St. Katharina (Schwäbisch Gmünd)

Overall view from the north

Chapel from the south

Hospital Pfründhaus

Hofmeisterei

Poor house

Chapel from the north

The Katharinenspital zu die Sondersiechen , now known as St. Katharina for short , is a building complex with a chapel in Schwerzer, west of the old town of Schwäbisch Gmünd . It was formerly used as an infirmary and was outside the city fortifications.

history

The founding of the infirmary can no longer be classified in terms of time, but it is assumed that it dates back to the early days of the city; Wall parts of the chapel can be dated back to the first quarter of the 13th century. Lepers and people who were not wanted in the Gmünder Heiliggeistspital in the city center were brought to St. Katharina " extra muros ". A house for lepers has been proven since 1326.

The Pfründhaus , which still exists today as a two-winged half - timbered building , was built before 1680, a barn mentioned in 1690 burned down in 1822 by a lightning strike. Probably also in the 17th century the so-called poor house was built, which served as a hostel for sick, poor travelers as well as a laundry and residential house. This half-timbered building was demolished in 1936. The court master building attached to the chapel was built from 1716, but was probably not completed until 1759. The service was stopped as part of the secularization in 1804 and only resumed in 1922, the mobile equipment was brought to St. Leonhard in Schwäbisch Gmünd after 1804 , the chapel served as a storage room. A car shed built in 1822 was demolished in 1974 in favor of a parking lot. In 1852 the last patients of the Katharinanspital were transferred to the Heiliggeistspital in the city center. Today the complex is used as living space.

In the witch trials in Schwäbisch Gmünd , in which at least 51 people were victims of the witch hunt between 1566 and 1684 , there was a high proportion of hospital sponsors.

Hospital chapel

The Chapel of St. Catherine probably dates from the first quarter of the 13th century and was built as a simple, Romanesque rectangular hall. It was first mentioned on November 1, 1341 by a measurement foundation. After Gothic renovations it was extensively baroque between 1749 and 1757 . The trapezoid sacristy behind the high altar was also built at this time . The interior was lavishly designed with stucco and painted by Joseph Wannenmacher, among others . The chapel belonging to the Gmünder Münster community was extensively renovated in 1998/99 and is currently mainly used by the Romanian Orthodox community.

Well-known names

• Johann Christof Haas (1753–1829), painter, died on September 5, 1829 “impoverished and single” in the hospital.

literature

• Landesdenkmalamt Baden-Württemberg (ed.): The art monuments in Baden-Württemberg. City of Schwäbisch Gmünd, Volume II: Churches in the old town without the Holy Cross Cathedral . Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich / Berlin 1995, ISBN 3-422-00569-2 , from page 61.
• Albert Deibele with Hermann Kissling : The Katharinenspital for the special hospital in Schwäbisch Gmünd . Schwäbisch Gmünd 1969 ( online ).

Web links

Commons : St. Katharina (Schwäbisch Gmünd)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ * Mario Zeck: Heavens move in smoke. Hunting of witches in the imperial city of Rottweil , Stuttgart 2000, pp. 145–177.
   • Fed up and burned. The chronicler Friedrich Vogt about the persecution of witches in Gmünd 1613–1617 , in: Einhorn-Jahrbuch , Schwäbisch Gmünd 1988, pp. 124–128.
   • Klaus Graf (historian) : witch persecution in Schwäbisch Gmünd , in: Sönke Lorenz and Dieter R. Bauer (ed.): Witch persecution. Contributions to research - with special consideration of the south-west of Germany (sources and research on European ethnology 15) , Würzburg 1995, pp. 123-139.
   • Klaus Graf (historian) : Gmünder Chroniken in the 16th Century: Texts and studies on the history of the imperial city Schwäbisch Gmünd. Einhorn-Verlag, Schwäbisch Gmünd 1984, ISBN 3-921703-53-0 ( online version , others ).
2. ↑ Johann Christof Haas ( Memento of the original dated February 6, 2006 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. at museumonline.at 

Coordinates: 48 ° 47 '45.9 "  N , 9 ° 47' 9.1"  E