St. Leonhard (Penk)

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St. Leonhard Church (Penk)

The St. Leonhard Church in Penk is one of the oldest standing country churches in Germany. Penk is located in the Lower Naab Valley in the Regensburg district . In 2013, archaeological and architectural studies showed that the first stone church was built around the year 900. The almost completely preserved hall of the church dates from this period. Around 1423 the previously existing apse of the church was replaced by a mighty choir tower, which still shapes the appearance of the church today. The first stone church building was probably built on two wooden structures from the late 8th / 9th centuries. Century ahead, of which at least the younger building can be safely interpreted as a church. In the early and high Middle Ages, Penk was probably the center of an initially royal or countial, later episcopal manorial rule, in which a judge in the area of ​​lower jurisdiction pronounced justice. This could explain the place name, as “Penk” can be translated as “bank” and could therefore be interpreted in the sense of “court bank”. The church is currently being refurbished in accordance with the requirements of historical monuments and will be used in the future as a cultural space for the Pielenhofen church administration.

particularities

Contrary to the popular opinion that St. Leonhard is a fortified church , the little church never fulfilled a real defensive function and was not designed as a fortified church. Rather, in the first stone construction phase, it is a small stone hall church with an omega-shaped apse as a choir, which was converted into a choir tower church at the beginning of the 15th century by adding a proportionally oversized choir tower. Gothic choir tower churches are a common type of construction in the Upper Palatinate north of Regensburg. Often referred to as loopholes characterized openings in the tower of the church Penker are slit windows for lighting and ventilation of the tower. The Leonhard patronage was probably only awarded to the church after the church and the place were taken over by the neighboring Pielenhofen Monastery in order to set up a rural pilgrimage in Penk. The original, early medieval patronage is unknown. To their inventory includes works of art from several centuries, including a Gothic crucifix , a rose decorated sacrament niche from the late Middle Ages, a poor box from the early Baroque, and an altar from the late Baroque. On this one can see the patron saint of the church, St. Leonhard . In the church there is a Way of the Cross painted on 14 metal panels. During excavations around 60 votive offerings - forged iron figures - were found.

Friends of the "Penker Kircherl" eV

To counteract the decline of the church, the “Penker Kircherl” association was founded on May 13, 2009. Its purpose is “... to promote the protection of monuments and the preservation of monuments, of art and culture and religion through ideal and material support for the preservation of the Church of St. Leonhard in Penk (Penker Kircherl), which is owned by the Catholic Parish Church Foundation Pielenhofen. Above all, the urgent redevelopment should be promoted. The renovation is to be realized through ideal and material support for the measure. ”(Excerpt from the association's statutes).

A total of around 500,000 euros must be raised for the renovation.

literature

  • Mathias Hensch : On the trail of the origins of the Penker Kircherl - archeology in one of the oldest churches in Bavaria . In: The Archaeological Year in Bavaria 2013 (Stuttgart 2014).
  • Mathias Hensch: St. Leonhard in Penk - early church foundation as an indication of episcopal jurisdiction of the 9th to 13th centuries? An archaeological-historical contribution to the church history of the northern Gau. In: Archeology, Middle Ages, Modern Times, Future. Festschrift for Ingolf Ericsson. Bamberg Writings on Archeology in the Middle Ages and Modern Times 6 (Bonn 2017), pp. 155–184.

Web links

Commons : St. Leonhard  - Collection of Images

Coordinates: 49 ° 2 ′ 40.2 "  N , 11 ° 57 ′ 59.3"  E