St. Johannes Baptist (Oberstdorf)
St. Johannes Baptist or St. John the Baptist is the Catholic parish church of the market town of Oberstdorf . After the hall church was largely destroyed by fire in 1865, it was rebuilt in the neo-Gothic style by 1872 . The furnishings are also influenced by the neo-Gothic style.
history
According to a chronicle, a church should have existed in Oberstdorf as early as 991. Other sources report that the Romanesque church was consecrated in February 1141 by Bishop Walther I of Augsburg . Patrons were the Mother of God , John the Baptist and John the Evangelist .
The church was rebuilt in Gothic style by 1419. Since then she has also been St. Consecrated to Agnes of Rome . From 1644 the church was redesigned in baroque style . It received a marble floor and new fittings. In 1715 the ceiling of the nave was plastered, and in 1764 a new, two-storey gallery was drawn in.
In 1865 large parts of the village fell victim to a fire. The church was also destroyed except for the outer walls and the church tower . In the following year, the reconstruction according to plans of Baron Georg von Stengel began in the neo-Gothic style, which was financed by the Bavarian state. The old church tower and the still standing outer walls of the old nave were integrated into the new building . The latter were raised and extended by another yoke to the east. The new choir with a polygonal finish was added to this. This work was carried out by Josef Blanz (master carpenter) and Johann Baptist Kaufmann (master mason) from Hindelang. The church was finally rededicated in 1872 by the Augsburg Bishop Pankratius von Dinkel .
Furnishing
Most of the valuable baroque furnishings were lost with the fire in 1865. With the new building, a neo-Gothic interior came into the church, which was financed by donations and which is supplemented by historical figures and paintings that survived the fire or came to the church later.
The high altar was created in the shape of a winged altar . The burst shows the cartridge of the diocese of Augsburg , the hll. Ulrich and Afra . Between them is Jesus' baptism in the Jordan by John the Baptist. If the wings of the altar are open, the resurrection of Christ can be seen in the shrine : the blessing Jesus with the victory flag is lifted out of the tomb tomb by clouds. Next to it stand or sit four guards in Roman uniforms, who either sleep or look up in shock. The insides of the wings show further scenes of the Easter story in bas-relief : the women at the empty grave (top right), Mary Magdalene meets the risen One (top left), the risen One meets two disciples on the way to Emmaus (bottom left) and St. Thomas reaches into Jesus' wound on the side (bottom right). If the wings are closed (as in Advends and Lent), a picture of Jesus' prayer in Gethsemane can be seen, which was painted by Johann von Schraudolph . Next to this stand on the left and right as shrine guardians, the princes of the apostles Peter and Paul . The predella of the altar houses the tabernacle , which stands between painted representations of the twelve apostles .
The stone altar table itself houses a holy grave, which could be closed by a wooden relief depicting the Last Supper and is now covered with antependia . The relief now adorns the wooden folk altar .
The baptismal font decorated with Gothic tracery is also part of the choir room . A figure on the left wall dates from 1340 and represents St. Anna with Maria as a child ("Anna instructs Maria"). It previously stood in a wayside shrine in the Trettachtal and was probably created by an artist from Heinrich von Konstanz's circle . Opposite it is a Gothic Madonna and Child from around 1490, which comes from the Appach Chapel and was probably created by the workshop of the master of the Imberg Altar.
The murals from 1899 on the right wall of the choir show the awarding of the rosary to St. Dominic through Mary with the baby Jesus and the veneration of an open tabernacle through two angels. They are reminiscent of the Rosary Brotherhood and the Brotherhood of Most Venerable Good.
On the east wall of the nave are the two side altars, which were created in a similar way to the high altar. With the wings open, the right altar shows the adoration of the baby Jesus by Mary and Joseph in a nativity scene. This representation is continued on the inside of the right inner wing by the bas-relief of the Adoration of the Shepherds and Peasants . The inside of the left wing shows the Annunciation to the Shepherds . When the wings are closed, the Annunciation to Mary by the Archangel Gabriel can be seen, which is framed on both sides by two angels. In the crack of the altar stands the valuable figure of the "beautiful Oberstdorf woman", a Madonna, which was created around 1430 in Ulm in the so-called soft style .
The opposite altar shows the Pentecostal miracle when open : Mary and the apostles are received by the Holy Spirit , which is symbolized by fiery tongues over their heads and the dove of the Holy Spirit. When the wings are closed, the image of the twelve-year-old Jesus can be seen in the temple , discussing with scholars. A figure of St. Emperor Heinrich .
The oak pulpit is decorated with Gothic pinnacles and tracery. The figures and reliefs are highlighted by sheet metal . The pulpit shows scenes from the New Testament: Jesus gives Peter the staff, Jesus and Peter on the Sea of Galilee , the Sermon on the Mount and the parable of the fourfold field . The towering sound cover is divided into two floors. In the lower the four church fathers are depicted, the upper shows Jesus as a teacher.
The nave also features several figures and pictures. In front of the left side altar is a figure of St. Stephen from the late Gothic period. Opposite this on the south wall are the figures of St. Leonhard (16th century), Nikolaus von Myra (15th century) and Magnus (18th century). The large-format Stations of the Cross are from the 16th century and were made by Johann Baptist Herz based on Dutch models. Among other figures, that of the cattle patron Wendelin from the 18th century and a scourge savior under the organ stand out. There also hangs the picture of Adoration by the Shepherds by Anton Raphael Mengs from 1751, which was purchased by the congregation in 1954.
The outside of the church doors was covered with copper reliefs by Willi Veit from 1972 to 1974 . The walled up central window of the choir head has shown a crucifixion scene by Lothar Schwink since 1962 . In front of the west side of the church is a figure of St. Johannes Nepomuk .
graveyard
Burials have not been carried out in the church cemetery since 1951. At its southern end is the “ Ablass- Kreuzweg”, a kind of archway with 14 paintings showing scenes from the Passion of Christ.
Soul chapel
In the middle of the cemetery is the early modern soul chapel. Inside is a Pietà by Minnie Goossens and Johanna Biehler, which, together with the soldier figures by Bernhard Bleeker at the entrance, is intended to commemorate the victims of the world wars. The niches on the north wall of the chapel were decorated with frescoes and wooden figures during the Renaissance .
In the lower area, Jesus' prayer in the olive garden is shown, in the background the betrayal of Jesus by Judas. This niche is made up of depictions of the church patron Johannes d. T. and Agnes framed. Above it stands a larger than life figure of St. Archangel Michael , under whose robe there is a praying human soul. The fresco on the left of the figure shows the handing over of the money to Judas by the high priest, on the right the Last Supper is shown.
literature
- Werner Matthäus Schnell: Oberstdorf im Allgäu - Parish Church of St. Johannes Baptist and chapels . Kunstverlag Josef Fink, Lindenberg 2009, ISBN 978-3-89870-595-0 , p. 1-25 .
Web links
Individual evidence
Coordinates: 47 ° 24 ′ 26.6 ″ N , 10 ° 16 ′ 42.2 ″ E