St. Felix and Regula (Wattwil)
The Church of St. Felix and Regula is the Roman Catholic church of Wattwil in the canton of St. Gallen . It was built as a late work by the Basel architect Hermann Baur , who shaped Catholic church construction in the 20th century.
history
History and naming
In 897 a church in Wattwil was first mentioned in a document. At that time, the area covered by this church was so large that it was a valley church for the entire middle and upper Toggenburg . There are only other churches in Bütschwil , Ganterschwil and Mogelsberg . In the following centuries, the parishes of Hemberg SG (1214), Kappel SG (1218) and Oberhelfenschwil (1336) broke away from Wattwil . The Wattwil church was consecrated to St. Andrew until 1344 . After that, the church was dedicated to the martyrs Felix and Regula .
In the wake of the Reformation , the majority of the residents of Wattwil converted to the new faith . The remaining Catholics attended the service in Lichtensteig . Only after the Second Kappeler War (1531) were Catholics able to practice their faith again in Wattwil. The medieval parish church was used and maintained equally from 1593 .
In the years 1843–1848, Felix Wilhelm Kubly built a new parity church, which was built as a pillar - less transverse structure , clearly based on the Reformed Church in Wädenswil . Due to the population growth, the parity church for both denominations became too small, so that the two parishes dissolved the parity relationship on September 30, 1963. The church was left to the Protestant parish for a transfer fee, which it has been using as the Reformed Church since that time .
Development and construction history
As early as 1943, the previous renovation fund for the parity church had been converted into a building fund for the construction of a Catholic church. In 1947 a church building association was founded. In 1959 the parish commissioned the architect Hermann Baur with a preliminary study for the renovation of the existing church or a new Catholic church building. The study suggested that the parish build its own Catholic church. In 1963 there was an architecture competition that Hermann Baur was able to win. On April 3, 1966, the parish assembly approved the loan for the construction of the parish church including the rectory and parish center.
The groundbreaking ceremony took place on September 10, 1966 . On April 29, 1967, the bishop of St. Gallen , Josephus Hasler , laid the foundation stone of the church. On November 5, 1967 he consecrated the bells and on September 8, 1968 he consecrated the completed church.
Wattwil has today (as of 2016) approx. 8,500 inhabitants, of which approx. 2,900 are Catholics.
Building description
Exterior and bells
The parish church of St. Felix and Regula, including the parish center and rectory, is centrally located in the center of the village of Wattwil. The church tower is clearly visible, which is very similar to the tower of the Hermann Baur church Notre-Dame-de-la-Prévôté in Moutier , which the architect built between 1963 and 1965. The concrete tower hides a six-part chime, which sounds in the tone sequence G sharp ° - H ° - c sharp '- e' - f sharp '- g sharp' in the motif of Griesbacher's ideal sextet. The bells were cast by Emil Eschmann , Rickenbach (TG) near Wil (SG) . The ringing is special in that it is known for its volume and has the typical bitter "Eschmann sound".
The ensemble of church, parish center and parsonage is grouped in such a way that an elevated forecourt to the church is created in the middle, which is somewhat detached from the town center and yet easily accessible. It was important to the architect that liturgical acts could also take place on this church forecourt . So he had a granite block with the inscription Lumen Christi designed, which is used for the first part of the Easter Vigil. Before the church door at the foundation is a sculpture made of copper placed representing the patrons of the church, the Holy. Felix and Saint. Regulators. An oak portal leads into the interior of the church. The artistic decoration of the church forecourt comes from Pierino Selmoni.
Interior and artistic equipment
The architecture was designed simply by Hermann Baur. Brightly plastered walls enclose the room, which offers 650 seats. A ceiling made of fir wood closes the room off at the top. The floor and the liturgical places are made of dark stone. The baptismal font is located at the church portal under the organ gallery . The chancel is raised a few steps from the rest of the church, which underlines the proximity of the priest and church service community in the sense of a post-Vatican liturgy. The simply designed choir is dignified by its height and by the daylight that flows into the choir through windows that are hidden from the worshiper. As the church ceiling rises in three steps, the building with its three numbers refers to the Trinity .
The church portal and the liturgical places were designed by the sculptor Pierino Selmoni. Stone and wood form the materials for the altar , ambo and other works. The tabernacle is set up to the right of the altar and stands in the middle of an indicated tower, which shows the influence of Le Corbusier on Hermann Baur. The glass windows were designed by Father Karl Stadler .
Hugo Heule created the figure at the tabernacle, which bears the title Prague Christmas , from an oak trunk . It shows a tall person with huge hands, who embraces and protects a small child. In 2001 Stefan Gort created the cross sculpture in the choir as well as the stations of the cross in the vicinity of the church. The simple design in red fir wood takes up the architecture of the church. The Way of the Cross has a length of 40 meters and was made from 13 meter long beams. Words help the viewer to interpret the individual stations. The peculiarity of the cross in the choir does not show Jesus as crucified with wounds, but as Christ, who turns to people.
organ
The organ was built in 1972 by the company Späth Orgelbau , Rapperswil. The disposition comes from Father Stefan Koller from Einsiedeln Monastery . The instrument has 34 registers on three manuals including a pedal .
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- Normal coupling : II / I, I / P, II / P
- Playing aids : register crescendo , storage
literature
- Kirchgemeinde Wattwil (ed.): Festschrift for the consecration of the church. Wattwil 1968.
- Parish Wattwil (ed.): Way of the Cross - Cross - Catholic Church Wattwil. Wattwil 2001.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ulrike Jehle-Schulte Strathaus: Baur, Hermann. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . Retrieved December 15, 2016.
- ↑ Kirchgemeinde Wattwil (ed.): Festschrift for the consecration of the church , p. 1.
- ^ Website of the parish. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
- ↑ Kirchgemeinde Wattwil (ed.): Festschrift for the consecration of the church , p. 2.
- ↑ Kirchgemeinde Wattwil (ed.): Festschrift for the consecration of the church , p. 1.
- ^ Website of the parish. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
- ↑ Bells of the Church of St. Felix and Regula on YouTube . Retrieved December 15, 2016.
- ↑ Kirchgemeinde Wattwil (ed.): Festschrift for the consecration of the church , p. 3.
- ↑ Kirchgemeinde Wattwil (ed.): Festschrift for the consecration of the church , p. 7.
- ↑ Kirchgemeinde Wattwil (ed.): Festschrift for the consecration of the church , pp. 3–4.
- ↑ Kirchgemeinde Wattwil (ed.): Festschrift for the consecration of the church , pp. 8–9.
- ↑ Kirchgemeinde Wattwil (ed.): Kreuzweg - Kreuz - Catholic Church Wattwil.
- ↑ Kirchgemeinde Wattwil (ed.): Festschrift for the consecration of the church , p. 36.
- ^ Organ directory Switzerland and Liechtenstein, section Catholic parish church Wattwil SG. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
Coordinates: 47 ° 18 '10.2 " N , 9 ° 5' 7.6" E ; CH1903: seven hundred twenty-four thousand five hundred thirty-six / 240412