St. Bonifaz (Erlangen)
The Roman Catholic parish church of St. Boniface is the second oldest post-Reformation Catholic church in Erlangen after the Sacred Heart Church . The church, which belongs to the Archdiocese of Bamberg , was built in the years 1927/28 according to plans by Fritz Fuchsenberger in the expressionist style and is today an important monument of the 1920s.
location
When it was built, St. Boniface was still a long way from the city center of Erlangen on the southern outskirts. At that time, these peripheral districts consisted for the most part of extensive meadows and fields, which merged into the Sebalder Reichswald to the south . Today, however, the church is very centrally located within walking distance of the town hall, congress center and new market, which were built in the 1970s. In addition, St. Bonifaz borders the Siemens premises that were built after the Second World War . In particular, the " Raspberry Palace", built between 1948 and 1953, in the neighborhood, is reminiscent of the Bonifatius Church in terms of style.
St. Bonifaz is located at the southern end of Langemarckplatz (the former Puchtaplatz), opposite the student house of the Erlangen Nuremberg Student Union and the Erlangen penal institution . The nave extends almost exactly in an easterly direction along Hofmannstrasse. With the construction of Sieboldstrasse in the 1930s, the church and the directly adjoining parsonage , built in 1949, were given the address "Sieboldstrasse 1". The course of Sieboldstrasse results in an extensive church square in front of the dominant west facade , on which a modern bronze sculpture with the title The Good Shepherd from the city stands today. It was created by the Erlangen-born sculptor and later Munich academy professor Heinrich Kirchner , whose family was one of the most active supporters of the new St. Bonifaz church.
The building complex south of the Bonifatiuskirche, which was built in the 1980s, houses the parish and youth home St. Bonifaz, the “ Pacellihaus ” of the Catholic University Community (KHG) Erlangen and the “House of Church Services”.
history
Prehistory and foundation of a church building association
After Erlangen became Protestant with the Principality of Bayreuth in the 16th century , there was again a Catholic prayer house northeast of the then city since 1790 , from which the Sacred Heart Church emerged in the middle of the 19th century. With increasing industrialization towards the end of the 19th century, the population of Erlangen increased due to the strong influx from the predominantly Catholic surrounding area. Although the Herz-Jesu-Kirche was expanded to include today's central nave in 1895 , it was no longer able to accommodate the explosion in the number of Catholics. Therefore, an attempt was first made to acquire the former German Reformed Church on Bohlenplatz, but this failed due to resistance from Protestant circles. For this reason, a new church in Erlangen was inevitable.
To this end, on November 16, 1921, a church building association was established with the aim of building a house of God under the patronage of the apostle of the German diaspora, St. Boniface . On June 18, 1923, the parish and church building association on what was then the southern outskirts of Erlangen, in the Brucker Angers area , acquired a suitable building plot from the Ansbach government .
Architectural competition
An architectural competition was announced on August 25, 1924 , although the question of whether St. Boniface should be a branch church or a (usually larger) parish church had not yet been clarified. Instead, the specifications were: an east-facing, three-aisled nave with space for 2,000 to 2,200 church visitors, an organ loft with space for a 30-strong orchestra, a raised choir with high altar and two side altars. A total of 23 drafts were presented, with most of the applicants being eliminated in the first three ballots.
In the end, a design by Munich professor Fritz Fuchsenberger, which was submitted with the key word Centrisch and initially only achieved second place , prevailed (albeit in a greatly modified form) . The following comment has been passed down: “The clear grouping of the building masses and the moving away from the street by the charitable institutions were praised . The completely dark barrel vault and the low-lying sidelight were judged unfavorably . ”The original design envisaged a three-dimensional entrance front with numerous arched figural niches , arcades and a gable above the portal as well as Krumper windows, i.e. high, arched windows at the top and bottom, on the sides of the nave . which is strongly reminiscent of Italian Renaissance and Baroque architecture . Since baroque architecture is already well represented in Erlangen, echoes of neo-baroque as well as homeland security can be ascribed to this design .
Delays and rescheduling
In the following years, the construction of the church was delayed due to the difficult financial situation resulting from the previous years of inflation . The Erlangen city pastor Josef Weinig nonetheless worked tirelessly for the newly founded Catholic community. In 1925, he succeeded in exchanging the property on Brucker Anger acquired in 1923 for an urban property closer to the center on the southern edge of Puchtaplatz (today's Langemarckplatz). The exchange contract, however, contained the condition that construction should begin by the end of 1927 at the latest. It is also thanks to Weinig's initiative that the Catholic church administration in Erlangen was able to conclude “the contract to take out a mortgage of 160,000 marks for the purpose of building a Boniface Church” with the Bayerische Vereinsbank in Munich on March 29, 1927 . Only two days later, the Archbishop's Ordinariate in Bamberg issued the building permit .
In April 1927, Fritz Fuchsenberger, who shortly before had completed the construction of the new church of St. Karl Borromäus in Nuremberg - Mögeldorf , was commissioned as an architect . Under the circumstances that were now forced to be extremely frugal, a design in the expressionist style with echoes of early Christian and Romanesque architecture was created. This was - recognizable by the clear symmetry, the proportionate structure and the sober, tightly organized program - much more strongly influenced than the first by the constructive functionalism of the 1920s. The extreme reduction in ornamentation and decorative detail, combined with the formation of large, smooth wall surfaces, is to be understood in this sense. Early Christian and high medieval style practices are skilfully integrated into this concept, as it were to loosen up .
The Erlanger newspaper commented on Fuchsenberger's architectural style on July 8, 1928:
“You can take whatever position you want in the search for a modern style, you can hardly say that this Bonifatius church is not an artistic act. In the age of machines, engines, airplanes, rocket vehicles, radio transmitters and ocean crossings, surely the artistic expression of the new church building cannot possibly be that of a Gothic re- stencil or a baroque finish? The modern artist - who is not supposed to create for people of the High Middle Ages or the end of the Catholic restoration , but for the people of this frenzied pace of time - must try to speak a language that his community and his time really understand. Fritz Fuchsenberger's art is absolutely contemporary. "
Construction phase
The groundbreaking ceremony for the building took place on May 2, 1927; the ceremonial laying of the foundation stone by the dean of Herzogenaurach, Joseph Müller, took place on June 26th of the same year. The shell and the roof structure quickly took shape, so that the topping-out ceremony was celebrated on October 24, 1927, before the onset of winter, and the interior work could then be started. On June 10, 1928 , Archbishop Johann Jakob von Hauck consecrated the church in honor of St. Boniface.
Parish Elevation and Recent History
In 1940 St. Boniface was raised to an independent parish and thus split off from the Sacred Heart Congregation. The first pastor was Ambros Neundörfer, a pastor in St. Boniface since 1934 and later also dean. He worked in the community until 1973, almost 40 years. Under his initiative, the parishes of St. Sebald in the south of the city on the edge of the Sebalder Reichswald, Heilig Kreuz in the Bruck district and St. Theresia in the Sieglitzhof district - each in one of the residential areas that developed rapidly after the Second World War - came into being in the 1960s and 1970s .
In the immediate vicinity of St. Bonifaz, the “Pacelli House” was built in the 1950s and became the center of the Catholic university community. St. Boniface plays a direct role in this with the Sunday university church services . In the 1980s the "Pacellihaus" was demolished and rebuilt. In 1986/87 the parish buildings were supplemented by the new building of the “House of Church Services” and the parish and youth home . Since 2006 the parish has been part of the Erlanger Mitte parish association together with the Sacred Heart of Jesus and St. Sebald .
architecture
In 1928 the trade journal Bauwelt described the Bonifatiuskirche as follows:
“Extreme pressure to be thrifty led to the structurally simplest church design, the basilica , with flat wooden ceilings, developed from the roof structure. The visible, unplastered masonry is made of ordinary white sand-lime brick , the cheapest building block. Used for the first time in Germany on monumental churches in Nuremberg (Carl Borromäuskirche) and Erlangen, the white stone on the large wall surfaces of the interior and exterior construction shows its good suitability for sacred buildings . The medium-sized grain of the Franconian sand with its light tones from white-yellow to rust-brown has a particularly beneficial effect in the assessment of the white stone for monumental buildings . The white stone needs its own technique. His area is the large unplastered area. "
Exterior construction
The east-facing church has a rectangular floor plan , above which a three-aisled, basilic nave rises to eight window axes . The high central nave has a flat gable roof. The two significantly narrower aisles have pent roofs and only reach a height of about a quarter of the central nave. There are narrow window slits above it, which reach up to a great height. A multi-part cornice strip , which is effectively emphasized by stepped brackets, serves as the end directly under the roof . A semicircular apse is built on the east side of the rectangular nave , which is narrower than the central nave and only receives its light through narrow window slots at a great height. The course of the floor plan of the apse, which shows a regular zigzag pattern on the outside, is striking .
The vestibule -like porch contains a vestibule, to the south of which the Sacred Heart Chapel and on the north side the baptistery jutting out from the side walls . The latter also has a zigzag floor plan and a skylight crowned by a lantern with a cross .
To the west, the porch also forms the main facade, which contains the tower, which has been shifted to the north from the central axis. This barely looks higher than the rest of the facade and is only recognizable as such by its crowning in the form of a stepped profile. Originally it should have been made higher - a measure that was not implemented for reasons of cost. In addition, the west facade is structured by clinging coffin cornices, which develop on the narrow sides of the westwork and create the impression of four storeys. In the center of the façade, following the medieval building tradition, there is a large round window on which the church patron Boniface is depicted. Below is the narthex-like main portal, which is crowned by a zigzag frieze . Here the architectural style, which is evident in the floor plan of the apse and baptistery, is taken up again.
For cost reasons, Franconian sand-lime brick from nearby Behringersdorf was used as the building material .
inner space
When entering the rather dark church space through the main portal, the visitor first comes to a three-bay vestibule, which is housed in the vestibule-like porch. The organ gallery is located above it . The rectangular nave, which has eight window axes, is entered through glass doors. You are in the central nave, which is spanned by a flat wooden ceiling suspended from the roof structure, the simplest possible roof construction. Through simple arched arcades resting on concrete supports , the room opens up to the two low, narrow side aisles, which are also provided with flat wooden ceilings. These only serve as lateral passages; the church stalls are exclusively in the central nave to the left and right of a wide central aisle.
This leads to a total of thirteen-step staircase, which leads into the strongly raised chancel. The latter consists of the rectangular presbytery in the east axis of the nave and the closing, semicircular apse. To the left and right of the staircase there are two massive platforms, so-called ambones. The left pedestal has through the polygonal parapet course and the sound cover as pulpit , while the right Ambon as a base for a life-size, colored aggregate figure of Our Lady with the baby Jesus used. This is a work by the Bamberg sculptor Hans Leitherer . The two ambons also serve as access to the crypt , which is located under the sanctuary. In this small "lower church", which is equipped with an altar and is used, for example, for the weekday services, the red glass windows provide a particularly atmospheric light. The end of the two aisles (each on the eastern nave axis) is formed by a small side chapel, which is spanned by a simple groin vault.
The architectural conception of St. Boniface is very similar to that of St. Karl Borromäus in Nuremberg-Mögeldorf - a church that was also built by Fritz Fuchsenberger in 1926/27. In both church buildings, the rising walls of the central nave and the high, narrow window slits emphasize the depth of the church and direct your gaze to the holy of holies in the chancel as soon as you enter the church building . In contrast to St. Karl Borromeo, the Erlangen counterpart had to be dispensed with for financial reasons, so that the view of the regular, handcrafted masonry is revealed here.
Contemporary Arts
In 2019 the artist group ARTISAN organized a group exhibition under the direction of Sebastian Hertrich and Sebastian Wanke in Erlangen under the title "waste and void". Among other things in the Sacred Heart Church , the Old Town Church and an art gallery in the city center. Artistic positions were presented in the forms of expression of painting, sculpture, photography, digital installation and sculpture, which move in the field of tension between religious and profane topics. With its low-light interior, St. Bonifaz played a key role in the exhibition for light art .
Furnishing
Sanctuary
The high altar is in no way able to fill the apse with its great height, but it already attracts the gaze of those entering with its golden, shiny front. This front panel covering the cuboid altar block is made of polished brass . In a central position it contains an almost cube-shaped, gilded tabernacle , the doors of which with elaborate ivory reliefs of the Annunciation to Mary and the inscription Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto ex Maria Virgine et homo factus est (from the Great Creed : Latin "has accepted flesh by the Holy Spirit from the Virgin Mary and became man ”). The tabernacle is surmounted by a ciborium-like structure, also made of polished brass . This filigree-looking attachment opens up to the viewer in an ogival shape and is crowned by a small pyramid . On both sides of the tabernacle there are three embossed reliefs of Old Testament prophets , whose writings all point to the coming of the Savior . That is why the name of the "six Bonifazer Advent prophets " has become commonplace for this. From left to right are shown: Micha , Obadja , Daniel , Isaiah , Ezekiel and Jeremiah .
In front of the high altar, the perpetual traffic light that is hung on the apse dome seems to float. It is also made of polished brass and has a spherical shape from which four arms of a lying cross protrude.
Side chapels
In the two side chapels there are altars by the Munich sculptor Hans Faulhaber, which are designed as counterparts. These each contain a group of figures on a stone base. In the left chapel, which thematically relates to St. Mary, there is a Pietà . This shows Mary, who carries the body of the removed son Jesus on her knees. The base bears the inscription SEE IF A PAIN IS EQUAL TO MY Pain.
The right chapel in honor of St. Joseph contains an altar with a group of figures of St. Joseph and the approximately 12-year-old boy Jesus, to whom the father good-naturedly explains the basic concepts of his craft. The inscription HE TAKES HIS CHILDREN IN HIS HAT is on the base . The altar is flanked on the wall by two angel figures in half relief.
Rear chapels
The baptistery is a little hidden in the northwest corner of the nave. Its structural shape is reminiscent of early Christian baptisteries . It draws its light solely from star-shaped glass windows in the ceiling. In the room, next to the simple baptismal font, there is also a bronze sculpture of the baptism of Jesus by John in the Jordan .
In the southwest corner of the Bonifatiuskirche is the Herz-Jesu chapel, which contains another side altar. This essentially consists of a Sacred Heart figure in half relief, which is surrounded by four angel figures. The confessional room is located in the Sacred Heart Chapel .
Way of the Cross
On the walls of the aisles there are 14 cross- path panels, which are designed as wooden reliefs. Like the side altars, they were created by Hans Faulhaber.
organ
The first organ in St. Bonifaz was built in 1937 by Orgelbau Schmid from Munich. It was an instrument that was tuned in the style of German Romanticism . In 1968 this instrument was expanded to include a third manual and its sound was transformed into a “neo-baroque” instrument. Since this shrill atmosphere with numerous difficult-to- mix sounds containing overtones no longer corresponds to today's acoustic ideal, the organ was redesigned in 2007/08 by the organ builder Benedikt Friedrich from Oberasbach . For only about a fifth of the total price of a new instrument, a relatively large “ecumenical organ” was put together from 16 registers from the old Bonifaz organ, 13 registers from the Steinmeyer organ of the Protestant Neustadt church, which was broken off in 2005, and five new registers. The oldest parts of this organ (viol, trumpet, trombone) date from 1910 and were already integrated into the predecessor organ of the Neustadt church. The new organ now again allows the appropriate intonation of romantic organ works, while at the same time some extensions to sound forms of the 1920s and 1930s are included. This refers to the time when the Bonifatiuskirche was built.
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
- Pairing :
- Remarks:
- NK = register from the Neustädter Church (Steinmeyer organ)
- (new) = new register (2008)
- Unmarked registers are the existing pipe inventory of St. Boniface
Bells
In a spacious bell room in the vestibule-like porch there is a four-part bell that was cast by Friedrich Wilhelm Schilling in Heidelberg in 1954 . After that of the Protestant St. Matthew's Church, the bells are the second lowest in the city of Erlangen. It includes the following bells:
| No. | Casting year | Caster | Weight [kg] | Diameter [mm] | Chime |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 1954 | FW Schilling, Heidelberg | 2,100 | 1531 | cis 1 |
| 2. | 995 | 1194 | e 1 | ||
| 3. | 562 | 998 | f sharp 1 | ||
| 4th | 484 | 938 | g sharp 1 |
literature
- Robert Leyh: Catholic parish church St. Bonifaz in Erlangen. Church leaders, Erlangen 1998.
- Christoph Friedrich, Bertold Freiherr von Haller, Andreas Jakob (Hrsg.): Erlanger Stadtlexikon . W. Tümmels Verlag, Nuremberg 2002, ISBN 3-921590-89-2 ( complete edition online ).
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Leyh; P. 9f.
- ^ A b c Norbert Richter: St. Boniface in today's Erlangen. In: Leyh; Pp. 19-21.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Leyh; Pp. 4-9.
- ^ A b Christian Hecht: Boniface. In: Erlanger Stadtlexikon.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Leyh; Pp. 10f., 15-17.
- ↑ WASTE AND VOID - ARTISAN. Accessed January 2, 2020 .
- ↑ a b c d e f Leyh; Pp. 17-19.
- ↑ Ecumenical Organ . Online at www.stbonifaz.de ; accessed on March 2, 2018.
- ↑ Disposition
- ↑ Erlangen St. Boniface - Plenary . Online at www.youtube.com ; accessed on March 2, 2018.
Web links
- Internet presence of the parish of St. Bonifaz in Erlangen
- Website of the Catholic University Community (KHG) Erlangen
- Entry of St. Bonifaz Church in Erlangen on Yelp
Coordinates: 49 ° 35 ′ 33.5 ″ N , 11 ° 0 ′ 39.9 ″ E