St. Georg (Reichenau-Oberzell)

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George's Church in Reichenau-Oberzell
German version of the World Heritage emblem

St. Georg is a late Carolingian and Ottonian church building in Oberzell on the island of Reichenau . The basilica, built at the end of the 9th century, houses a piece of the skull of St. George in its underground crypt. Wall paintings that were created in the late Carolingian or Ottonian times are particularly famous. Because of its unique state of preservation, St. Georg in Reichenau Oberzell is - regardless of the outcome of this dating discussion - apart from the church of the Benedictine monastery of St. Johann in Müstair , whose painting dates from around 800, on the soil of the later Holy Roman Empire north of the Alps Church, which is still able to give us an overall impression of the painting of a sacred space in the time before the turn of the millennium. "

The church belongs, together with the monastery island since 2000 on the World Heritage of UNESCO .

history

The Basilica of St. George
Ground plan of the Georgskirche
St. Georg on the southeast side of the island of Reichenau

In the first centuries of the Middle Ages, the worship and relics of George reached Italy and the Merovingian Franconian Empire . The Reichenau abbot Hatto III. (Term of office 888–913), who also became Archbishop of Mainz and Arch Chancellor of the East Franconian Empire as Hatto I in 891 , received relics from Pope Formosus in Rome in 896 - the Roman basilica of San Giorgio in Velabro played an important role here - and returned with the relics back over the Alps to Eastern Franconia. There he distributed what he had acquired, so that the Bodenseekloster Reichenau, of which Hatto was the director, came into possession of some George relics, including a piece of the skull of the martyr Georg . The "Georgshaupt" on the Reichenau, more precisely in Oberzell founded by Hatto, must have promoted the veneration of the Cappadocian arch martyr in medieval Swabia.

The Georgskirche in Oberzell is said to have been consecrated on November 18th, according to a Reichenau adaptation of the martyrologist of Wandalbert von Prüm (* 813; † after 848). According to the tradition of Gallus Oehem , St. Georg already existed at the time of Abbot Ruadhelm (838–842), according to which Haito (806–823) would have been the founder. However, today's research unanimously speaks of the Church as Hatto III. to.

The Georgskirche is a late Carolingian church building that was built around the year 900 and expanded several times. It is consecrated to Saint George and is one of the oldest Georgian churches in Europe. Their significant wall paintings, some in the 10./11. Century, partly dated to the end of the 9th century, are considered to be the main evidence of the painting of the Reichenau monastery .

The building inspector Ludwig Maier took part in the restoration of the wall paintings around 1880 under building inspector Franz Bär , who in 1883 proposed to build a copy of the Georgskirche for the construction of a new Catholic church in Rittersbach . According to his plans, the Rittersbacher Church of St. Georg was built from 1886 to 1888 as a copy of the church on Reichenau. The painting was done by the Freiburg copyist Fritz Kohlund . Since November 2008 there is also a virtual replica of the church in the computer world Second Life .

architecture

South side of the porch and the western apse

The pre-Romanesque Church of St. George, founded by Hatto, stands on a small hill near the eastern tip of the Lake Constance island. The three-aisled basilica has low aisles, a crossing tower and a rectangular east choir raised from the tower. The crypt below the choir is a square hall; four columns frame an altar here. Perhaps the crypt was intended to store the George relics; then it should have been created in the initial phase of the church building.

The first, around the year 900 under Hatto III. The built-in church building encompassed today's nave with its rows of columns and the crypt. For this time, the nave was a very spacious building, the size of which was chosen for the expected veneration of saints. Instead of the current rectangular transept wing, it probably had a choir with three conches , which made the function of the church as a reliquary and grave church evident.

Between 925 and 945 a rounded apse was added to the west side of the nave , possibly because the George relics had been moved from the crypt to the west building in order to be able to venerate them above ground. In the beginning of the 11th century, the low, elongated vestibule and above it the Michael's Chapel were built. It was also at this time that the round cones of the transept were converted into rectangular transept wings.

Mural

Miraculous work of Jesus

South side of the nave
Paintings on the north side of the nave: The healing of the possessed of Gerasa and The healing of the dropsy

The pictures in the nave of the Georgskirche on the long sides as well as on the north and south walls have survived the centuries since their creation at a still unknown point in time between the end of the 9th and the end of the 10th century (for discussion see below) . The art historian Hans Jantzen determines its importance in the history of art as follows: “Apart from [...] fragments in Trier, in Echternach, Fulda and other places, there is only one church that gives us an overall impression of the painting of a sacred space in the Able to convey time before the turn of the millennium. That is the Church of St. George in Oberzell on the Reichenau. ”The focus is on titled scenes from the life of Jesus , which are taken from the Gospels. Jesus is shown as the saving Christ, supernatural and yet in close proximity to people.

The scenes from the life of Christ depicted on the north and south walls relate to his miraculous work. The following scenes are shown (1st – 4th: north wall from west to east; 5th – 8th: south wall from east to west, i.e. clockwise):

  1. Healing of the possessed of Gerasa
  2. Healing the dropsy
  3. Calming the storm on the Sea of ​​Galilee
  4. Healing the man born blind
  5. Healing of the leper
  6. Raising of the youth of Nain
  7. Jairi's little daughter is raised from the dead
  8. Raising Lazarus from the dead

Each picture has a Latin titulus , the text of which summarizes the depicted scene. The pictorial scenes are framed by perspective meanders and richly designed ornamental friezes.

The miracle scenes can be viewed linearly in a closed sequence. This begins on the left at the entrance, leads to the altar, and on the right of the altar back to the entrance. Christ is shown with his gesture of blessing in the narrative direction in oversize on the left in the image field with orientation to the right (exceptions are the pictures 3 and 7, in which Christ is shown twice). If one follows this sequence, there is a clear increase that ends with the raising of Lazarus from the dead. This reading direction is also supported by the meander. In the scenes facing each other in the nave, clear analogies can be seen in terms of the design of the architectural background.

A geographical reference is also assumed for the miracle contents: The miracles on the north wall, i.e. the water side, also have a content-related reference to water, while the miracles on the south wall, the suspected cemetery side, have to do with resurrection. In addition, there are parallels in the representation of the first picture to the representation of the founding myth of the Reichenau monastery, which depicts the traveling bishop Pirmin in a boat who drives snakes / demons from the island when he arrives. This motif can be seen in a picture from the 17th century in the Münster Mittelzell.

The calming of the storm and the healing of the blind born with inscription: HIC SINE LUCE SATUS SPUTO LUTOQUE LINITUS. This one born without light was coated with saliva and earth.

In the upper aisle the twelve apostles are shown as standing figures. Tondi with half-length portraits of abbots can be found between the arches .

The slogan is written around the choir arch: “CHRIST VINCIT CHRIST REGNAT CHRIST IMPERAT CHRIST AB OMNI MALO PLEBEM SUAM DEFENDAT” (“Christ conquers, Christ rules, Christ commands; Christ defends his people from all evil.”).

Closely related to the cycle of paintings in Oberzell are the paintings in the Sylvester Chapel near Überlingen , although they are less well preserved there. The neo-Romanesque church of St. Georg (built in 1886) in Rittersbach near Mosbach contains copies of Reichenau's frescoes.

Dating of the paintings

In 1880 the surprisingly well-preserved early medieval picture cycle was discovered under a layer of plaster that was applied later. The dating of this wall painting has been the subject of controversy ever since. The dating approaches range from "late Carolingian" (around 900, probably under Abbot Hatto III, † 913 ), so most recently again Berschin and Kuder, to "Ottonian" (end of the 10th century to around 1000), according to the prevailing view in literature . The advocates of late dating brought the mural painting motif and style in connection with the already known book illumination of the Reichenau monastery, which is classified as Ottonian. However, it is precisely the stylistic similarity that is being questioned by the representatives of early dating. The comparison with the wall paintings by Goldbach is important for the discussion .

Mockery

Mockery of the women's gossip

On the north wall of the nave, next to the altar steps, there is a rare mock picture from the 14th century that criticizes the chatter of the "dumb wibun", the foolish women. There it says:

I want to write here
of these tvmben wibvn
what hie wirt plapla gvsprochvn
vppigs in the week
what wirt allvs wol gvdaht
so it goes for the Richtvr braht
(I want to write here about the stupid women; what is said here about blah all week will be remembered when it is before the judge.)

The poem is written on a cow skin that is being turned in a circle by four devils , and thus literally illustrates the saying of chatter that does not go on a cow skin. The picture, placed within sight of the altar, may have exhorted the priest to refrain from “effeminate chatter” in his speech.

organ

Organ of the Georgskirche

The organ was built in 1985 by the organ builder Mönch (Überlingen). The instrument has 19 sounding stops (and two pedal transmissions) on two manuals and pedal . The game actions and stop actions are mechanical.

I Hauptwerk C – g 3
1. Principal 8th'
2. Gemshorn 0 8th'
3. Octave 4 ′
4th Fifth 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
5. Forest flute 2 ′
6th Mixture IV 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
7th Trumpet 8th'
II breastwork (swellable) C – g 3
08th. Dumped 8th'
09. flute 4 ′
10. Nazard 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
11. Duplicate 2 ′
12. third 1 3 ⁄ 5  ′
13. Larigot 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
14th Sifflet 1'
15th Krummhorn 8th'
Tremulant
Pedal C – f 1
16. Sub-bass 16 ′
17th Principal (= No. 1) 08th'
18th Thought bass 08th'
19th Tenor octave 04 ′
20th trombone 16 ′
21st Trumpet (= No. 7) 0 08th'

Bells

The Reichenau is known as one of the primal cells of the art of bell casting in Germany. The historically and musically significant bells testify to this today. The three smaller bells from the 13th century are believed to have been cast in one piece. On Sundays and public holidays the big bell rings half an hour before the beginning of the service and during the change , ten minutes before the full bell rings. Before weekday masses, everyone but the big bell rings. The bells hang on wooden yokes in the wooden belfry.

No.
  		Surname
  		Casting year
  		Foundry, casting location
  		Diameter
(mm) 		Mass
(kg) 		Percussive
( HT - 1 / 16 )
1 St. George 1436 Hans Schnabelburg, St. Gallen 1,250 1,225 f sharp 1 +8
2 Maria 13th century unknown (same workshop), Reichenau 850 380 c 2 +6
3 770 247 d 2 +8
4th Evangelists 500 85 cis 3 +1

gallery

  • West apse

  • Lintel west portal

  • Arcade window porch

  • Detail apse capital decoration

  • Choir vaulted ceiling polychrome

  • Southeast view

  • Narthex window

  • Shore view

literature

  • Karl Künstle: The Art of the Reichenau Monastery in the IX. and the 10th century and the newly discovered Carolingian painting cycle at Goldbach near Überlingen . Festschrift for the 80th birthday of His Royal Highness the Grand Duke Friedrich von Baden. Herdersche Buchhandlung, Freiburg im Breisgau 1906, 2nd edition Freiburg 1924.
  • Joseph Sauer : The monumental painting of the Reichenau, in: Konrad Beyerle (ed.) The culture of the Reichenau abbey. Commemorative pamphlet for the twelve hundredth anniversary of the founding year of the island monastery 724-1924 . Münchener Drucke, Munich 1925, pp. 902-955.
  • Alfred Aichinger: The miracle representations in the nave of the church St. Georg zu Oberzell on the Reichenau , Diss. Vienna 1927.
  • Eduard Arens: The inscriptions of the wall paintings in Reichenau-Oberzell, in: Kunstwissenschaftliches Jahrbuch der Görresgesellschaft 1, 1928, pp. 89–94.
  • Karl Hublow: The millennial frescoes from Oberzell on the island of Reichenau . Self-published, Konstanz 1956.
  • Walter Becker: The raising of Christ from the dead in the Georgskirche in Oberzell on the Reichenau , Diss. Cologne 1959.
  • Albert Knoepfli : Art history of the Lake Constance area: 1. From the Carolingian period to the middle of the 14th century . Thorbecke, Konstanz / Lindau 1961.
  • Albert Boeckler: Iconographic studies of the miracle scenes in the Ottonian painting of Reichenau, from the estate ed. by Hans Jantzen (Treatises of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences. Philosophical-Historical Class, Treatises, NF 52), Munich 1961.
  • Heinz Martin Wehrhahn: Late Carolingian wall painting in Reichenau-Oberzell ?, in: Sigfried Joost (Ed.), Bibliotheca docet. Festschrift for Carl Wehmer . Erasmus bookstore, Amsterdam 1963, pp. 335–355.
  • Friedrich Oswald: Reichenau Oberzell, in: Pre-Romanesque church buildings. Catalog of the monuments up to the exit of the Ottonen . Prestel, Munich 1966, pp. 282f.
  • Wolfgang Erdmann: New findings on building history and wall painting in St. Georg zu Reichenau-Oberzell, in: Helmut Maurer (ed.): The Reichenau Abbey. New contributions to the history and culture of the island monastery . Thorbecke, Sigmaringen 1974, pp. 577-590. ISBN 3-7995-6709-7
  • Kurt Martin : The Ottonian murals of St. George's Church in Reichenau-Oberzell . Thorbecke, 2nd edition, Sigmaringen 1975. ISBN 978-3-7995-3502-1 .
  • Adolf Weis: The Ottonian wall paintings of Reichenau, in: Journal for History of the Upper Rhine 85, 1976, pp. 43–61.
  • Josef Hecht / Konrad Hecht : The early medieval wall painting of the Lake Constance area. 2 vols. Thorbecke, Sigmaringen 1979, ISBN 3-7995-7008-X .
  • Wolfgang Stopfel: Reichenau Research of the University of Tokyo, in: Monument Preservation in Baden-Württemberg , 8th year 1979, issue 4, p. 148. ( PDF )
  • Wolfgang Erdmann: The eight Ottonian murals of the miracles of Jesus in St. Georg in Reichenau-Oberzell . Thorbecke, 2nd edition, Sigmaringen 1986, ISBN 978-3-7995-3500-7 .
  • Heinfried Wischermann: Romanesque in Baden-Württemberg . Theiss, Stuttgart 1987, ISBN 3-8062-0331-8 .
  • Alfons Zettler: New statements on the early building history of the Church of St. Georg in Reichenau-Oberzell, district of Konstanz, in: Archaeological excavations in Baden-Württemberg 1987 . Theiss, Stuttgart 1988, pp. 224-228.
  • Alfons Zettler: The early monastery buildings in Reichenau. Excavations - written sources - St. Gallen monastery plan (archeology and history 3). Thorbecke, Sigmaringen 1988.
  • Alfons Zettler: The late Carolingian crypt of St. Georg in Reichenau-Oberzell, in: Preservation of monuments in Baden-Württemberg. News sheet of the Landesdenkmalamtes 18, 1989, pp. 97-105.
  • Alfons Zettler : The late Carolingian crypt of St. Georg in Reichenau-Oberzell , in: Denkmalpflege in Baden-Württemberg , 18th year 1989, issue 2, pp. 97-105. ( PDF )
  • Werner Jacobsen: Reichenau-Oberzell, in: Pre-Romanesque church buildings. Catalog of the monuments up to the exit of the Ottonen. Supplementary volume, Prestel, Munich 1991, pp. 344–346.
  • Matthias Exner : The wall painting of the crypt of St. Georg in Oberzell on the Reichenau, In: Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 58, 1995, pp. 153-180.
  • Dörthe Jakobs: On the consecration date of St. Georg, Reichau-Oberzell, in: Kunstchronik 49, 1996, pp. 141–144.
  • Karl Hublow / Joachim Krumbholz: healing and resurrection - the pictorial language of the wall paintings of St. Georg on the Reichenau. Urachhaus, 1997, ISBN 3-8251-7071-3 .
  • Dörthe Jakobs: The wall paintings of St. Georg in Reichenau-Oberzell. Investigation - Documentation - Controversies, in: Matthias Exner (Hrsg.): Wall painting of the early Middle Ages. Inventory - Painting Technique - Conservation (ICOMOS - Hefte des Deutschen Nationalkomitees 33), Munich 1998, pp. 161–190.
  • Koichi Koshi : The early medieval wall paintings of St. George's Church in Oberzell on the Bodensee island of Reichenau. 2 vols. Deutscher Verlag für Kunstwissenschaft, Munich 1999, ISBN 978-3-87157-163-3 .
  • Dörthe Jakobs: Sankt Georg in Reichenau-Oberzell. The building and its equipment: inventory, changes, history of restoration. With contributions by Martin Dendler, Harald Drös and Markus Maisel. 3 vols. Theiss, Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-8062-1462-X .
  • Matthias Exner: The wall paintings of St. Georg in Oberzell on the Reichenau. Regarding two newly published publications, in: Zeitschrift des Deutschen Verein für Kunstwissenschaft 54/55, 2000/2001, pp. 9–33.
  • Dörthe Jakobs / Ulrike Piper / Günther Dürr / Georg Schmid: Two masterpieces in Baden? The Georgskirchen in Reichenau-Oberzell and in Rittersbach, in: Nachrichtenblatt des Landesdenkmalamts Baden-Württemberg 3, 2003, pp. 258–272 [1]
  • Erik Roth: In the middle of the fields, in the middle of the lake - The church of St. Georg on Reichenau and the protection of its surroundings. In: Monument Preservation in Baden-Württemberg , 33rd year 2004, issue 4, pp. 233-236. ( PDF )
  • Matthias Exner: The Ottonian wall paintings of Reichenau. Aspects of their chronological position. In: Journal of the German Association for Art Research 58, 2004, pp. 93–115.
  • Walter Berschin : The tituli of the murals from Reichenau-Oberzell St. Georg, in: Walter Berschin, medieval studies . Mattes, Vol. 1, Heidelberg 2005, pp. 215-228, ISBN 978-3-930978-75-5 .
  • Walter Berschin / Ulrich Kuder: Reichenauer wall painting 840-1120. Goldbach - Reichenau-Oberzell St. Georg - Reichenau-Niederzell St. Peter and Paul (Reichenau texts and images 15). Mattes, Heidelberg 2012. ISBN 978-3-86809-052-9

Web links

Commons : St. Georg (Reichenau)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jantzen, Ottonische Kunst, ed. by Wolfgang Schenkluhn, Dietrich Reimer, 2nd edition Berlin 2002, p. 61.
  2. ↑ Hans Georg Wehrens: Rome - The Christian sacred buildings from the 4th to the 9th century - Ein Vademecum , Freiburg, 2nd edition 2017, p. 341f. with further evidence.
  3. ^ Albert Knoepfli: Art history of the Lake Constance area: 1. From the Carolingian period to the middle of the 14th century. Thorbecke, Konstanz / Lindau 1961, p. 201 and 351.
  4. ^ Hans Jantzen, Ottonian Art. Münchner Verlag (previously F. Bruckmann), Munich 1947, p. 68, new edition ed. by Wolfgang Schenkluhn. Dietrich Reimer, 2nd edition Berlin 2002, p. 61.
  5. ↑ See Walter Berschin, Ulrich Kuder, Reichenauer Wandmalerei 840–1120 (see literature below), pp. 28f .; Pp. 58-68.
  6. ↑ Cf. Dörthe Jakobs, Sankt Georg in Oberzell (see literature below), pp. 46–52 (research report); Pp. 282–296, according to which “an early dating of the wall paintings to the 9th century and the assumption of a simultaneous painting of the western apse are mutually exclusive”, ibid. P. 293. “In total, the architectural history, technical and stylistic findings numerous arguments against a temporal approach of the first painting of the entire church area before 925/945 (construction of the western apse). The historical context and an exact dating [...] is reserved for further research in the various disciplines. "Critical to their evaluation of the findings and stylistic classification Kuder, in: Berschin, Kuder (see below literature), pp. 58–66:" From the structural, technical and stylistic findings, no such argument can be found that would be valid ”. In particular, the dendrochronologically dated between 925-945 does not represent a term post quem , but rather the “ terminus ante quem of the first painting” (p. 59). Also, as the differential diagnosis carried out on p. 69-74 is supposed to show, “a close connection between the depictions of the murals in the Oberzeller crypt and the Reichenau illumination from the time around 900. “Berschin comes from the analysis of the technique used in the image titles p. 67f. to the same result: “the form of the Oberzell tituli was used more in the late Carolingian than in the Ottonian period” (p. 69).
  7. ↑ Portrait of the instrument on the organ builder's website, accessed on December 17, 2011.
  8. ↑ Kurt Kramer (ed.): The German bell landscapes. Baden – Hohenzollern . DKV, Munich 1990, p. 47.
  9. ↑ According to the sexton

Coordinates: 47 ° 41 ′ 21 ″  N , 9 ° 4 ′ 56 ″  E