps also the northern, buildings, the remains of an approximately 10 m high defensive wall have been preserved.

Furnishing

The west portal is festively decorated with latticework , volutes, vases and a shell. There is a stucco reflief by Johann Michael Winterhalder , St. Alexius von Edessa with a pilgrim's staff, travel bottle and slouch hat, eyes directed towards the sky, from which three putti heads look down behind clouds. A fourth putti with a slouch hat stands next to him and points up at him.

  • St. Alexius above the west portal

  • View of the choir

  • View to the west entrance

The interior has been shining again since the last restoration. The corners of the rectangular room are rounded and the side altars are placed at an angle in front of the curves. So the eye is directed to the sacred area of ​​the choir. The pilasters contribute to this. “Flat pilasters with strong pieces of entablature - together with the stitch caps of the flat ceiling - lead the room rhythmically forward, around the retracted choir arch wall to the high altar at the end of the choir. ... This transition intention of the architect can be clearly seen in the continuation of the sturdy pieces of pilaster beams as a clasp of the smooth, sloping walls of the flattened choir arch, hollowed out like niches in the base area. ”In the west, a varied double gallery hides the recessed tower basement. The Freiburg plasterer Franz Anton Vogel placed rococo ornaments over this architecture, which frame the windows above and below, the crosses of the apostles and ceiling paintings, enrich the pilaster capitals and gallery parapets, and embellish the stitch caps. Vogel's authorship is secured by a payment note.

Ceiling painting

The painter Johann Pfunner from Freiburg created the ceiling paintings .

ship

In the axis of the ship, three large pictures are lined up from west to east. Angels carry Alexius to heaven on a cloud above the organ gallery. "ITUR AD ASTRA - he goes to the stars" is written on a tape. In the main picture in the middle (6) , in front of bright sunlight, Christ stands on clouds, ready to throw three lances at the earth with his right hand. Mary kneels on the cloud, pleading for the earth, below, St. Dominic kneels on entablature with his attributes , the rosary, the star above his forehead and the dog with the burning torch, and St. Francis of Assisi , stigmatized , with one Skull. Angels surround the main characters. In addition to Franziskus, the painter signed “Johann Pfunner pinx. 1754”. In front of the choir arch, Alexius presents his precisely painted Herbolzheim church. (7) Above it, angels unfold a tape “ECCE TIBI SPONSAM UXOREM AGNI - look, your bride, the wife of the Lamb”.

  • Ceiling painting in the ship

  • (1) Left: Alexius under the stairs

  • (2) Left: Abigail in front of David

  • (3) Left: sun

  • (4) Left: Judith

  • (5) Left: The seer of Revelation before Christ

  • (6) Middle of the three large pictures

  • (7) East of the three large pictures

  • (8) Right: Alexius in front of the heavenly gate

  • (9) Right: Mrs. von Tekoa in front of David

  • (10) Right: moon

  • (11) Right: Esther before Artaxerxes

  • (12) Right: Heavenly Jerusalem

On each side, five small pictures accompany the three large ones, thematically related to the latter:

  • as the westernmost couple on the left, Alexius, living undetected under the stairs of his parents' house in Rome, describes "HIS GRADIBUS - under these steps" (1)
right Alexius in front of the Himmelstor, inscribed "HAC PORTA - at this gate" (8)
  • as the second couple from the west on the left Abigail , how she persuades King David , who is threateningly raising his sword , to spare her husband Nabal and his people ( 1 Sam 25,23-33  EU ); the picture is inscribed according to the division of the Septuagint “I. REG. C. XXV - 1st Book of Kings Chapter 25 ”; today the book is usually counted as 1st book of Samuel (2)
on the right, the wise woman from Tekoa , as she tells the enthroned David with a parable to pardon his son Absalom ( 2 Sam 14.1-24  EU ); again it says “II. REG. C. XIV "for 2 Samuel chapter 14 (9)
  • the third pair from the west on the left is the sun with the inscription "CUNCTIS LUCET - it shines for everyone" (3)
on the right the moon as a symbol of the Mother of God with some stars, "PLENA SIBI ET ALIIS - abundance for oneself and others" (10)
on the right the crowned Queen Esther as the savior of the Jews at the time of the Achaemenid king Xerxes I ( Est 5  EU ); (11)
  • As the easternmost couple on the left the seer of the Revelation of John kneeling before Christ, behind whom seven candles are burning, from whose mouth a sword comes and who carries a ring of seven stars around his right hand ( Rev 1,12-16  EU ) (5)
on the right the vision of the New Jerusalem with twelve gates under twelve angels and the Lamb of God in the middle ( Rev 21 : 9-22  EU ). (12)

Choir

In the choir, a main picture is surrounded by three smaller ones on the left and right. The main picture shows the Holy Trinity above the globe: God the Father in the gesture of rulership with a scepter, the Son with the cross, the dove of the Holy Spirit . Angels hover around them, the bottom one with a censer. Pfunner signed the year 1753 underneath. Pastor Machleid kneels small in the lower left corner. (3)

  • Ceiling painting in the choir

  • (1) Left: Manna rain

  • (2) Left: Moses and the burning bush

  • (3) Middle picture: Holy Trinity

  • (4) Right: pouring water on the altar

  • (5) Right: Jacob's ladder

The six small pictures, the western and eastern ones in gray-blue grisaille , relate to the Eucharist :

  • in the western couple on the left, manna falls on the desert and a tent of the wandering Israelites ( Ex 16.14-15  EU ); (1)
on the right water is poured onto an altar; (4)
  • in the second pair from the west, on the left, in front of the burning bush , Moses is taking off his shoes ( Ex 3.1-5  EU ); (2)
on the right Jacob dreams of the ladder to heaven ( Gen 28: 12-13  EU ); (5)
  • in the eastern pair a chalice with a host appears to the left of the golden sheen;
on the right is the lamb on the book with the seven seals ( Rev 5  EU ).

Altars and ambo

In Rudhart's high altar, four columns bear a crown over volute clasps - a motif that the churches of the diocese of Strasbourg adopted from the Strasbourg cathedral, including St. Mauritius (Ebersmunster) , St. Bartholomew in Ettenheim and St. Gallus (Kirchzarten) . Pastor Thummel had the baroque tabernacle replaced by a new one around 1890. The main and upper images are attributed to Pfunner. The main picture shows Alexius dying under the stairs, for whom his parents and the Pope, who is marked by the Pope's cross , are trying; in the upper picture an angel brings down a wreath of flowers. Johann Michael Winterhalder created the statues of the holy martyrs Pantaleon on the left and Landelin von Ettenheimmünster on the right, as well as the angels on the volute clasps that wear Alexius' attributes slouch hat and shepherd's staff, and the putti on the sides of the crown. Peter on the left and Paul on the right are works by Matthias Faller .

  • Barbara from the left side altar

  • Left side altar

  • High altar painting

  • Right side altar

  • Sebastian from the right side altar

The side altars were also created by Rudhart. The small tabernacles and the paintings, however, date from Pastor Thummel's time. On the left altar the birth of Christ is depicted, in the excerpt above St. Anthony of Padua with the baby Jesus. The motif of the right altar is the Holy Walk , in the excerpt you can see Anna teaching her daughter Maria to read . All sculptures are again excellent works by Matthias Faller, which he carved at the age of 75 in 1782: Saint Margaret of Antioch with the shiny golden dragon and Barbara of Nicomedia with her tower on the left side altar, John the Baptist with a lamb and cross staff and the arrow-pierced Sebastian on right side altar, as well as all putti.

During the last restoration from 1999 to 2000, the sculptor Armin Göhringer created a celebration altar and an ambo . The wooden works are “set in mild white, which, slightly glazed , lets the breath of the underlying material still be felt.” The table top of the celebration altar forms an isosceles trapezoid that tapers towards the high altar. The open space below is bounded by walls on the right and left that support the tabletop on the side edges. Because of their inclination, they lead the eye to the high altar. In the open space under the table top there is an asymmetrical antependium in which concentric circles have been cut with a chainsaw , allowing a cross to shine through.

In the front of the ambo, superimposed cuts form a flat arch.

pulpit

The pulpit comes from Rudhart's workshop, the crowning Christ blessing by Johann Michael Winterhalder. Winterhalder also created the group of the baptism of Jesus on the baptismal font, the figures of King David and St. Cecilia on the parapet of the organ loft and the funeral monument of Pastor Machleid on the inside on the west wall.

Organs

View of the main organ

The organ in the gallery was built in the years 1818 to 1822 by the Herbolzheimer "piano maker" Blasius Schaxel (1765–1843), rebuilt in 1909 by Wilhelm Schwarz & Sohn (Überlingen) and in 1979 partly redesigned in Baroque style by the organ builder Späth. When it was dismantled in 2000 by the Winterhalter company, the condition from 1909 was restored, due to the lack of dimensions from the original instrument (only the case remained ), Wilhelm Schwarz & Sohn must be regarded as the builder of the instrument. Today the instrument has 22 registers on two manuals and a pedal . The playing and stop actions are pneumatic.

I main work C – f 3
Bourdon 16 ′
Principal 8th'
Viol 8th'
Dolce 8th'
Covered 8th'
Octave 4 ′
Gemshorn 4 ′
Octave 2 ′
mixture 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
Trumpet 8th'
II breastwork C – f 3
Violin principal 8th'
Salicional 8th'
Lovely covered 8th'
Slack amabile 8th'
Salicional 8th'
Aeoline 8th'
Vox coelestis 8th'
Flauto traverso 4 ′
Pedals C – d 1
Sub bass 16 ′
Violon bass 16 ′
Octave bass 8th'
violoncello 8th'
  • Pair : II / I, I / P, II / P, Super I, Sub II / I
Choir organ

The choir organ was built in 2000 by the organ builder Claudius Winterhalter in collaboration with Armin Göhringer. The instrument hugs the left side wall of the choir. It consists of three large parts: a lower and front, downwardly concave semicircle, an upper and rear, upwardly concave semicircle, and a vertical strip in between, rising from the music stand. The lower semicircle covers the organist's seat. Saw chain cuts form a vortex, an “eye”, at its summit, corresponding to the concentric circles of the antependium. The upper semicircle with the silver sheen of the organ pipes surrounds the side window of the choir. In the strip in between, a “ladder to heaven”, superimposed cuts answer the flat arch in the ambo. In the two arcs “can - if you want - recognize the posture of the person praying: Praying with raised arms.” The slider-chute instrument has 11 registers (one of which is a preliminary print) on two manuals. The pedal stops are transmissions from the Hauptwerk. The playing and stop actions are mechanical.

I Hauptwerk C – g 3
1. Bourdon 16 ′
2. Principal 8th'
3. Wooden flute 8th'
4th Octave 4 ′
5. Superoctave (first No. 6) 2 ′
6th Mixture III-IV 2 ′
7th Trumpet 8th'
II subsidiary work C – g 3 (B / D)
8th. Dumped 8th'
9. Reed flute 4 ′
10. Nazard 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
11. Duplicate 2 ′
12. third 1 3 ⁄ 5  ′
Pedals C – g 3
13. Subbass (= No. 1) 16 ′
14th Flute bass (= No. 3) 8th'
15th Trumpet (= No. 7) 8th'

Appreciation

St. Alexius must be counted among the best architectural achievements of the 18th century in the southern Upper Rhine region. The furnishings also show how masterfully Breisgau artists knew how to work around the middle of the 18th century. The ceiling picture program reflects theological concerns of the 18th century. “Between emphasized Eucharist and Marian veneration, the Holy Trinity was at the center of post-Tridentine piety.” This colorful, diverse world of the Baroque was shuddered by a spirituality that took its measure from the ultimate things. The new celebration altar, the ambo and the choir organ are deliberately not an imitation baroque. Historical style adaptation should not have dominated, but "a complement that expresses the visual language of the present with pride." This visual language does not expressly formulate, but leaves associations to the belief and imagination of the viewer.

literature

  • Hermann Brommer : Catholic parish church St. Alexius Herbolzheim i.Br .. 2nd edition, Verlag Schnell and Steiner, Munich and Zurich 1984.
  • Wigbert Steinger, Friedrich Hinn, Bertram Jenisch, Reinhold Hämmerle: Places of Faith in Herbolzheim im Breisgau. Éditions du Signe, Strasbourg 2004, ISBN 2-7468-1440-4 .
  • Catholic parish of St. Alexius Herbolzheim im Breisgau (Hrsg.): The choir organ of St. Alexius Herbolzheim im Breisgau. Verlag Freiburger Musik Forum, Freiburg 2000, ISBN 3-9806393-4-7 .
  • Bertram Jenisch with the assistance of Manuela Clesle: Herbolzheim (= Archaeological City Register Baden-Württemberg Volume 28). Regional Presidium Stuttgart, State Office for Monument Preservation 2005, ISBN 978-3-927714-80-9 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jenisch, pp. 84-85.
  2. ↑ Ludwig Kästle: Des Saint Bernard of Clairvaux travel and stay in the Diocese of Constance. In: Freiburger Diözesan-Archiv 3, 1868, pp. 273–315 here p. 290. (PDF; 32.2 MB) Retrieved on March 26, 2013.
  3. ↑ Brommer p. 3.
  4. ^ Hermann Brommer: Franz Rudhart (1708–1765). In: Jürgen Treffeisen, Reinhold Hämmerle and Gerhard A. Auer: The history of the city of Kenzingen . Volume 2: People, City, Environment. City of Kenzingen 1999, ISBN 3-9806437-1-9 , pp. 421-429.
  5. ↑ Website of the pastoral care unit Schutterwald-Hohberg-Neuried. and St. Martin in Riegel
  6. ↑ Jenisch, pp. 71-76.
  7. ↑ Brommer, p. 15.
  8. ↑ Alfons Deissler and Anton Vögtle (eds.): New Jerusalem Bible. 6th edition, Verlag Herder , Freiburg 1985, p. 626 note. ISBN 3-451-20002-3 .
  9. ↑ Brommer, p. 21.
  10. ↑ a b Rainer Braxmaier: The eye of God and the ladder to heaven. In: Catholic parish of St. Alexius Herbolzheim im Breisgau (ed.): The choir organ of St. Alexius Herbolzheim im Breisgau. Verlag Freiburger Musik Forum, Freiburg 2000, ISBN 3-9806393-4-7 , pp. 24-26.
  11. ↑ Information on the organ
  12. ^ Wigbert Steinger: Baroque church today. In: Catholic parish of St. Alexius Herbolzheim im Breisgau (ed.): The choir organ of St. Alexius Herbolzheim im Breisgau. Verlag Freiburger Musik Forum, Freiburg 2000, ISBN 3-9806393-4-7 , pp. 4-5.
  13. ↑ Information about the organ on the organ builder's website
  14. ^ Brommer, p. 24.

Web links

Commons : St. Alexius  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 48 ° 13 ′ 9 ″  N , 7 ° 46 ′ 46.2 ″  E