St. Blasius (Kaufbeuren)
The late Gothic church of St. Blasius stands next to the north-western corner tower of the city fortifications above the old town of Kaufbeuren in Swabia . The small sacred building is considered one of the most important medieval architectural monuments in Swabia.
history
The "Blasius Chapel" appears for the first time in 1319 in a document. The old parish church may have stood on the hill above the original settlement. A legend even locates the former castle of the nobles of Kaufbeuren here. The nave of St. Blasius provides an indication of a previous building. Up to a height of 2.75 meters, its masonry consists of tuff blocks that can be dated to at least the 13th century. In 1931 it was discovered that the existing brick tower was based on brickwork made of tuff blocks. This was interpreted by the excavators as the base plate of the tower, but rather represents the remains of a four-sided predecessor tower. During an excavation under the central nave of today's church in 1950, two high mediaeval tuff stone walls came to light, which may come from the crypt of an influential patrician family. The discovery of a human fibula at this point confirms this thesis.
The choir of the existing complex was started in 1436. In 1484/85 the nave was finally expanded into a three-aisled hall . In the next decades most of the preserved pieces of equipment were added, in 1600 the fresco on the north wall was added. At the end of the 19th century, the sculptures and paintings were restored "under state supervision". A major renovation took place in 1971 after attempts had already been made in 1950 and 1968 to dry out the masonry.
The church probably originally served as a chapel for the town's military men. The church was right next to the city wall , the battlements of which led through the building. The guards were able to hold their prayer without having to leave the battlements. The holy figures on the high altar refer to the preferred professions of these soldiers. The bourgeoisie at that time consisted mainly of weavers and armourers. Saints Blasius and Erasmus are the patrons of Wollhechler and Garnwinder, Johannes the Baptist and Sebastian are assigned to the arms manufacturers, Saint Ulrich is the protector of the city soldiers and patron of the diocese of Augsburg.
description
The three-aisled hall space was attached to the city wall in the west. The battlement leads through the church to the fortified tower next to it, a round brick building with a tiled, conical roof. The choir is slightly lower than the nave and adjoins the hall to the east. Brick was used throughout as building material , only the window tracery and architectural structures are made of ashlar. The exterior is whitewashed and structured by simple buttresses . Under the eaves of the choir, a clover-leaf frieze all round enriches the exterior.
Inside, four octagonal pillars support the ribbed vaults of the three-bay, rectangular nave. The choir has a star rib vault and closes in five sides of the octagon. The window tracery with its fish bladders, three and four passports has been partially renewed.
Furnishing
The unaltered late Gothic room architecture and the largely original medieval furnishings complement each other to create an overall picture of rare unity, undisturbed by modern changes. In addition to the restrained floral decoration of the vaults, some frescoes and remains of frescoes from the Gothic and Renaissance periods have been preserved, such as a depiction of the "Resurrection" (re. 1600) on the north wall of the nave. In front of the fragment of a Gothic crucifixion on the east wall stands the statue of St. John, which is attributed to the local master Jörg Lederer . Lederer is also considered to be the creator of the high altar (re. 1518) at the end of the choir, which however includes three large wooden figures from an older altar (around 1436). The paintings of the predella are by Jörg Mack, the altar wings by unknown, local masters. In addition to depictions of saints, a. to see the "Nativity" and the "Adoration of the Magi".
A small reliquary altar (around 1470) is placed on the right at the choir entrance. On the main panel, an angel holds the body of Christ, on the folding wings Mary and John mourn.
The nave walls carry four large late Gothic (around 1485) groups of tables with legends of saints. On the north wall, 20 pictures in two rows illustrate the life of St. Blaise. Ten panels each on the west wall tell the vitae of Saints Ulrich, Erasmus and Antonius. In the south the torture of the apostles and their separation is depicted, the panels are partially crowned by carved keel arches - tracery .
Saint Blaise with the birds is depicted on a tapestry. The work, executed in late Gothic styles, was not created until around 1578.
The crucifix with its archaic-looking figure of Christ is dated around 1350. To the right of the choir arch is another sculpture from Jörg Lederer's circle of St. Sebastian.
altar
Altar detail
Predella
Tapestry
literature
- Tilmann Breuer : City and District of Kaufbeuren. (Brief inventory) (= Bavarian art monuments. Vol. 9, ISSN 0522-5264 ). German art publisher, Munich 1960.
- Hugo Schnell, Richard Wiebel: St. Blasius Church Kaufbeuren. Reg. Bez. Schwaben, Diocese of Augsburg (= art guide. Little guide. No. 76, ZDB -ID 51387-8 ). 4th, revised edition. Schnell & Steiner, Munich et al. 1991.
- Marcus Simm: The king's city in Buron. (Kaufbeuren - an urban archaeological study on genesis, early development and topography) (= Kaufbeurer series of publications. Vol. 11). Bauer, Thalhofen 2012, ISBN 978-3-934509-96-2 (also: Munich, university, dissertation).
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Marcus Simm: The king's place at Buron. 2012, p. 206
- ↑ Marcus Simm: The king's place at Buron. 2012, p. 76
- ^ Tilmann Breuer: City and District of Kaufbeuren. 1960, p. 13
Web links
Coordinates: 47 ° 52 ′ 52.3 ″ N , 10 ° 37 ′ 1 ″ E