St. Josef (Regensburg)
The Carmelite Church of St. Josef on the Alter Kornmarkt in the old town of Regensburg is the monastery church of the Convent of St. Joseph the Discalced Carmelites and the most important confession and worship church in Regensburg. The high baroque church building with echoes of the Italian style was built between 1660 and 1673 according to the plans of a hitherto unknown architect . Carlo Lurago , Antonio Petrini or a student of Petrini are possible authors .
history
After the Carmelite monastery was relocated from the Johanniterkommende St. Leonhard to the Alten Kornmarkt in 1641, financial difficulties had to be overcome before the construction of a monastery church could begin. After numerous monetary and material donations by the emperor, other representatives of the high nobility and the city of Regensburg, construction began in 1660. The builder is unknown, but due to the stylistic features an architect from Italy is assumed. Carlo Lurago and Antonio Petrini , who worked intensively in Bohemia and Franconia , respectively, come into question . A student of Petrini may also have to be considered. The construction was completed in 1673. A year earlier it had been consecrated to St. Joseph (feast day: March 19) .
During the secularization , when the convent was abolished between 1812 and 1836 except for the production of the Carmelite spirit, the monastery church was desecrated and used as a toll hall. The original baroque furnishings were lost. The high altar, for example, was sold to the parish of Schärding in Upper Austria . From 1835 the monastery church was renovated at the expense of the Carmelite Order and equipped with baroque altars that were bought from other churches. The Carmelite Church was consecrated again on November 24, 1836.
Since 1936 the Church of St. Joseph has been used primarily as a confessional and worship church - a function that was maintained throughout the Third Reich . During the bombing raid on Regensburg on October 20, 1944, only window and roof damage occurred to the monastery and church of St. Josef, which could be repaired quickly.
architecture
Exterior construction
The Carmelite Church forms the eastern end of the Alter Kornmarkt square in the old town of Regensburg. Accordingly, the west facade, in the style of the Italian Baroque, forms the front side of the church. The central portal is framed by two ionizing columns that support a gable . Between the gables is a shell niche that contains a figure of the church patron Joseph with the baby Jesus . Two further shell niches are arranged outside. These contain figures of Saint Teresa of Ávila and John of the Cross , the patrons of the Teresian Carmelite orders. Under these niches are two small, barred windows in stone framing. This lower facade zone is divided by six pilasters - two of which are pairs of pilasters that frame the portal - that support a strong cornice . On the side of this there are vases and volutes with figures of the royal couple Heinrich and Kunigunde , who donated the collegiate monastery to the old chapel in 1002 . Above the cornice, the window behind the organ gallery is arranged in the middle , which in turn is flanked by two pilasters arranged in pairs. This somewhat narrower, upper part of the facade is crowned by a triangular gable which contains a small round window.
In terms of design, the church looks outwardly similar to a medieval basilica with a transept , possibly based on the collegiate church that is within sight of the old chapel . The main rooms - nave , cross-house and the east-facing chorus , a cross-shaped plan form - have a high pitched roof , which on the end faces of the cross-house hipped is. The lower extensions to the nave, which have a flat monopitch roof , are not side aisles , but rather a series of side chapels. This gives the nave the same north-south expansion as the transept. The Asamkirche Rohr in the Kelheim district has a similar floor plan .
Sacristy extensions are attached to the choir on the north and south sides . The baroque tower, which is located in the southeast corner of the church building, was completed in 1681. From outside the monastery building, only the upper part of the tower can be seen from the bell floor. This square storey is delimited on the top and bottom by a multi-profiled cornice. In between there are tall rectangular, rounded arched sound openings with balustrades and tower clocks on all sides . The upper end of the tower is a double onion with a tall lantern , which is crowned by a tower ball and cross.
inner space
Inside, the Carmelite Church presents itself as a pilaster church . The two-and-a-half bay nave, which like all the other rooms has a barrel vault with stitch caps , is divided by mighty pillars, between which there are significantly lower chapel rooms with altars. These are separated from the main room by generous round arches and are connected to one another by round arched corridors. The rear nave yoke, which is spanned by the organ gallery, is only about half as long as the other yokes. The room below the gallery is a small anteroom separated by a grille.
Above the side chapels, cranked entablature, which is only interrupted on the west wall, surrounds all the main rooms of the church. It seems to be supported by double pilasters with Corinthian capitals that are placed in front of the pilasters . Above the entablature are the windows embedded in the stitch caps, which thus resemble the upper aisle of a basilica. The transept, also equipped with altars, and the choir, which contains the high altar, are of the same height as the nave and also have windows at the same height. The choir, which is separated from the nave by a communion bench , has only one yoke and a straight end.
Furnishing
High altar
The church interior is dominated by the appearance of the baroque high altar, which the visitor sees immediately upon entering the church. It comes from the baroque interior of the Regensburg Cathedral , which was later removed. Above the cafeteria , but still in the middle of the plinth of the mighty altar, rises the richly decorated and gilded tabernacle with a revolving exposure niche, which is flanked by two worshiping angels. The stately structure of the altar is supported by two pilasters and two winding columns that frame the main picture. This is an oil painting of St. Joseph with the baby Jesus, which is bordered in the shape of a medallion and crowned by a cartouche with the coat of arms of the Tersian Carmel .
Above this, the much smaller extract shows the handover of the scapular to the Blessed Simon Stock by the Blessed Mother Mary . The altar is crowned by a mighty guardian angel figure standing on a pedestal above the excerpt. The figure is set behind by a halo and surrounded by a ring of richly gold-plated clouds, from which numerous putti heads peek out. The side figures, which stand on the outer, high pedestals and thus flank the altar structure, represent the Prophet Elijah , who is particularly venerated by the Carmelites, and St. Teresa of Ávila , who is the founder and namesake of the Teresian Carmel.
Side altars
In addition to the high altar, the Carmelite Church has six side altars, with the opposite altars always being designed as counterparts . The first two side altars at the end of the transept arms are dedicated to the Scapular Madonna (right) and St. Anne (left). While there is a scapular Madonna with baby Jesus and singing angels from the time between the world wars in the cafeteria of the scapular altar , a Sacred Heart figure is placed on the Anna altar. Like the high altar, these altars come from the former baroque furnishings of Regensburg Cathedral.
The next two altars in the eastern side chapels are also baroque and come from the Augustinian church, which was demolished in the 19th century . They are dedicated to St. Teresa of Ávila (right) and St. Paul of the Cross (left). The rear side altars come from the parish church of St. Kassian , which belongs to the collegiate monastery of the old chapel. The left altar shows Jesus after being deposed from the cross in Mary's lap, a so-called Mater Dolorosa . The right rear altar hides a wax copy of the Infant Jesus of Prague in a shrine .
Other equipment
On both sides of the communion bench stand large figures of the patron Joseph and the founder of the order Teresa of Ávila, each with a halo behind them. The fourteen Stations of the Cross were created by the painter Weiniger from Reinhausen in 1921. There is a picture of Therese von Lisieux on the pillar next to the Prager-Jesulein Altar and a picture of the weeping Madonna on the pillar next to the Altar of Mary in Sorrows. In the entrance area, i.e. below the organ gallery, there is an annual crib .
organ
The first detectable organ was a 24- register instrument, which was built by Christoph Pürkl from Regensburg before 1700. Before 1800, Andreas Weiß built a new factory. In 1840 Johann Heinssen built a new single-manual instrument with 12 registers, which was transferred to St. Kassian in 1887 in order to create space for a new building as Opus 331 by GF Steinmeyer & Co. from the same year, an 18- register instrument with two manuals . The organ that is preserved today dates from 1912 and was originally built by Willibald Siemann as Opus 282 with 18 stops on two manuals and pedal . The originally mechanical cone chests were pneumatized by Steinmeyer and some stops from the previous organ were taken over. This approach to a conversion is likely to be unique in the company's history. As early as 1925 it was considerably expanded by the builder company under the opus number 420, received a new three-manual pneumatic console and since then has 26 registers. It was probably during this time that it was given a sweeping western front with silent prospect whistles , which clearly obscured the western window. The two larger-than-life angel figures were probably also placed at this time to cover the swell boxes protruding from the case . In 1952, Eduard Hirnschrodt gave it a change in disposition , whereby the very fundamental sound characteristics were retained. The organ was restored in the 1990s by the Regensburg organ building company Heick . The disposition is:
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- Notes: S = Steinmeyer, B = Binder, H = Hirnschodt
- Coupling : II / I, III / I, III / II, I / P, II / P, III / P
- Sub-octave coupling: II / I, III / I
- Super octave coupling: II / I, III / I, II / II, III / III, III / P
- Playing aids : four fixed combinations
Bells
In the tower of the Carmelite Church of St. Josef there are four bells, which form an extended pasternoster motif with the strike tone sequence Gs 1 –as 1 –b 1 –des 2 . All four bells were made in 1949 by the bell foundry Franz Schilling & Sons from Apolda .
Traditions in the Carmelite Church
Many ancient traditions are maintained in the Carmelite Church . The best known is the Christkindl prayer , a novena on the nine days before Christmas (December 16 to 24 inclusive), which is celebrated on the last day by the bishop himself by changing high spiritual dignitaries of the city . The focus of this novena is the miraculous image of the Infant Jesus of Prague. On Christmas Eve it will be solemn to the sounds of the Christkindl March on the high altar. The devotions are framed by folk music groups from the region . This tradition goes back to a foundation of the Princess von Lobkowitz in 1697.
On the nine Wednesdays before the solemnity of St. Joseph, which is celebrated on March 19, the Joseph Wednesdays take place. A holy office takes place on these in the mornings and Joseph's prayer in the afternoons. This novena goes back to a foundation of the priest Josef Höfelmayer in 1782.
A scapular devotion is held on the second Sunday of each month . The church is also a popular church of confession and worship. Both the opportunity for confession and the opportunity for Eucharistic adoration are offered for several hours every day. The Carmelite Fathers also read two holy masses every day .
literature
- Monastery of St. Joseph of the Teresian Carmelites Regensburg (Ed.): Carmelites in Regensburg - Since 1635. Brochure.
Web links
- Internet presence of the Carmelite Monastery of St. Josef
- Database entry for the Regensburg Carmelite Monastery at the House of Bavarian History
Individual evidence
- ↑ Organ Database Bavaria, Version 5 (2009), ed. by Michael Bernhard.
- ^ Christian Vorbeck: The organ builders Martin Binder and Willibald Siemann . Siebenquart Verlag Dr. Roland Eberlein, Cologne 2013, ISBN 978-3-941224-02-5 . Pp. 304-305
- ^ Regensburg, Carmelite Church of St. Josef - Plenum . Online at www.youtube.com; accessed on February 22, 2017.
- ^ Regensburg, Carmelite Church of St. Josef - partial bell . Online at www.youtube.com; accessed on February 22, 2017.
- ↑ a b Carmelites in Regensburg - Since 1635. Brochure.
Coordinates: 49 ° 1 ′ 7 " N , 12 ° 6 ′ 3" E