St. Franziskus (Hüttwilen)

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St. Francis Church, tower
View from the west

The Church of St. Franziskus is the Roman Catholic church in Hüttwilen in the canton of Thurgau . It is the only church building designed by the architect Justus Dahinden in Thurgau.

history

History and naming

Ruins from Roman times prove that Hüttwilen is one of the oldest settlements in Thurgau. Huttinvillare was first mentioned in a document in 817, and in 1256 Hüttwilen's own priest was named in a document from the Feldbach monastery. Archaeological finds show a first chapel from the 13th century, which is said to have been dedicated to St. Michael , St. Pankraz and St. Margaret . Around 1450 this chapel was enlarged. Frescoes have survived from the pre-Reformation period, which were transferred to the new building of the Catholic Church in 1965. In the Middle Ages, the church set of Hüttwilen was awarded by the Bishop of Augsburg , but was transferred to Ittingen Monastery for the first time in 1466 and from 1622 onwards . In 1524 the parsonage, in which a monk from the Ittingen monastery lived, was looted during the "Ittingen storm". Shortly afterwards, a Protestant clergyman moved into the village, which had become mostly Protestant. From 1551 he was also responsible for Uesslingen . From 1551 the church of Hüttwilen was used equally . In 1654 the Hüttwiler enlarged their church. Ittingen Monastery provided a clergyman in Hüttwilen until 1843, from then on the parish elected its clergy itself. In 1856–1859, the Frauenfeld architect Johann Joachim Brenner redesigned the church one last time. With the new construction of the Protestant Church in Hüttwilen in 1963 and the Catholic Church in 1966, the equal relationship was dissolved. The old village church was demolished in 1964 because the new Catholic church was being built.

Development and construction history

As early as 1921, the Catholics of Hüttwilen began to collect money for their own church. Similar to the Maria Krönung Church in Zurich-Witikon , which was built immediately before , the Zurich architect Justus Dahinden designed the new Catholic Church in Hüttwilen as a tent of God from 1964–1965. Franziskus von Streng , the Bishop of Basel , donated 290,000 francs for this church building. This money was collected in the diocese of Basel on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the bishop. For this reason, the church of Hüttwilen is likely to have been consecrated to the namesake of the bishop, St. Francis of Assisi . On January 23, 1966, Franziskus von Streng inaugurated the newly built Catholic Church in Hüttwilen.

The Church of St. Francis has been part of the Frauenfeld pastoral area since January 1st, 2012. 361 Catholics live in Hüttwilen (as of 2013).

Roof construction, partial view

Building description

Exterior and bells

The St. Franziskus Church is located in the center of the village in the neighborhood of the Evangelical Church of Hüttwilen on sloping terrain. In contrast to the Protestant church, which suggests a bright room in light tones, the Catholic church is clad with dark Eternit panels and the glass windows are mirrored in brown tones, so that a dark interior is suspected. Located on Dorfstrasse on the area of ​​the former parity church, the Catholic Church consists of various polygonal elements that rise again and again as pointed triangular formations towards the sky. The three parts of the building refer to the Trinity , the horizontally erect elements refer to the transcendence . Similar to the two Zurich churches by the architect Justus Dahinden Maria Krönung in Zurich-Witikon and St. Paulus in Dielsdorf , the design is based on the idea of ​​the divine tent. The materials, reduced to exposed concrete, wood and Eternit, reinforce the striking appearance of the church.

The steeple runs like the bell tower of Maria Krönung Zürich-Witikon into a point. The bell chamber hides a four-part bell with the tone sequence f sharp '- g sharp' - b '- dis'. The large and small of the three bells from the tower of the parity previous church were reused in the new bell. The middle bell of the old peal was cast by Emil Eschmann . Bells 2 and 4 of the new bells come from the company H. Rüetschi from 1859, bells 1 and 3 from Emil Eschmann from 1964. In the bell room, space was left below the large bell for a possible addition of a bell with the chime dis'. The consecration of the new bell took place on October 3, 1965.

Past the old rectory, the path leads over a staircase to the church portal , on the right-hand side of which, instead of a clock attached high on the tower, a modern dial is attached almost at eye level. As in the St. Paulus Church in Dielsdorf, access to the church first leads into a narrow, dark anteroom and only then into the church, so that the light sequence leads from bright daylight over a dark, cramped room into the high semi-darkness of the church.

Interior and artistic equipment

On the basement with the parish center built into it, the church rises up as a wood-clad tent structure, the elements of which are interrupted by light inlets. The vertical, lower walls are made of exposed concrete and have the fresco fragments of the previous church as a special feature. The pews are aligned in three segments to the choir , which is raised from the church by a few steps. Designed as a post-Vatican church, the baptismal font is not located at the entrance portal as in older Wegkirchen, but is set up on the left side of the choir. Since the vertical walls contain the frescoes and the wooden ceiling is not suitable for them, Justus Dahinden designed a low metal foot in front of the ambo for the 12 Apostle candles. Like the tabernacle , which is located on the right side of the choir, the ambo is also created as a tubular body, which contrasts with the cubic popular altar that is located in the center of the choir. A representation of Mary on the right and an inscription on the left, which refers to the foundation of the church by Bishop Franziskus von Streng, complete the choir furnishings. As a counterpart to the choir area, the organ and choir area is designed as a raised space on the south-west side of the church. A wooden crucifix from the previous church was placed over the entrance to the church.

Mathis organ from 1969

organ

For the previous church, the Catholics had acquired an organ from the abolished Kalchrain monastery in 1849 . This first instrument was made in 1730 and was created by Johann Jakob Bommer from Weingarten / Lommis . In 1883 the Catholics bought a larger, second instrument for the parity previous church, which was built by the organ builder Klingler, Rorschach . In 1913 the registers of the second organ were used for a third, now equally financed organ made by the organ builder Kuhn , Männedorf. This was no longer placed in the choir of the previous church, but on the gallery.

The Franziskus-Kirche received its organ in 1969. The instrument was built by Mathis , Näfels. The special spatial arrangement of the church made it necessary that the organ was constructed at an angle: the main work and the pedal whistles are aligned to the center of the room, the swell positive is directed sideways towards the gallery area for the church choir.

Disposition of the Mathis organ:

I Hauptwerk C – g 3
Principal 8th'
Capstan whistle 8th'
octave 4 ′
Coupling flute 4 ′
Flat flute 2 ′
Mixture III-IV 1 13
Trumpet 8th'
II breastwork C – g 3
Wooden dacked 8th'
Reed flute 4 ′
Principal 2 ′
Gemsnasat 1 13
Terzianscharff 12
Tremulant
Pedals C – f 1
Sub bass 16 ′
flute 8th'
Dolkan 4 ′

literature

  • Angelus Hux, Alexander Troehler: KlangRäume. Churches and organs in Thurgau. Frauenfeld 2007.

Web links

Commons : St. Franziskus Hüttwilen  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Angelus Hux, Alexander Troehler: KlangRäume. Churches and organs in Thurgau , pp. 252 and 254.
  2. Angelus Hux, Alexander Troehler: KlangRäume. Churches and organs in Thurgau , p. 252.
  3. YouTube for the Catholic Church Hüttwilen. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
  4. ^ Archives of the parish of Frauenfeld. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
  5. ^ Website of the pastoral area Frauenfeld, section St. Franziskus Hüttwilen. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
  6. YouTube about the Catholic Church Hüttwilen. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
  7. Angelus Hux, Alexander Troehler: KlangRäume. Churches and organs in Thurgau , pp. 252–253.
  8. Angelus Hux, Alexander Troehler: KlangRäume. Churches and organs in Thurgau , p. 253.
  9. ^ Organ directory Switzerland and Liechtenstein, section Catholic Church Hüttwilen TG. Retrieved December 10, 2016

Coordinates: 47 ° 36 '32.5 "  N , 8 ° 52' 24.1"  E ; CH1903:  seven hundred and seven thousand eight hundred seventy-six  /  274136