St. Johannes Nepomuk (Thürnthenning)
The Roman Catholic branch church of St. Johannes Nepomuk in Thürnthenning , a district of Moosthenning in the Lower Bavarian district of Dingolfing-Landau , is a Baroque hall church built in 1732/33 . Due to its location on the ridge north of the Isar valley , it is visible from afar.
history
Today's Thürnthenning was mentioned for the first time in the years 889 and 891 in the tradition book of the Regensburg monastery Sankt Emmeram . From the ending "-ing", the Celtic ending for a settlement, it can be concluded that the place was a settlement of the Bavarians . Since the floodplain area of the Lower Isar Valley was often affected by flooding, the settlement was built on the ridge north of it for strategic reasons. From the 14th century at the latest, Thürnthenning was a Hofmark , although the associated castle no longer exists today. At the time the church was being built, the Hofmark owners came from the noble family of the Auer vom Winkel. Thürnthenning has always been part of the parish of Ottering. The relationship between the Hofmark owners and the Ottering pastors was bad, as the Auers von Winkel repeatedly interfered in church affairs and thus curtailed the pastor's authority. Even attempts at mediation by the Regensburg bishop never led to a permanent solution to the conflict.
In order to be able to understand the circumstances of the church building more precisely, the following incident should be known: On November 11, 1694 Pastor Johann Doppler von Ottering was with a group of parishioners on the way back from the Martini Festival in Dingolfing . In a wooded area behind Moosthenning, the young Baron Franz Xaver von Auer, who was on the prowl , had taken a rest under a tree when he met Pastor Doppler's group. As Baron von Auer later openly admitted, he had "lifted his loaded rifle to the priest's cheek and even thought (...): Now if I want, I can shoot him!" For unknown reasons, a conclusion and actually broke up fatally injured the local chaplain. The killing initially went unpunished , but Franz Xaver von Auer's guilty conscience plagued his life . So at the beginning of the 1730s he finally commissioned a church to be built in honor of St. John Nepomuk in Thürnthenning as an atonement.
This was carried out in a very short time, from about spring 1732 to autumn 1733, by master builder Georg Weigenthaler from Dingolfing. Two well-known artists were primarily responsible for furnishing the interior: the frescoes and the high altar painting were made by the baroque painter Joseph Anton Merz , who was mainly active in the Straubinger Land and was a student of Hans Georg Asam, the father of the famous Asam brothers . This originally came from Marktoberdorf in the Allgäu , but settled in Straubing shortly after the turn of the 18th century. The sculpting work was done by Simon Hofer from Upper Austria , who owned a workshop in Geiselhöring in the first half of the 18th century . A joint work of Merz and Hofer is also the monastery church Oberalteich . The two artists came to Thürnthenning through the mediation of Franz Xaver von Auer's brother, who worked as Father Sabinus in the Premonstratensian Monastery of Windberg . The church donor himself should not see the completion of the building.
After a fire in 1755, the onion dome of the church tower had to be rebuilt. Otherwise no structural changes have been made to this day. However, the church was restored several times, especially in the 20th and 21st centuries. The last fundamental interior renovation took place in 1985. Here, the church received a people's altar in accordance with the Second Vatican Council , which was made by the Otteringen art carpenter Paul Weinzierl. An exterior renovation was carried out in the 2000s. In the context of this work, the general renovation of the organ was carried out in 2000 and an ambos was purchased in 2005. The latter comes from the work and planning studio Alfred Fischer, also based in Ottering.
architecture
The church is a hall church facing east - built in 1732/33 in the baroque style, with stylistic elements of the burgeoning rococo to be found. It consists of a four-bay nave and a slightly narrower two-bay choir , which is closed in three hexagonal sides. The whitewashed outer walls are structured by pilaster strips highlighted in light red . The two-story sacristy is built on the north side , the upper floor of which opens into the choir as an oratorio via a window. In the past, this room was reserved for the respective royal family. On the back of the saddle-roofed nave, in the west, is the stately, approximately 46-meter-high tower, the edges of which are also accentuated by light red pilaster strips. The tower substructure consists of three square floors, with a striking cornice between the second and third floors in continuation of the eaves line of the nave . Above the third floor, roughly at ridge height of the nave, the substructure merges into the bell floor via a further cornice. This is provided with bevelled edges and has sound openings on all four sides in the shape of a bass violin and clocks. The upper end is formed by a constricted onion dome, which is crowned by a ball and cross.
The tower ground floor can be entered through a simple door fitted with sheet copper and forms an anteroom. A heavy, studded with iron nails portal from oak leads inside. First of all, the visitor is below the double gallery , which has moved into the rear nave yoke. If you step a little further forward, a high, light room opens up, which is spanned by a barrel vault with stitch caps . The same vault shape can also be found in the choir room. The vault, decorated with numerous frescoes and grisailles , rests on pilasters with stucco decorations and heavily profiled entablature. The chancel is noticeably drawn in by means of a round choir arch . The room is illuminated via high arched windows. The two windows, which are arranged diagonally next to the high altar, have yellow glass, which bathes the choir room in a special light.
Furnishing
Frescoes
The frescoes created by Joseph Anton Merz are mainly dedicated to the church patron St. Johannes Nepomuk and follow a well thought-out theological concept. The legendary confession of the Bohemian Queen, who is ultimately the reason for the murder of her confessor, St. John Nepomuk, is depicted on the rear nave fresco, which can be found directly above the organ . This scene is accompanied by a crucifix and numerous angels as well as a beautiful baroque garden in the background. The large fresco in the nave shows the martyrdom of St. John Nepomuk in Prague , who is overthrown from a bridge by an angry crowd because of his refusal to break the secret of confession . The five stars can already be seen below in the water, which will later draw attention to his sunken corpse and, as it were , snatch him from Satan , who is already waiting in the water. The girl wringing her hands on the bridge is a typical style element of Merz. On the other hand, the anxious group of people in the foreground provides a certain depth of the picture so that the painter can better represent the bridge, which is actually more broadly extended, in the portrait format. It is also noticeable that the colors of rather dark, earthy tones in the lower area become brighter and brighter towards the sky. Finally, in the choir fresco, St. John Nepomuk is shown in glory, embodied by bright light and numerous angelic figures. The scene takes place over the historical view of Thürnthenning. Since the church is reproduced in great detail, one can assume that the castle, which was demolished in 1851, is also shown realistically. The vineyards that were characteristic of Thürnthenning and where Baierwein was cultivated can also be clearly seen .
Another remarkable fresco can be found below the second gallery. It is dedicated to the Thürnthenninger Rosary Brotherhood , which was founded in 1729 by the church donor Franz Xaver von Auer and which has existed to this day. In the painting Mary is depicted enthroned with the baby Jesus over purgatory . While the Madonna empties a golden vessel so that rosaries fall to the poor souls , the Child Jesus is pouring the body and blood of Christ in the form of hosts and wine over them. In addition, several angels come down from heaven to the poor souls to save them from purgatory. An angel carries a plaque with the inscription “Vollkomner Ablaß” (perfect indulgence of sins ). The baroque painter Merz depicted the virtues of the saints in the grisaille technique in the vaults . Between the frescoes, in the stitch caps and above the windows there is a lavish painting in the form of foliage , tendrils , vases and rocailles .
Six different coats of arms of noble families are depicted on the choir arch, including that of the Auer vom Winkel with a lion's head . This can still be found today in Moosthenning's municipal coat of arms. At the apex of the choir arch there is a cartouche that refers to the church donor Franz Xaver von Auer. The inscription reads: “In honor of St. John of Nepomuk, the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Nikolaus built this house of God from the ground up in 1732 by Maximilian Franz Xaver Auer, Baron of Rohrenbach, Lords of Thürnthenning, Ottering, Königsau. “There is also a reference to the two secondary patrons of the church, St. Mary and St. Nicholas .
High altar
The stately high altar was created by the sculptor Simon Hofer. Two pairs of columns frame the altar leaf designed by Joseph Anton Merz. It depicts the church patron Johannes Nepomuk as a heavenly intercessor. In the background, lower left, his martyrdom can be seen, while in the foreground the saint is lifted up into the open sky. He is surrounded by numerous angels and saints, including St. Nicholas and the Mother of God Mary - both secondary patrons of the church are shown at the top right. On the left hand side he is presented with the victory wreath by an angel, above the Holy Trinity awaits him . Around the four columns of the altar structure are figures of the four evangelists with their attributes , which are also by Simon Hofer. From left to right are shown: Mark with the lion, John with the eagle , Matthew with the man and Luke with the bull . In the extract of the high altar there is a plastic representation of the Rosary Queen , another spiritual focus of the Rosary Brotherhood. She is venerated by two great patrons of the Rosary , St. Catherine of Siena and St. Dominic . The excerpt is flanked by some putti , which are also likely by Simon Hofer. The feeding of the Israelites in the desert can be seen on the antependium . Above it, on the Altarmensa , is the rotating tabernacle , on which five so-called tortschen can be seen. In artfully designed frames, changing images can be used that relate the rosary secrets to other topics of the church year .
Side altars
To the left and right of the choir arch there are two side altars with the same structure. Like the high altar, these have four pillars; the oval excerpt is accompanied by several putti and two pilasters crowned with a vase. The fourteen helpers in need are depicted on the main picture of the left side altar . The picture is flanked by figures of St. George (left) and St. Florian (right). On the right side altar sheet the rather rare representation of the Seven Refuge can be seen. The side figures are Saint Sebastian (left) and Saint Martin (right), who is cutting his cloak with his sword .
The fourth altar of the church is located near the portal on the right side of the nave. It is the St. Anna Altar, which was also the donor altar of the Lords of the Court. St. Anne and St. Joachim with their daughter, the Mother of God, can be seen on the altarpiece . The flanking side figures are the namesake of the donor couple, St. Francis Xavier and St. Isabella . The epitaph for the church founder and his wife is right next to the St. Anne's altar. Unlike the other three altars this is all in white and gold taken . A special feature of the side altars are the five cartouches, which are labeled as "Roman stations" and are intended to remind of the station churches in Rome .
pulpit
The pulpit on the epistle side is a good craftsmanship in the style of the late baroque. Above the polygonal body is the sound cover, on the underside of which a dove of the Holy Spirit can be seen. The top bears a volute structure with a figure of Jesus as the Good Shepherd .
Other equipment
The confessionals , the choir stalls and the cheeks of the lay stalls , which bear artistic acanthus carvings, are beautiful testimonies of rural craftsmanship in the Baroque period. The Way of the Cross is also baroque and consists of high quality oil paintings . On the back wall of the nave, two votive panels remind of the construction of the church in 1732 and 1733 and the fire in the church tower in 1755. Here is also a painting of Christ on the scourge column, which was probably created around the same time. In the picture the drops of blood of the tortured Savior emerge three- dimensionally . The organ , which is housed on the upper gallery, comes from GF Steinmeyer & Co. from Oettingen am Ries . The organ work has a pneumatic performance and register action . It is housed in an ornate baroque case from 1745, which is crowned by a clock .
literature
- Christian Bachner, Stefan Altschäffel: Thürnthenning - Filialkirche St. Johannes Nepomuk . Peda art guide No. 669/2007. Art Publishing House Peda , Passau 2007. ISBN 978-3-89643-669-6 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Bachner, Altschäffel; Pp. 2-5.
- ↑ Filialkirche St. Johannes Nepomuk, Thürnthenning . Online at www.pfarrei-ottering.de. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
- ↑ a b Bachner, Altschäffel; P. 5.
- ↑ a b Bachner, Altschäffel; Pp. 6-9.
- ↑ Bachner, Altschäffel; P. 2 and 17.
- ↑ Bachner, Altschäffel; Pp. 9-13.
- ↑ a b Bachner, Altschäffel; Pp. 14-16.
- ↑ Bachner, Altschäffel; P. 17.
- ↑ Bachner, Altschäffel; P. 17f.
Coordinates: 48 ° 40 ′ 56.7 " N , 12 ° 30 ′ 55.3" E