St. Georgen (Meran)
St. Georgen is the Roman Catholic parish church of Obermais in the South Tyrolean city of Merano . It has been a listed building since 1980 .
history
George's church was first mentioned in 1256 when Countess Adelheid von Tirol donated a load of wine from a winery in St. Georgen am Rain to the Herrenchiemsee monastery . At that time it was a branch of the parish church of St. Vigil in Mais. In 1272 the entire parish was donated by the Tyrolean counts to the Stams monastery , which led to ongoing disputes between the Tyrolean counts and the Archdiocese of Trento . The former Romanesque church was converted into a Gothic building, which was consecrated in 1490. The little church, which had not been particularly important up until then, was upgraded around 1620 when Johann Eckhardt von Rosenberg, Herr zu Winkl and Knillenberg, laid his family burial site here and had the left aisle added to it. In the 18th century, the church was changed in line with contemporary tastes by removing the Gothic vault ribs and giving the building a baroque style . The church was given its current appearance in 1914 when the main and side aisles were lengthened by a yoke and the right aisle added. Extensive renovation work has been carried out on the church since 1970.
Under canon law, the branch church, which is subordinate to the parish of Mais, was elevated to a chaplaincy with its own chaplain in 1734 . In 1895 it became a curate with its own priest. In 1933 the Franciscans took over pastoral care. In 1969, the Obermais parish was finally created, with the Georgenkirche as the parish church. This has been looked after by diocesan priests since 1985 .
Building description
The late Gothic building was extended by two aisles around 1620 and 1914 and redesigned in Baroque style in the 18th century. The tower ends with a pointed helmet, the choir has a polygonal end. A row of saints from the 15th century can be seen on the outside. In 1988 a fresco was uncovered in the choir showing the Annunciation to Mary combined with a mystical unicorn hunt . Since this type of image was banned during the Reformation , the fresco was painted over at that time. Above the sacristy door there is a crucifixion group from around 1400. The ceiling paintings in the nave are the main work of the painter Josef Wengenmayr, who moved to Merano. In the middle picture, St. George can be seen as protector of maize, whereby he has topographically represented the place with its buildings. The Rosenberg Chapel in the left aisle can be recognized as a family grave by its grave slabs and coats of arms.
Eleven bells are ringing in the belfry . The oldest of them was cast in 1801 by Franz Grassmayr from Brixen. The big bell was made in 1922 by the Luigi Colbacchini bell foundry. The Grassmayr bell foundry cast nine bells in 2008 to a pitch-high, polyphonic peal.
Web links
- Entry in the monument browser on the website of the South Tyrolean Monuments Office
- Church of St. Georg in Obermais in the Meraner Stadtanzeiger 12/2011
Individual evidence
- ↑ Meran (South Tyrol) cymbal bells in the parish church of St. Georg in Obermais. Retrieved November 10, 2016 .
Coordinates: 46 ° 40 ′ 10.8 ″ N , 11 ° 10 ′ 11 ″ E