St. Johannes Evangelist (Altenberg)
The former Catholic church and today's branch church of St. John the Evangelist in Altenberg , a district of the municipality Syrgenstein in the district Dillingen in Bavarian administrative region of Swabia , was built in the mid-18th century. It originally had a dome and four towers. During the restoration in the 19th century, the church was given its current appearance.
history
The client of the church was Baron Johann Ernst Gotthard von Syrgenstein, the founder of the Altenberg settlement. He had a church built on the Italian model with a dome and four towers. The builder of the church is not known. The foundation stone was laid in 1747 and the church was consecrated in 1765 . In 1776 the dome had become dilapidated and had to be demolished, in 1778 one of the four towers was demolished. In 1790 the church was in such bad shape that it could no longer be used for worship, and in 1840 it was supposed to be demolished. Between 1849 and 1852 the building was repaired and the church was given new fittings . Only the two towers of the facade remained and the interior was provided with a flat ceiling.
In 1948 Altenberg was raised to a parish , before that it belonged to Staufen . Today, the parish church of St. Wolfgang, built in 1974 in the Syrgenstein district, serves.
architecture
Exterior construction
The west facade is framed by two towers covered with pointed helmets, which are crowned by a pommel with a cross. The square basement floors are demarcated by a wide profile cornice , above which an octagonal structure rises. This is broken through on all four sides by narrow sound arcades in the form of twin windows.
Like the two towers, the west facade is structured by glare fields and a wide cornice. The portal flanked by pilasters is located in the central axis . It is crowned by a flat triangular gable over an architrave . The year 1748 is carved on the lintel.
The heavily damaged rocaille cartouche in the pediment contains an inscription with a chronogram (DIVO IOANNI POANERGI DILECTO IESV VERBI AETERNI APOSTOLO EVANGELII VIVO SOLI & SANCTA CRVCISACRA). The highlighted letters DIVIIIDILCIVVIILVLIIVIVLICCVCIC result in the year 1748.
inner space
The entire interior is covered with a flat ceiling. The choir closes with an apse broken several times . On both sides of the choir there are rectangular rooms on which the demolished towers were built. The sacristy is located in the southern room . The western end of the nave is formed by a simple gallery , which rests on smooth wooden columns with cube capitals .
In front of the choir, on the right side, there is a grave slab of Johann Gotthard von und zu Syrgenstein, who died in 1784, embedded in the wall.
Leaded glass window
The choir room is equipped with modern lead glass windows. The round window of the apse depicts a dove, symbol of the Holy Spirit . The representation of Mary in the left window follows the secret revelation of John. Mary with the baby Jesus in her arms stands on the crescent moon, a kite winds at her feet. The right window shows John, the author of the Apocalypse on the island of Patmos, who is instructed by an angel to write the Revelation. He is represented with an eagle, the attribute of the Evangelist John . Though very likely three different people, the Revelation writer, the evangelist, and the apostle John are often merged.
literature
- Werner Meyer (arr.): The art monuments of Bavaria. The art monuments of Swabia. Vol. VII. The art monuments of the district of Dillingen on the Danube . R. Oldenbourg Verlag , Munich 1972, ISBN 3-486-43541-8 , pp. 113-115.
- Georg Wörishofer, Alfred Sigg, Reinhard H. Seitz: Cities, Markets and Communities . In: The district of Dillingen ad Donau in the past and present . District of Dillingen an der Donau (Ed.), 3rd revised edition, Dillingen an der Donau 2005, p. 385.
Web links
Coordinates: 48 ° 39 ′ 27.7 " N , 10 ° 18 ′ 16.6" E