St. Anna (Boží Dar)
The Church of St. Anna ( Czech Sv. Anny ) is a baroque church building in the center of the Czech town Boží Dar ( German Gottesgab ) in the Bohemian part of the Ore Mountains . It is the third church building in the history of the old mountain town .
history
Previous buildings
The first church building was a wooden church in the style of the early Renaissance and was probably built in the 1530s. The building withstood the harsh climate on the ridge and in the highest part of the Ore Mountains only to a limited extent and increasingly fell into disrepair.
At the same place as the first, dilapidated church building, a stone church in the style of the late Renaissance was built in 1593, the architect of which is unknown. In the following year, the pewter caster Hans Wildt from St. Joachimsthal created a three-part bell that was later incorporated into the current building and is still used today. A new bell tower was built on the church between 1605 and 1607, and in 1612 Leonhard Dürr, a pewter from St. Joachimsthal, created a valuable pewter baptismal font, which has also been preserved.
At an indefinite time in the middle of the 18th century, the church burned down to the foundation walls. The remains were later demolished.
Current church building
The current building was erected in 1771 on the site of the previous building. The late baroque church was designed according to plans by the Prague architect and builder Philipp Heger, who also designed the town hall in nearby St. Joachimsthal .
On May 3, 1958, the building of the church was entered in the State Register of Cultural Monuments .
At the end of the 1960s the condition of the partly devastated church was so bad that it was closed to the public due to its dilapidation and danger of collapse. Ultimately, a demolition, as already happened with the churches in Ryžovna (Seifen) and Loučná pod Klínovcem (Bohemian Wiesenthal), was considered. The planned demolition was prevented due to the resistance among the inhabitants of Boží Dar.
Later, Father František Krásenský from Jáchymov painted the roof of the closed church himself with a protective coat of paint.
In 1990, on the initiative of František Krásenský and thanks to financial support from former German residents of Gottesgab, a reconstruction of the dilapidated church began, which was subsequently consecrated. Since the Diocese of Pilsen does not have the financial means for continuous maintenance, it began to decline again. In doing so, u. a. the steeple by up to 25 centimeters from the nave.
After years of negotiations, the church and all its inventory became the property of the Boží Dar City Council with effect from January 1, 2013. At the same time, the diocese gave the city an amount of 600,000 CZK from the inheritance of a former German resident of Gottesgab.
Church administration
According to documents from the State Regional Archives in Pilsen , Gottesgab initially belonged to the parish of St. Joachimsthal.
After the Battle of White Mountain on November 8, 1620, Bohemia was re-Catholicized and a Catholic spiritual administration was established. Before that, only Protestant clergymen worked in Gottesgab - which was ceded to the Kingdom of Bohemia as a result of the Prague Treaty of 1546 - including a. a. the Saxon reformer Kaspar Eberhard .
In 1737 Gottesgab became an independent parish and at that time comprised the places or layers : Gottesgab, Försterhäuser , Goldenhöhe with Bohemian Mill , Halbmeil , Spitzberg , Sonnenwirbel , Unruh, Seifen (until 1786), Hengsterseifen, Kalter Winter, Steinhöhe (until 1786) , Förstergrund, Pleßberg / Kaff , Mückenberg, Neumühle and Zwittermühl (only partially). In 1938 it comprised the villages of Gottesgab, Försterhäuser, Goldenhöhe, Halbmeil and Spitzberg as well as the single layers Sonnenwirbel and Unruh. The last pastor of the independent parish was Josef Dürmuth from 1935.
After the end of the Second World War and the expulsion of the German-Bohemian population , the parish was dissolved and Jáchymov took over the administration from then on . The rectory was converted into a recreation center of the Výstavba dolů uranového průmyslu (VDUP) concern ( German: construction of mines for the uranium industry ).
architecture
Outside
The late baroque church building has a rectangular floor plan with rounded corners with an east facing chancel. On the south side, in the corner between the nave and the chancel, the rectangular sacristy adjoins at ground level. The masonry consisting of rubble stones, the roofs are as hipped roofs performed with tinny roof skin dressed. At the end of the roof ridge there is a two-armed cross .
The bell tower with a square floor plan is built in the middle on the west side of the nave. It is crowned by a sheet metal-clad pyramid-shaped helmet with a cross on top.
The stone entrance portal with drilled frame bears the carved date 1771 in the keystone . In the level above the entrance there is a large rectangular window with a semicircular closure, through which the gallery is illuminated. The bell floor has rectangular windows open on three sides with a semicircular end and wooden ventilation blinds .
Inside
The interior of the nave is vaulted with a Bohemian cap . The smoothly plastered ceiling, supplemented by a ceiling mirror, shows a painting with an eagle with the Bohemian coat of arms and two mallets below in the shield . The walls are divided by flat Corinthian pilasters with ornate capitals between the windows. The opening to the chancel, which is raised two steps, is closed with a semicircular arch. In the low barrel vault of the chancel there is a ceiling painting from the early 19th century, which shows the Virgin Mary with baby Jesus and saints.
A rectangular sandstone portal with ears provides access to the sacristy. The sacristy is vaulted with a barrel vault with a stucco rosette in the middle.
In the western part of the nave is the gallery supported by columns, which is accessible at the southeast corner via a 4.2 meter high wooden spiral staircase with a stone jacket. Three round arches span between the columns.
Furnishing
Altars
At the end of the choir is the main altar. It is carved from wood and marbled gray or brown , and was last repainted in 1912. A modern portrait of the Holy Family hangs on canvas in the center of the altar . On both sides there are columns with gilded Corinthian capitals. On both sides of these columns there are late Baroque carved statues of Saints Wenceslas , Florian , Barbara and Catherine . In the continuation of the altar adjoining the ceiling there is a group of statues of the Holy Trinity with a globe, on the left Jesus Christ, on the right God the Father , above a dove as a symbol of the Holy Spirit , accompanied by a flock of angels.
In the corners of the nave, which are sloping towards the chancel, there are late Baroque side altars with gilded decorations carved on both sides. On the left side as seen from the nave is the altar of Johannes Nepomuk , with a modern statue of the Virgin Mary and above it a painting of Johannes Nepomuk. On the right is the architecturally identical altar of St. Cecilia . There is a statue on it with the motif Sacred Heart of Jesus . Above that an oil painting depicting St. Cecilia at the organ.
pulpit
On the south side, in the stilt of the arch to the chancel, is the rococo-style pulpit carved from wood . There are statues of the four evangelists on the lower corners of the pulpit. On the pulpit hood , clouds with angel heads form a figurative glorious representation of the Lamb of God with a halo , in front of it a dove and angels on both sides.
Baptismal font
The octagonal tin baptismal font from 1612 is the work of the St. Joachimsthal tin caster Leonhard Dürr and has been preserved from the previous building that had burned down. The edge of the pool is about 1 meter high, including the hood, the height of the pool is about 1.55 meters. It has a foot carved out of wood, the pool shell is made of tinplate about 5 millimeters thick. At the edges there is a circumferential relief frieze of the Seven Liberal Arts , which is repeated several times in Renaissance arcades. An inscription in German is engraved underneath.
Around the recessed basin with a diameter of 35 centimeters is a cast pewter wreath divided into five ring-shaped fields with an average width of 28.5 centimeters. The field in the inner and outer area is smooth. Of the fields adjoining the middle one, the outer u. a. Decorated with acanthus decorations and arabesques , the interior with herms , fruit garlands , ribbons and floral decorations with angels making music. On the middle ring is the engraved inscription "LET THE KIDS ZV ME COME VN DON'T WANT THEM THE REALM OF GOD AS GLAVBT VND GETAVED THE HOUSE IS BLESSED: J 6 JZ DEN J IANV = ARI". This inscription is interrupted by eight medallions with the heads of the four evangelists and four times the St. Joachimsthal seal depicting the baptism of Jesus on the Jordan.
On the stepped octagonal hood in the shape of a helmet, there is a surrounding relief frieze with the recurring motif Moses knocks water out of the rock . On the frieze above is a group of three reliefs: in the middle, between floral motifs, you can see children drinking water from bowls, on the right a knightly fighting game and on the left a pageant. At the edges of the octagonal hood there are rosettes connected in three levels and between winged angel heads. The top of the hood bears a modern tin crucifix as a replacement for the original group of figures with the motif of the baptism of Jesus.
organ
The organ in the gallery dates from 1892 and was built by Rieger Orgelbau from Jägerndorf . The instrument has two manuals and 14 registers . The game table, decorated with rococo carvings, is recessed on the railing of the gallery.
Bells
The ringing consists of four bells, three of which come from the previous building from 1593.
The largest of the bells is 80 centimeters high and has a focus diameter of 1 meter. In the upper part there are three ornamental friezes. The upper two show winged angel heads under canopies as well as plant ornaments and drapery . The third frieze below consists of fruit baskets between plant ornaments. On the coat is the city name GOTTES - GAB embedded between the city coat of arms. Below is the framed inscription "D: VIGILY: BATOG: DECHANT: ZV / S: ICCH: TA: IOHAN: JAGOB: KVT / TNER: ROM: KEY: MAY: OB: AMPTS / ADMINISTRATOR: ANNO: M. D C. XXXIX ". On the opposite side there is a crucifix relief with initials on both sides; left "I. C ”, on the right“ IC C ”and on the wreath “ ANTONI. ARNOLT. FM “The crown handles are smooth.
The second, large bell measures 65 centimeters in height and 80 centimeters in sharpness. In the upper part is the Latin inscription "VERBVM DOMINI MANET / INAETERNVM AMEN IM J 1 5 9 4" and the imprint of a medallion of Emperor Maximilian II. Below hanging acanthus leaves the German inscription "EIN GANTZES KIRCHSPIL VND GEMEIN AVFF DER GOTZGAW LISSEN ME GISSEN HANS WILDT IN SIOACHIMSTAL LIS ME FLISSEN THE 3 DEGEMBER 1 5 9 4 “. On the opposite side a crucifixion group is shown; there are further inscriptions on both sides. The crown handles are profiled .
The death knell , also cast in 1594, was cast in 1865 by the Komotau bell caster Karl Herold.
In 1869 a new measuring bell was made by the Cheb bell founder Anton Pistorius.
Other equipment
In the room under the gallery is the three-part confessional from around 1770. It is made of oak with carving on the cornices . In the sacristy there is a sideboard made of oak from the second half of the 18th century. The chalice and paten for the celebration of the Eucharist at the altar are prepared on it.
The pews, made of softwood with a carved backrest, date from the 18th century. Three benches are made of oak wood with partial gilding, they date from around 1740. The glass chandelier hanging in the nave is from the first half of the 19th century. There is also a brightly painted wooden lecture cross from the early 19th century as well as the recently repainted 1.5 meter high wooden statues of St. Anne and St. Joachim from the first half of the 19th century.
The liturgical objects of the church include a 66 centimeter high monstrance made of gold, silver and copper. Chalices and pewter candlesticks stand on the main altar.
Trivia
Due to its location at about 1020 m nm , it is the highest church in the entire Ore Mountains and also - since Boží Dar has city rights - one of the highest urban churches in Central Europe. It is also the second highest in the Czech Republic after St. Stephan in the municipality of Kvilda ( German Aussergefild ) in the Bohemian Forest .
Web links
- Jaroslav Vyčichlo: Boží Dar - kostel sv. Anny (Czech)
Individual evidence
- ↑ kostel sv. Anny ÚSKP 46489 / 4-767 in the monument catalog pamatkovykatalog.cz (Czech).
- ↑ a b Dorothea Selig: Church register of the rk parish Gottesgab (č. Boží Dar). Association of Sudeten German Family Researchers V., April 14, 2008, accessed July 21, 2015 .
Coordinates: 50 ° 24 ′ 34.7 " N , 12 ° 55 ′ 28.5" E