St. Jakob (Cologne)

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Anno II. With models of monasteries and monasteries he founded
Codex Calixtinus (Liber Sancti Jacobi)

St. Jakob was a parish church in Cologne . It was under the Cologne Archbishop Anno built between the years 1059 and 1070, and in 1534 replaced by an expansion in parts. The church existed as a building until 1825.

history

According to tradition, under the Frankish King Dagobert around the year 641 there was a prayer house consecrated to St. James Major in front of the “High Gate” of the old Roman city of Cologne . The first documented evidence of the early St. Jacob's Church can be found in the Vita Annonis Minor (MG. SS: XI, p.481). In this it says:

Elegantis artificii capellam templo sancti Georgii contiguam instruxit, reponens in ea, quod a Roma detulerat, dignum veneratione martyris Caesarii brachium. Quam ut apostolici nominis dignitas celebriorem redderet, in honorem sancti Jacobi sacraturus ... "

In May 1070 Archbishop Anno II brought the arm of St. Caesarius of Terracina after the chapel of St. Jacobus.

Medieval church on Waidmarkt

The building erected by Archbishop Anno around 1059/70 stood on Waidmarkt in front of the south gate of the old Roman town and was apparently consecrated to St. Jacob from the beginning .

The Waidmarkt was in front of the Roman city ​​wall across from the Hohe Pforte . The buildings that were built on him and in his vicinity were growing on a street leading through the adjacent parish of St. Severin . It was the long-distance road leading south from Cologne to Bonn via Severinstrasse and on via the Judenbüchel (early 12th century) in Cologne's “ Schweid ” district since Roman times .

The market, which later also served as a trading place for the woad traders, was a widened part of Severinstraße, like this one it was initially (1261) called “lata platea”, the “ wide street ”. The market was later called (1316) “super weitmarte”, then (1320) “forum xandicis”, and almost a century later (1408) “weydtmarkt”. Arnold Mercator (1571) called the square “Der Weismarkt”.

Hermann von Weinsberg, who lived in the parish of St. Jakob in the 16th century, provided extensive information on his parish church of St. Jakob in his chronicle, which has been preserved until recently. But he also referred to her somewhat disparagingly as: one of his bad churches not unmissed, the corpus clad with boards on top . His grandfather Gottschalk von Schwelm was elected church master in the highest church office administered by laypeople.

The simple structure built on Waidmarkt, the old nave of which was flat-roofed, had a small apse with a window and a tuff tower . This stood in the west over a side aisle and was crowned with a blunt, lead-covered roof. It was kept a little lower than that of the neighboring collegiate church of St. George .

Hospital and Convention

A little later, religious communities also settled west of the Waidmarket, such as the first Carmelite monastery in Cologne since the middle of the 13th century . A St. Georg hospital is documented for 1251 . From this the convent “S. Jacob ”. The buildings and a chapel on the west side of the Waidmarkt opposite the two churches (in the square of the “vrouwenbruderen” and “Buttegass”, probably the later Weissbüttengasse) are clearly recognizable on Arnold Mercator's cityscape.

Late Gothic building

St. Jakob (left) around 1664/65
St. Jakob and St. Georg, Mercator 1571

In 1532, the monastery of St. Georg , which is adjacent to the old annonian church of St. Jakob , had part of its courtyard demolished, thus creating space for an expansion and redesign of the medieval church, which had become too small for the growing crowd . In 1534, under the direction of the church master Christian von Weinsberg (Hermann's father), the conversion into a multi-nave late Gothic basilica began.

Financing and remodeling

The building was financed mainly by donations from the cooper and church master Georg von Altena († 1548) and further donations from the following Christian Weinsberg (1489–1549) and the wine merchant, councilor and church master Peter Newenar († 1562). Foreman of the building was "Tilman von der Urdenbach".

The old apse was then replaced by a larger five-sided choir with a Gerkammer attached to the south . After the consecration of the east-facing high choir , completed in 1537, the high altar was consecrated . Then the renovation of the nave began. This made according to the tags of three narrow central ships a three-nave and fünfjochige hall, which were attached the rectangular closing aisles. The five-sided choir, which had already been completed, completed the building.

In 1540 the construction of a new tower in the axis of the central nave began, which was only completed after eight years of construction with a few construction stops. It was square and ended with two storeys above the nave, above a surrounding cornice , with a final tracery gallery that enclosed a flat helmet (recognizable in Mercator). In the year 1552, the collegiate chapter of St. George had the churches connected with a vaulted corridor that led into the west yoke of the south aisle of St. Jakob. Around 1561 the tower was fitted with a new clockwork on the side facing the city . The clock was equipped with a dial and a chime and prompted Hermann von Weinsberg to comment in his chronicle: Many people liked this work wonder whale, many clergy bad .

The old, damaged stone stairs in front of the western, four-bay aisle were demolished and in 1568 a new staircase was built to the right of the portal. After that, the gable of the north aisle , which was now extended to the western tower front, was crowned by a cross .

In 1573 changes were made to the interior of the church under the direction of Hermann von Weinsberg. He had the tower hall equipped with a wood-supported gallery to accommodate an organ . At the same time, a new window was broken at the level of the south pore and the windows on the north side were renewed. Around 1615 the roof of the tower was renewed by master "Jörgen von Herscheid". After completion of these construction measures, the church had the external condition that the painter Finkenbaum depicted in his drawing around 1664/65. By the end of the church, only minor changes were made to the structure. The late Gothic parapet with its tracery and the corner water spouts of the tower roof received a simple attic in the classical style of the late 18th century.

Equipment and special features

Crucifix around 1440, probably from St. Jakob

In the case of the crucifix set up today in the northern vestibule of St. George's Church, it is assumed that the cross comes from the neighboring parish church of St. Jacob and that it came to St. George in the course of the demolition of this church. It is one of the few remaining art objects of the abandoned church.

The church was equipped with several altars. Information on this is taken from Weinsberg's description. Afterwards, the high altar, consecrated in 1537, received a new crucifixion picture in 1619, which was donated by the "von Merheim" family. The altar was set up in the choir of the church so that it was accessible. On the south side there was a sacrament house (a preserved example of these sacraments from the 16th and early 17th centuries in Cologne is among the church treasures in St. George) which was used to store the holy of holies . The central nave housed two other altars, it was the Annen - and the Marienaltar , the latter was mentioned as early as 1362. The Michael's altar was on the south pore (after Weinsberg uff see Michaelsleuf or gewolfs ). The church masters gathered there for a scheduled new election. Opposite on the north gallery was an altar dedicated to St. Hubertus . Weinsberg described it as of old , so it was assumed that it was an item of equipment that already existed before the renovation in the 16th century. At the west end of the south aisle stood the Mathias altar , opposite it on the east side the altar of the martyr Blasius . Between these two altars, facing the nave, was the pulpit . On the east wall of the north aisle there was an altar dedicated to St. Catherine, opposite it, on the west side at the entrance, the rite of baptism was performed.

Foundations and donors

Middle part of the triptych from the tower hall of St. Jakob's Church, closed in 1803 (Zeughaus Köln)

Above all, wealthy donors were needed to build a medieval parish church. Just like the late Gothic church of St. Peter , which was renovated a few years earlier on the remains of the 12th century , St. Jacob's renovation was also made possible by generous donations from the Cologne patriciate . The property was given by the collegiate church, which subsequently also provided the pastor. The donors were the families "Peter von Neuenahr", "Georg von Altena" and "Heinrich Kruft", called Krudener (also written with "C") who also donated the Mathias Altar. This was a wealthy Cologne citizen and multiple mayor of the city. Kruft died on September 24, 1590 and was buried in the family grave of the "Cruderer von Kruft" under the choir of St Jakob. The couple Franziscus Brassart and Agatha Merzenich were also buried in the “death cellar” of the church's crypt . Brassart, also a mayor of the city, donated an altar to the church, which the auxiliary bishop Blavier von Liège consecrated in 1678. The church was also the later burial place of the temporary councilor of the Färbergaffel, who lived on the Blaubach river within sight of St. Jakob, and Cologne chronicler Weinsberg, who was buried under the tower of the church in 1597. The tower hall was decorated with an altarpiece by the painter Barthel Bruyn , which he had painted on behalf of the Weinsberg family in 1556/57.

Cancellation and termination

Protocol book of Mairie 1808, here on the ruinous state of the church

St. Jakob was closed in 1803 in the course of secularization and then used as a warehouse. The old Romanesque St. George's Church , which had lost its status as a collegiate church but had received parish rights , took care of the community . The bells of the Jakobskirche, which were only partially re-cast in 1540, received the parish church of St. Alban in Liblar , but they can no longer be verified there today .

According to the first urban planning, only the south aisle of the Jakobskirche should be sacrificed to the construction of Georgstraße, which should run between the two churches, and then the arcades to the central nave should be walled up. In 1809 the church became the property of the city and the Georgstraße building project was realized. A floor plan from this period illustrates the remaining church, which now served as a granary. Nevertheless, about 15 years later, with the consent of the Prussian government, the old St. Jakob Church was auctioned off for demolition and then closed in 1825.

The convent of St. James opposite the church also fell victim to secularization. It was lifted and its buildings were assigned to the Cologne poor administration. From this the property was sold in 1833.

Brotherhood of St. Jacob

"Beati Jacobi"

The parish church of St. Jakob in Cologne, standing on Waidmarkt, was also the patronage church of the Cologne brotherhood of woad traders. Waid was used as a dye plant by the blue dyers at Cologne's Blaubach for the Cologne blue produced there . Like his father Christian, Hermann von Weinsberg was the banner owner of the “Schwarzhaus” dyer .

Around where the St. Jakob Church once stood, and where the Hermann Joseph Fountain , created by the sculptor Wilhelm Albermann , who died in Cologne in 1913, was built in 1894 , there is now an information board for the German St. Jakobus Society . It refers to the sights of Cologne's Waidmarkt station on the Way of St. James .

Today's Jakobskirche in Cologne

A Cologne parish church with the same patronage is located in the Cologne-Widdersdorf district . This is a simple, late-baroque brick building from 1745.

literature

  • Carl Dietmar: Die Chronik Kölns , Chronik Verlag, Dortmund 1991, ISBN 3-611-00193-7
  • Ludwig Arentz, H. Neu and Hans Vogts: Paul Clemen (Hrsg.): The art monuments of the city of Cologne , Volume II, extension volume the former churches, monasteries, hospitals and school buildings of the city of Cologne. Verlag L. Schwann, Düsseldorf 1937. Reprint 1980. ISBN 3-590-32107-5
  • Hermann Keussen: Topography of the City of Cologne in the Middle Ages , Bonn 1910
  • Erich Meuthen: The old University of Cologne , Cologne-Vienna 1988
  • Adam Wrede : New Cologne vocabulary . 3 volumes A - Z, Greven Verlag, Cologne, 9th edition 1984, ISBN 3-7743-0155-7

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Kracht Hans-Joachim, Torsy Jakob, Reliquiarium Coloniense , Franz Schmitt, Siegburg 2003
  2. ^ Adam Wrede, Volume III, p. 267.
  3. Wolfgang Herborn: The family von Schwelm / von Weinsberg. Development stages of a peasant family in a metropolitan milieu on the threshold of modern times. Ed .: In: Contributions to the local history of the city of Schwelm and its surroundings. Volume 32, 1982, p. 15.
  4. a b c d Paul Clemen, Die Kunstdenkmäler der Rheinprovinz, on behalf of the Provincial Association , Cologne II 1, p. 46.
  5. a b Hermann Keussen : Topography of the City of Cologne in the Middle Ages , Bd. II, Sp. 50 b.
  6. An official book of the church masters of St. Jakob created by Weinsberg is in the historical archive of the Archdiocese of Cologne
  7. Friends of the Romanesque Churches in Cologne
  8. ^ Paul Clemen, Die Kunstdenkmäler der Rheinprovinz, on behalf of the Provincial Association , Cologne II 1, p. 46, reference to: Schreinsbuch 299 f, 1296 b.
  9. Carl Dietmar, p. 158.
  10. "Swartzenhuysse": Schwarz (en) haus, Kaufleutegaffel, named after their Gaffelhaus on Hohe Straße.

Web links

Commons : St. Jakob (Cologne)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 50 ° 55 ′ 56 "  N , 6 ° 57 ′ 23.4"  E