St. Joseph (Mettlach)

St. Joseph Chapel, Mettlach

The St. Joseph Chapel in Mettlach is a neo-Gothic sacral building from early historicism in the Saar region . The original 1864 in Wallerfangen built chapel was demolished in 1878/1879 and to Mettlach translocated where it was built in 1882 with small changes again. Since the spring of 2013 it has been accessible again after ten years of renovation.

history

Neo-Gothic chapel at Villeroy Castle before it was demolished in 1878/1879 (Archive of the Wallerfangen Museum)

Céphalie Thierry née de Lasalle, a granddaughter of Barbe de Galhau, had the chapel built in 1864 at the family seat in Wallerfangen - today known as "Villeroy Castle". The architect was Franz Georg Himpler , who later made a career in America. The Gothic Sainte-Chapelle in Paris served as a model , even if the dimensions remained much more modest. The chapel was built by the Sisters of Mercy of St. Karl Borromeo who worked in the nearby hospital. When a new hospital was opened elsewhere in Wallerfangen, the chapel remained unused.

The heir to Villeroy Castle, Ernest Villeroy, left the chapel to his uncle Eugen von Boch , who wanted to use it for his new hospital in Mettlach. Von Boch, head of the ceramics company Villeroy & Boch , had the chapel in Wallerfangen demolished, transported by tow ship on the Saar to Mettlach and rebuilt there. The newly created crypt should serve as a family tomb. Inside, the chapel was additionally equipped with colorful ceramic tiles .

**Inscription above the exit**

This building was built in 1864 by Mrs. Wittwe Thiery, b. von Lassalle, established as a house chapel in Wallerfangen and in 1879 by Eug. Boch and his wife Octavie geb. Villeroy has been moved here via her family crypt for the use of the merciful sisters of H. Carl Boromaeus.

The structural damage that occurred over time and was caused by the war and the weather was completely repaired from 2003 onwards. The white plaster applied inside in the 1950s was removed, the damaged tiles and the wall and ceiling paintings were repaired or renewed. The renovation work, which cost more than one million euros, took ten years. In addition to the family who owned Boch-Galhau , the German Foundation for Monument Protection , the federal government and the state contributed to the costs. In autumn 2013, the von Boch family was awarded the 7th Saarland Monument Preservation Prize in the private owners category for the renovation of the chapel and the abbey in Mettlach .

Furnishing

The chapel is almost five meters wide and has 70 seats. The narrow four-axis building with a three-sided choir is relatively high with a steep roof. The entrance facade is elaborately designed. The central stained glass window of the choir is colored, the two side choir windows and the ten tracery windows on the side walls are only lightly tinted. There is a symmetrically constructed tracery window above the entrance.

The vaulted ceiling is painted a bright blue. A two meter high, colorful tile plinth covers the side walls including the choir room; it consists of “Mettlacher Platten” from Villeroy & Boch, which were sold throughout Europe in the 19th century. Carefully restored historicist paintings are located between the tile base and ceiling.

The equipment also includes an organ gallery above the entrance area, stations of the cross made of terracotta , large statues of St. Mary and St. Joseph in the choir, a Cretan icon from the 15th century, a neo-Gothic altar and a floor mosaic in the altar area.

location

The St. Joseph Chapel is somewhat hidden. The address is Bahnhofstraße 9, access is possible via the entrance to the neighboring hospital, Saaruferstraße 10. Next to the chapel is a monument to Eugen von Boch and his wife Octavie, née Villeroy, erected in 1901.

gallery

Location of the chapel in Bahnhofstrasse (view from the train station)
Detail of tile base and stations of the cross
The vaulted ceiling painted blue
Floor mosaic in front of the altar

literature

Arthur Fontaine: The St. Josef Chapel in Mettlach and its Way of the Cross, 2nd edition, Norderstedt 2017.
Marco Mrziglod: The St. Joseph Chapel in Mettlach, uncovering the wall painting as a way of preservation under conservation ethical and economic aspects, Cologne University of Applied Sciences, Department of Restoration and Conservation of Art and Cultural Assets, Diploma thesis 2010.
Rupert Schreiber: A neo-Gothic gem with an "eventful" history, The St. Josef Chapel in Mettlach, in: Saargeschichten, 2, 2017, issue 47, ed. from the Historical Association for the Saar Region e. V. and the regional association of the historical-cultural associations of Saarland eV, pp. 17–23.
Rupert Schreiber: Pious tiles for St. Josef, the precious design of the interior of the Boch grave chapel in Mettlach, in: Saargeschichten, 4, 2017, issue 49, ed. from the Historical Association for the Saar Region e. V. and the regional association of the historical-cultural associations of Saarland eV, pp. 30–35.

Web links

Commons : St. Joseph (Mettlach) - Collection of images, videos and audio files

St. Joseph Chapel in Mettlach . In: Denkmalschutz.de
Julia Ricker, Beatrice Härig: The band came by ship . In: Monuments Online 6/2014.

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f K. Marschall: The St. Joseph Chapel in Mettlach. (PDF; 634 kB) 2011, accessed on October 4, 2016 .

↑ ^a ^b ^c Traudi Brenner: Neo-Gothic St. Joseph's Chapel in Mettlach restored ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Saarbrücker Zeitung, May 3, 2013@1@ 2

^ "Sainte-Chapelle on the Saar" . Wochenspiegel, April 19, 2013

↑ ^a ^b St. Joseph Chapel on the Villeroy & Boch website ( Memento of the original from May 23, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.

↑ Saarland Monument Preservation Prize 2013 ( Memento of the original from November 27, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.

↑ ^a ^b St. Joseph Chapel on the pages of the Saar Art Dictionary

Remarks

↑ Note the spelling errors : "Thiery" instead of "Thierry", "Lassalle" instead of "Lasalle", "errictet" instead of "erected", "Boromaeus" instead of "Borromaeus", "Carl" instead of "Karl". “Wittwe”, on the other hand, was a common spelling at the time.

49.494979 6.595983Coordinates: 49 ° 29 ′ 41.9 " N , 6 ° 35 ′ 45.5" E

[saarland-1] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f K. Marschall: The St. Joseph Chapel in Mettlach. (PDF; 634 kB) 2011, accessed on October 4, 2016 .

[4] Note the spelling errors : "Thiery" instead of "Thierry", "Lassalle" instead of "Lasalle", "errictet" instead of "erected", "Boromaeus" instead of "Borromaeus", "Carl" instead of "Karl". “Wittwe”, on the other hand, was a common spelling at the time.