St. Benignus (Pfäffikon ZH)
The Church of St. Benignus is the Roman Catholic parish church of Pfäffikon ZH in the Zurich Oberland . It stands at the intersection of the three streets Schäracker, Obermatt and Russikerstrasse . In addition to Pfäffikon, the parish belonging to it is also responsible for the places Fehraltorf , Russikon and Hittnau as well as their external guards . It is the only church in German-speaking Switzerland that is consecrated to St. Benignus .
history
History and naming
The Christian faith first came to the region of today's Zurich Oberland through the Romans . In the Roman fort in Irgenhausen am Pfäffikersee , the foundations of the region's first Christian church can still be seen today. This fort was located on the Römerstrasse, which ran from Italy over the Graubünden Alps to Lake Zurich and then from Kempraten via Irgenhausen-Pfäffikon-Oberwinterthur to Pfyn on the Rhaetian border, where the road split in order to cross over to Eschenz bei Stein am Rhein of the river, on the other hand to Arbon and Bregenz on Lake Constance.
After the collapse of the Roman Empire, the Christian faith came a second time to eastern Switzerland through the monks Gallus and Columban around the year 610 . The Burgundian King Dagobert I , who had been at the head of the Frankish Empire since 629 , wanted to help Christianity to break through in his country and therefore founded several churches that were consecrated to Saint Benignus in Dijon . When expanding his Burgundian part far east into the Appenzell Alps , he also donated some churches in the newly conquered area, such as the church in the old Roman fort in Oberwinterthur or the St. Dyoniskapelle near Wurmsbach . Since the Irgenhausen fort remained important in post-Roman times because of the old Roman road, Dagobert I donated the St. Benignus Church on the site of the Roman fort near Pfäffikon, which at that time was the only church in the entire region. This church was built on the land of the king, on which the courtyard stood, which from then on served to maintain the church and the priest. The name Pfäffikons, which is first mentioned in a document from 911 as Faffinchova , in 1308 as Pfeffikon , means "Paffenhoff = vicarage". Until the founding of the younger churches in Dürnten, Hinwil and Illnau, all residents of the region were part of the St. Begnignus Church in the fort and later in Pfäffikon.
Probably in the early 8th century the church was moved from the fort to the village of Pfäffikon. When the landowner Wolfcrim made a donation to the St. Gallen Monastery in the vestibule of the Benignus Church in Pfäffikon on August 11, 811, the Benignus Church and the village were first mentioned in the relevant document.
After the Benignus Church in Pfäffikon and the Irgenhausen court remained a royal property for more than three centuries, Otto gave the Great Church, Wittum , tithe and branches to the St. Martin monastery in Disentis on May 16, 960 . In 965 he also added the Pfäffikon farm. Otto the Great made these donations to the Disentis Monastery to secure the route over the Lukmanier Pass, which is important for imperial politics . Since the residents of Pfäffikon felt closely connected to the monastery, they venerated the patron saint of the Disentis monastery, St. Martin, like their own, so that the veneration of St. Benignus increasingly faded into the background. It can be assumed that with the construction of the second church in Pfäffikon around the year 1000, the patronage of St. Benignus expired and was replaced by that of St. Martin. St. Martin is attested as the church patron only by the seal of the priest at the beginning of the 14th century.
Archaeological excavations have shown that the first church building in the center of Pfäffikon ZH was Merovingian - Carolingian and came from the 8th century. This first church, like that of the castle, was dedicated to St. Benignus, patron saint of Dijon Cathedral. The second church was built around the year 1000 and was probably given the patronage of St. Martin of Tours, the patron saint of the monastery church of Disentis. In the late Middle Ages, the choir, windows, vaults and buttresses of the church were built in an ogival shape , one of the buttresses bears the date 1487. The church set came from the monastery of St. Gallen to the knights of Landenberg- Werdenberg in 1414. He was transferred to the knight Hermann von Eptingen in Auslikon in 1459, together with his tithe, and in 1536 the fief of Hans von Breiten-Landenberg was given to the council of Zurich .
Since the Reformation in Zurich, Catholic worship was banned in the canton of Zurich, which is why the church of Pfäffikon ZH was used for the Reformed worship from then on. Only the Edict of Tolerance from 1807 allowed the immigrant Catholics to celebrate Catholic services again, but initially only in the city of Zurich. When the modern Confederation was founded in 1848, freedom of religion and freedom of residence was enshrined in the constitution , so that Catholic communities could be established throughout the Canton of Zurich.
In June 1866 , the first Holy Mass since the Reformation was celebrated in the Zurich Oberland at the Pilgersteg inn , which was between Dürnten and Rüti ZH . The Capuchin Fathers of the Rapperswil Monastery had committed themselves to the diocese of Chur to take over pastoral care in the Zurich Oberland. The Catholics who immigrated at that time were mostly poor and lived scattered throughout the region, which made it difficult to establish a Catholic community. In 1874 the St. Margarethenkirche in Wald was consecrated and from 1882 onwards it was run by world priests. Today's Catholic parish of Pfäffikon ZH is a foundation of the parish of St. Franziskus Wetzikon.
Development and construction history
On April 17, 1923, land was purchased in Pfäffikon ZH for the construction of a Catholic church. On August 15, 1925, Pfäffikon ZH was appointed parish rectorate. Ten days later a first church with an Eternit cladding was designated . It was a Sacred Heart Church . In 1927 the rectory was built and in the summer of 1928 Pfäffikon ZH was raised to an independent parish and separated from St. Franziskus Wetzikon.
On October 1, 1961, the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of today's St. Benignus Church took place . The foundation stone was laid on May 27, 1962, and the church was consecrated on November 3, 1963. In 1976 the church received its present organ, and in 1989 the interior of the church was renovated. In 2010 the church and the parish center were rebuilt by architect Walter Moser .
The parish of St. Benignus, with its 5,841 members (as of 2017), is one of the medium-sized Catholic parishes in the canton of Zurich.
Building description
Church tower and exterior
The church tower is clearly visible from afar. It is a concrete construction that contains the five-part bells. This sounds, starting from the big bell, in C major on: c / e / g / a / c. It embodies the Salve Regina motif with a doubled keynote.
| number | Weight | volume | dedication | inscription |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2500 kg | c 1 | Trinity | The one God in three persons - Glorify and carry God in your body |
| 2 | 1350 kg | e 1 | Jesus Christ | Let them all be one |
| 3 | 760 kg | g 1 | Maria | Blessed are you because you believed - stand firm in your faith |
| 4th | 530 kg | a 1 | Guardian Angel | Trust in the Lord - He is the hope and the resurrection - The Lord is my Shepherd |
| 5 | 320 kg | c 2 | Benignus | God is love - one carries the burden of the other |
Interior and artistic equipment
A foyer built in 2010 , which replaces the previous canopy, leads to the church through the portal. This is single-aisle , which emphasizes the community character of the worship community. The room has a polygonal floor plan and ends in a pointed shape in the chancel. The church roof rises from the entrance area so that the volume of the room is greatest above the altar area. A ribbon of windows that runs below the ceiling in the nave lets daylight into the church. The window in the choir consists of glass blocks , which were given their current color scheme in 1990. The design of the color design comes from Hansulrich Beer, Hittnau, the art gallery Mathies in St. Gallen implemented the design technically. The pews face the chancel in two rows.
When the church was being built, the Second Vatican Council was in progress, which is why the massive stone altar was originally aligned with the choir wall and the crucifix hanging from the ceiling . The tabernacle was on the altar. After the council, the altar was turned towards the faithful and the tabernacle was placed on the wall on the right. In 2010 the chancel was redesigned again. The massive altar, raised several steps from the church interior, was replaced by a new one that is only one step away from the church interior. The altar plate, which was obtained from the stone of the old altar, now rests on transparent legs, as does the tabernacle, the ambo and the Easter candlestick . Behind the altar there is a crucifix with a larger than life Christ attached. To the left of the chancel is a statue of Our Lady with a child.
organ
The organ of the St. Benignus church was designed in 1976 by the company Späth , Rapperswil, in collaboration with Richard P. Krieg, based on a project and expertise from Josef Bucher, Zurich. Hans Späth did the intonation of the organ. The instrument has a free console , the action and registration are purely mechanical. 18 stops are distributed over two manuals and pedal. The organ has the following disposition :
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- Coupling : II / I, I / P, II / P
- Playing aids : storage space (as steps) for mixture 1 ′ and trumpet 8 ′.
chapel
A chapel is built on the right side of the church, the wall of which can be opened towards the church. A wooden altar is used for the celebration of the Eucharist. On the wall behind the altar there is a wooden relief depicting the Lord's Supper.
literature
- Home register of the municipality of Pfäffikon in the canton of Zurich 1962 , pp. 61–67.
- Episcopal Ordinariate Chur (ed.): Schematism of the Diocese of Chur. Chur 1980.
Web links
- Benignus Church Pfäffikon on the website of the parish St. Benignus Pfäffikon - Fehraltorf - Hittnau - Russikon
- Bells on youtube
Individual evidence
- ↑ Home register of the Pfäffikon community in the canton of Zurich 1962 , p. 62.
- ↑ Liselotte Forster: 70 years as a Catholic in Bäretswil 1940–2010. Becoming and growing a diaspora parish in the Zurich Oberland. Bäretswil 2010, p. 12.
- ↑ Home directory of the Pfäffikon community in the canton of Zurich 1962 , pp. 62–63.
- ^ Website of the parish, section Benignus Church in Pfäffikon. ( Memento of the original from July 24, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
- ↑ Episcopal Ordinariate Chur (ed.): Schematism of the Diocese of Chur. P. 233.
- ↑ Home register of the municipality of Pfäffikon in the canton of Zurich 1962 , p. 65.
- ↑ Home directory of the Pfäffikon community in the canton of Zurich 1962 , p. 61.
- ↑ Episcopal Ordinariate Chur (ed.): Schematism of the Diocese of Chur. P. 233.
- ↑ Home directory of the Pfäffikon community in the canton of Zurich 1962 , pp. 66–67.
- ↑ Episcopal Ordinariate Chur (ed.): Schematism of the Diocese of Chur. P. 233.
- ↑ Liselotte Forster: 70 years as a Catholic in Bäretswil 1940–2010. Becoming and growing a diaspora parish in the Zurich Oberland. Bäretswil 2010, pp. 12-14.
- ↑ Episcopal Ordinariate Chur (ed.): Schematism of the Diocese of Chur. P. 233.
- ^ Website of the parish, section Benignus Church in Pfäffikon. ( Memento of the original from July 24, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
- ↑ Catholic Church in the Canton of Zurich (Ed.): Annual Report 2017, p. 83.
- ^ Website of the parish. ( Memento of the original from July 24, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Our bells section . Retrieved December 26, 2014.
- ^ Website of the parish. ( Memento of the original from July 24, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Section stained glass window . Retrieved December 26, 2014.
- ↑ Catholic Church St. Meinrad Pfäffikon ZH. In private organ directory Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
Coordinates: 47 ° 22 '17.45 " N , 8 ° 46' 52.62" O ; CH1903: 701 406 / 247609