St. Justina (Bad Wörishofen)

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Parish Church of St. Justina in Bad Wörishofen
Tower of St. Justina, east side

St. Justina is the Catholic parish church of Bad Wörishofen in the Unterallgäu district . The origin of the preserved building on the main street dates back to the early 16th century. About 200 years later, the Dominican convent was built in the immediate vicinity to the south .

history

A church in Bad Wörishofen is mentioned in 1243 when a Christina von Fronehofen vowed in the church of St. Justina to use all of her assets according to the advice of the Dominican Friedrich von Rottenberg. In the years 1519/20 the original church was demolished and replaced by a new building in the Gothic style . The bell tower probably dates from this period or even earlier . This tower north of the choir is a brick building on a base made of gray quarry stone and with a gable roof . Around 1700 the church was redesigned in baroque style .

There is a lack of clarity about the patronage of St. Justina, as there are several saints with this name. Since the 18th century at least the legendary Justina of Antioch has been accepted, whose martyrdom the painter Jakob Fröschle depicted in 1780 in a ceiling painting in the nave of the church.

After Sebastian Kneipp came to Wörishofen in 1855 as a confessor of the Dominican Sisters and in the following years made the place known for his natural medicine and water cures, the number of inhabitants rose steadily. The church, where Kneipp was pastor from 1881 to 1897, became too small, so that it was expanded to the west in 1932/33. It took another five years to complete the furnishings and the consecration of the high altar on July 3, 1938. In 1983 the church was restored under the direction of Toni Mayer († 2010) from Mindelheim .

Equipment of the church

Altars, pulpit and baptismal font

Nave and choir
Johann Michael Schmitt: Saints worship the Trinity of God, under the open sky Pastor Sebastian Kneipp
Klais organ from 1991

The architecture of the high altar, completed in 1938, is the work of the plasterer and sculptor Josef Schnitzer senior . Four pillars rise twice above the base and a splendid tower above them. The main picture of the altar above the tabernacle , painted in 1868 by Johann Kaspar from Obergünzburg , shows the death of Jesus on the cross as redemption from original sin , at the foot of the cross Adam and Eve - Adam on the right, Eve on the left with the apple and the snake. Mary holds her hands over both of them and reconciles them with God. The picture in the essay is a representation of God the Father.

The celebration or popular altar was set up in front of the high altar in 1967, as was the ambo , both works by Toni Mayer.

Josef Schmuderer from Munich designed the neo-baroque side altars. On the left in the essay they contain a half-length figure of Saints Sebastian and Anthony of Padua. The Maria with child in the left side altar is, like some other figures in the church, by Franz Hoser (1928), and Saint Joseph in the right side altar by Johann Huber (1924).

In contrast to the baroque or neo-baroque altars, the pulpit from 1882 on the north nave wall shows early classicist forms. As figurative decoration it contains a fan-blowing angel on the pulpit lid and on the pulpit basket.

There is a late Gothic font under the gallery .

Ceiling painting

In addition to the frescoes by Jacob Fröschle, Adoration of the Altar Sacrament and Martyrdom of St. Justina , the ceiling of the nave, richly decorated with stucco , contains three paintings in the western part that Johann Michael Schmitt (1878–1943) painted in 1936. The large picture shows the veneration of the Holy Trinity by Saint Agnes of Rome , the second church patroness Katharina , Felicitas , church patroness Justina, the magician who once wooed her and later bishop Cyprian of Antioch, Pancratius and Sebastian . Pastor Kneipp stands under the opening of heaven, preaching to the healthy and the sick to lift their hearts to God. The parable of the wise and foolish virgins and the revelation of the Lamb of God are shown in the two round pictures .

organ

A Klais organ built in 1990/91 stands on the upper gallery . It replaces the fault-prone instrument made by the Hindelang brothers in 1933. In May 1987, the Klais organ manufacture in Bonn was commissioned to build a new one after Gert Völkl, the organ expert of the Diocese of Augsburg , advised against repairing the Hindelang organ in December 1985 . One of the reasons for choosing Klais was the design of the prospectus , which was adapted to the overall baroque furnishings of the room . The new instrument has 43 registers on three manuals and pedal and 2867 pipes . Auxiliary Bishop Max Ziegelbauer consecrated the organ on January 21, 1991 .

Remarks

  1. ↑ According to the Lexicon for Theology and Church there are three, according to the Ecumenical Lexicon of Saints, seven saints or blessed with the name Justina. Justina of Antioch or Nicomedia is said to have been beheaded around the year 304 under Emperor Diocletian after she had endured severe torture. The former pastor Otto Baumgärtner († 2013) of Bad Wörishofen St. Justina wrote: “It is said that some patron saints were brought to their hometowns by pilgrims. From pilgrimages to Padua to St. Justina of Padua is reported early, but there is no evidence of pilgrimages to Nicomedia in Asia Minor, and whether they were possible in Ottoman times can be doubted. ”The feast day of St. Justina of Antioch is September 26th.
  2. ↑ According to legend, Cyprian was a pagan magician. He was assigned to help a young man who had been rejected several times to recruit Justina, but fell in love with her himself. But she wanted to dedicate her life to Christ, whereupon he too professed the Christian faith and was baptized. After all, Cyprian is said to have even become a deacon and later a bishop. In the persecution of Christians under Diocletian, he was tortured and executed together with Justina. A historical background for the legend is not known. There is no Cyprian in the lists of bishops of Antioch.
  3. ↑ In the expert opinion of the organ expert Gert Völkl on the fault-prone instrument it says: “The pneumatic cone store organ, built in 1933, is completely inadequate in terms of construction, the materials used, the functionality, the disposition and the sound. The materials used are simply bad (metal pipes made of sheet metal). ”It concludes:“ For the reasons mentioned, I have to recommend that you do not invest in the organ, but buy a new instrument that is appropriate for the space and the importance of the location To take an eye. "

Web links

Commons : St. Justina (Bad Wörishofen)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c Peter Steiner: City parish church St. Justina Bad Wörishofen . Schnell, Art Guide No. 929, 4th edition, Munich 1992.
  2. ↑ Otto Baumgärtner: From a village church to a city parish church . Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  3. ↑ Ecumenical Lexicon of Saints on Cyprian of Antioch . Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  4. ^ Organ Info St. Justina . Retrieved May 11, 2020.

Coordinates: 48 ° 0 ′ 14.7 "  N , 10 ° 35 ′ 39.1"  E