St. Johann in the forest

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

St. Johann im Wald was a pilgrimage chapel in the district of Treherz , a suburb of Aitrach in the Ravensburg district , the foundation stone of which was laid in 1607. The chapel, donated by Froben von Waldburg-Zeil , was located on a small plateau 688 meters above sea ​​level , which is still called St. Johanner Schanze today. The last service took place in St. Johann on November 21, 1798. Nothing is left of the chapel. There is a forester's house of the Fürstlich Waldburg-Zeil-Trauchburg forest administration.

history

The pilgrimage chapel St. Johann im Wald was located west of Europastraße 43 near a Celtic Viereckschanze , east of the county road from Rieden to Treherz and south of the headwaters of the Schmiddis . In 1568, Reichserbtruchseß Jakob, Froben's father, acquired the Treherz branding for 7,500 guilders from the Esser and Hopp families. Before that, Treherz belonged to the possessions of the imperial abbey of the Benedictines in Constance , Petershausen Monastery .

chapel

On an overview map from the Zeil court painter Heinrich Wägmann from 1610, the chapel, of which nothing can be seen today, is drawn. A forester's house with the Zeil coat of arms stands on the approximately 10,000 m² meadow, which slopes slightly towards the Iller valley. According to the drawing by the Lucerne- born painter, it must have been a single-nave church room with three high windows on each of the long sides, stilted round arches and a hipped or saddle roof. The low choir on the east side was joined by a sacristy without windows. On the north side there was a bell tower with several window openings one above the other. The small sacristan's house stood right next to the chapel.

The foundation stone of the chapel was laid on June 24, 1607, the feast of the birth of St. John the Baptist , by the Constance prince-bishop Jakob Fugger . With the construction of the chapel, Reichserbtruchsess Froben fulfilled a vow he had made during one of his frequent illnesses. The inauguration of the chapel took place on the feast of the beheading of Saint John the Baptist on Sunday, August 29, 1610. The chapel was endowed with a capital of 300 guilders, which was deposited with the Zeil rent office and had to be paid interest at 5 percent per year.

The consecration was accepted by the auxiliary bishop of Constance, Dr. Johann Jakob Mirgel. Froben had also invited the imperial prelates of the surrounding imperial abbeys from Rot an der Rot , Ochsenhausen and Ottobeuren . Additional patrons of the band were Sylvester and Wendelin . Four bells were consecrated in honor of the Virgin Mary, St. John the Baptist, the Apostle Paul and St. Nicholas of Myra, the bishop and confessor . Two of them were made by master Wolf Dietrich Merk from Memmingen . The relics of Saints Mauritius , Ursus and Dalmatius were enclosed in the altar stone. Indulgences of 40 days each were granted for the anniversary of the inauguration and the Sundays before and after the feast of the beheading.

Furnishing

Coat of arms on the forester's house

Little is known about the equipment. There are invoices in the Zeiler archive from a Hans Haslander from Bad Wurzach about paneling and wooden ceilings. Necessary supplies of sand, lime, half-stones and bricks were made by subjects of the surrounding villages. The following inscription was placed on the altar foot, with which Froben expressed his gratitude for his wonderful healing to the Baptist:

Christo Redemtori nostro in memoriam S.Praecursoris eius ob sanitatem sibi aliisque pluribus miraculo restitutam hanc aram et aedem ex voto erexit Frobenius SRI Dapifer Haereditarius anno reparatae humanae salutis MDCX.

There is reliable evidence that there was a carved image of the Baptist in the chapel, which today belongs to the side altar in the Herlazhofen church of St. Stephen. Anna Walburga († 1652), a daughter of Froben, donated the Silver Head , a silver Johannis bowl probably made in Augsburg , which is now in the church treasury of St. Johann Baptist Treherz. The Silver Head was displayed for worship during the pilgrimage week in June and was guarded day and night. It is testified that Froben's daughter-in-law, Countess Johanna von Wolkenstein , loved to pray with her namesake in St. Johann im Wald.

Decline of the pilgrimage

Meadow and forester's house by the former pilgrimage chapel

Initially, miraculous healings occurred, which intensified the pilgrimage. Soon the inner wall of the chapel was covered with votive tablets , crutches and other offerings from pilgrims. On the occasion of a church renovation in the 18th century, a whole wagonload of tablets that could hardly be pulled by three horses was removed from the chapel due to lack of space and burned.

The residents of Treherz, Steinental and the forests of Anhorn, Baniswald, Häberlings , Langensteig , Nestbaum , Rotengrund, Schnaggenberg, Sigglis and Schmiddis have long wanted their own parish . On Sunday there was a four-hour walk to Aichstetten and back to be able to attend a mass. On May 6, 1782, the Count's houses of Zeil and Wurzach agreed in the inn in Linden to set up their own parish in Treherz. The last service took place in St. Johann on November 21, 1798.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Invoice from Hans Heck, landlord in Aitrach, for 1607: First on St. Johannes Day, when Your Grace Mr. Byschoff zuo Constenz bey Your Grace my Grace, was brought by Gutscherjungen 81 measure Neckerwein, the measure per 8 Kr., Duet 10  fl. 49 Kr.Zeiler Archiv Herrschaft Zeil 1905
  2. ↑ Verzaichnis, what a gracious. Herrschaft Zyl guilty of preparing the Heyligen and Pfarrkhürchen in the counties and gentlemen annually for Khorn and Gelltzüns (around 1638) , ZAZ 1959, invoices of the saints care St. Johann 1618 / 19ff .; ZAZWu 4511.
  3. ^ Letter concept from Count Paris Jakob von Waldburg-Zeil to Bishop Johann Franz I of Konstanz from June 17, 1682, ZAZ 1677.

Coordinates: 47 ° 55 '13.3 "  N , 10 ° 4' 5.9"  E