St. Lorenz (Berching)
The Roman Catholic Church of St. Lorenz in Berching , a town in the Bavarian district of Neumarkt in the Upper Palatinate , was the town's old parish church until 1519 and is now a subsidiary church of the parish of the Assumption of Mary . St. Lawrence, consecrated to St. Lawrence of Rome (Memorial Day: August 10th). It is the oldest church building in Berching and its core dates back to the Romanesque style epoch. The church contains valuable late-Gothic pieces of equipment and was converted into a wall pillar church in its current form in the Baroque period . A characteristic that can be seen from afar is the mighty choir tower from the 13th century.
Location and surroundings
The St. Lorenz Church is centrally located in the suburb of Berching, which is enclosed between the Ludwig-Danube-Main Canal, built in the mid-19th century, and the Sulz river , at an altitude of 386 m above sea level. NN . At the church, St.-Lorenz-Strasse, Bahnhofstrasse, Johannesbrücke and Mühlgasse cross. It is surrounded by the former cemetery of the city of Berching, which was abandoned in 1860. Remains of the quarry stone cemetery wall, which was built in the 17th or 18th centuries, as well as some wrought-iron grave crosses from the 18th and 19th centuries are still preserved. The former St. Michael cemetery chapel is now used as a war memorial .
history
Beginnings and church history up to the early Gothic
The first documented mention of the St. Lorenz Church goes back to the year 883. The Carolingian court chapel mentioned at the time is likely to have been a predecessor of today's church, which was probably not made of wood, as was common at the time, but of dolomite or limestone of the Sulztal was built. Remnants of the wall may still be present. The core of the masonry of the nave dates back to the 11th or 12th century, i.e. the Romanesque style epoch. This is related to the fact that in the course of two large waves of church founding in the Diocese of Eichstätt, two consecration dates have been handed down for the Lorenz Church in Berching: in 1062 or 1063 by Bishop Gundekar II and in 1193 by Bishop Otto (Eichstätt) . It is unlikely that a completely new church building was consecrated , unless the previous building was completely destroyed. Rather, it was probably about re-consecration, for example after additions to the Carolingian church, or the consecration of new altars .
A portal on the south side of the church that had been blocked for a long time was probably built in the 12th century . While the arched wall breakthrough is still clearly visible, the elaborately designed tympanum that was customary at the time has not been preserved, which suggests a later extension (elevation and / or widening) of the nave. The preserved north portal with its late Romanesque tympanum was certainly built later, probably in the 13th century and possibly in connection with the presumed extension of the nave. In the course of this, the late Romanesque choir tower could have been built, the substance of which is also dated to the 13th century. The upper floor with the belfry and the sound arcades , on the other hand, was not added until the 16th century. The founding of the neighboring citizen's hospital with its own chapel in 1354 or 1355 and a complete indulgence in 1389 have been safely passed down from the 14th century .
Expansion in the late Gothic period and at the time of the Reformation
In the years 1502/03 the church was rebuilt in the Gothic style; a renewed consecration is attested for the year 1503. In 1519 the St. Lorenz Church lost the parish seat in favor of the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary located within the city wall , which had already been given a position as preacher a few years earlier . It is possible that around this time the patronage of St. Lorenz, which the church probably received in the late 12th century in connection with the Crusades , gained great importance. According to Robl, the Lorenz relic , which disappeared from the Lorenz Church in Nuremberg in the course of the Reformation in the 16th century, could be the Lorenz relic of unknown origin, which has recently appeared in Berching. This has been incorporated into the new people's altar in the parish church of the Assumption since 2011. The upgrading of the cult site of St. Lorenz, i.e. the purchase of new, late Gothic altars, may also be in connection with the support by Catholic patrician families from Nuremberg, who protected these works of art from the turmoil of the Reformation in Catholic Berching, which is firmly in the hands of the Eichstatters Prince-Bishops wanted to know. After the parish seat was moved, St. Lorenz was mainly a passion and mourning church. In this context, the preserved Mount of Olives group and the surrounding, now abandoned cemetery should be mentioned.
Damage in the Thirty Years War and Baroque style
While Berching was largely spared from the Reformation and the Peasant Wars , the destruction in the Thirty Years' War was devastating. Damage to the St. Lorenz Church could only be repaired in the course of an economic upswing in the city. This conversion to a wall pillar church took place between 1680 and 1685 and was carried out by the prince-bishop-Eichstatt architect Johann Baptist Camesino . The Romanesque or early Gothic flat ceiling was removed in favor of a baroque barrel vault that rests on massive wall pillars. However , the statics of the building were not taken into account in the construction of the roof structure , so that the wall pillars tilted outward. These structural deficiencies were only eliminated during the most recent renovation work between 2009 and 2011. Auxiliary Bishop Franz Christoph Rinck von Baldenstein carried out the rededication of the St. Lorenz Church after the Baroque transformation on August 28, 1685. A great patron of this baroque renovation was the mayor and wine merchant Johann Georg Rumpf, who had the gallery built in 1688 and is immortalized there on an inscription plaque.
Building history in the recent past
In the course of a church renovation in 1850, an organ from the Nuremberg organ builder Johann Michael Bittner was purchased. This is located on the gallery of the St. Lorenz Church and is now classified as a monument organ . In 1866 the baroque altars were replaced by neo-Gothic structures. These again contain the high-quality late Gothic figures and panel paintings that came to Berching at the beginning of the 16th century. In addition, a new pavement was used and the old church stalls replaced. After the cemetery was closed in 1860, the cemetery wall was laid down and the old morgue demolished in 1880/81. During a renovation in 1946/47, various changes were made to the three neo-Gothic altars. From 1945 to 1955, the St. Lorenz Church was used by the newly founded Protestant parish of Berchings before their Church of the Redeemer was completed.
In 1980/81 the St. Lorenz Church was completely renovated. The historical epitaphs were moved from the outer walls and the floor to the inner walls. The most recent renovation measure was a repair of the roof structure and outer walls as well as the tower in the years 2009 to 2011. In 2011 the monument organ was restored by the company Orgelbau Sandtner from Dillingen an der Donau .
architecture
Exterior construction
The east-facing pillared church has a mighty late Romanesque or early Gothic choir tower with a rectangular floor plan . Its substructure dates from the 13th century, the bell storey from the 16th century. The latter has three arched sound arcades on each side. On it sits a four-sided, cut-off pointed helmet . On the top there is a gallery and an eight-sided lantern . The nave with a gable roof is largely unadorned and is only structured by the arched window openings that were enlarged during the baroque renovation. The north side alone is more elaborate due to the addition of the sacristy to the choir tower and the outward-opening Ölberg chapel with crenellated gable in the rear area of the nave. The two church portals are on the north and west side.
inner space
The interior of the church, located slightly below floor level, presents itself as a pillared hall , which is spanned by a barrel vault with stitch caps . This rests on massive wall pillars that protrude far into the room, each with a strongly profiled cornice . The slightly drawn-in choir room on the ground floor of the tower, which has a late Gothic cross-ribbed vault , opens through the round archway to the three-and-a-half-bay nave. In the rear half yoke is the organ loft, which was drawn in in 1688 and has three arches underneath it and opens up to the nave via round arches.
The interior is 31.64 meters long and 12.71 meters wide.
Furnishing
Altars
The high altar , a late Gothic winged altar , consecrated in 1502, contains in a housing from 1868 that was changed in 1946, late Gothic, painted carvings.In the middle there is a group of figures of the coronation of Mary, next to it are small figures of the martyrs Laurentius and Stephen arranged.
The side altars are both consecrated to the church and city patron Laurentius and each contain four late Gothic panel paintings from his life and work from around 1515, which today are among the most important works of art in the city. They come from the Danube School , but are not signed . The bright colors and the atmospheric painted background landscapes could, however, point to the famous Albrecht Altdorfer as the author. The original structure of the altar and the framing of the panel paintings are no longer preserved; they have been replaced by a neo-Gothic version. The panel paintings on the right side altar show in detail: Before his death, Pope Sixtus II orders the treasures of the church to St. Lawrence (top left), When Emperor Valerian wants the treasures of the church, Laurentius introduces him to the poor (top right) , Laurentius distributes the treasures of the church to the poor (bottom left), Laurentius is captured (bottom right). The following scenes are depicted on the left side altar: Laurentius is condemned to death by the emperor (top left), Laurentius is beaten with clubs (top right), Laurentius is burned with torches (bottom left), Laurentius dies on the grate (bottom right).
The modern folk altar is a carving by a Hungarian artist named Sagky and contains depictions of the Hungarian national saints Stephen and Elisabeth .
Funerary monuments
In the St. Lorenz Church there are numerous epitaphs that are now attached to the interior walls. The oldest is from around 1300 and can be found on the west portal on the left below the gallery. A cross staff can be seen on it. The inscription reads: “Miseremini mei amici mei” (Have mercy on me, my friends). This is supposed to be a blasphemous formulation, so that the tombstone may possibly be assigned to the Knights Templar .
Other notable grave monuments are a red marble epitaph with reliefs of Johann Georg Rumpff († 1691) and his wife Maria Margareta († 1700) kneeling in front of the cross of Christ, a grave slab for the provost Georg Schöttel († 1583) and his wife Maria Fürsiching († 1581) ) in the form of a renaissance - aedicula from the school of Loy Hering and a grave, of the Hofmarksbesitzer Wolfgang Mühlbeck of Erasbach dedicated († 1514).
Other equipment
On the south side of the choir there are the remains of a sacrament house from the late 15th century and a figure of St. Liborius from the same period. On both sides of the presbytery two groups of graceful figures each represent seven of the 14 helpers in need. A relief of the carrying of the cross from the time of the Thirty Years' War was formerly housed in the middle gate tower (Pettenkoferplatz 9). There it was removed in the post-war period, heavily soiled, and after thorough cleaning and restoration it was taken to the St. Lorenz Church. It is said to have been donated by the Berching citizens in 1634 as thanks for being saved from the plague . The carving is much older and probably dates from around 1420/30, as can be seen from the color version and the image program.
organ
The organ , now classified as a monument organ by the Bavarian State Office for the Preservation of Monuments, was created in 1850 by the Nuremberg organ builder Johann Michael Bittner . Special features compared to other southern German monument organs are the free-standing console , which enables the organist to look at the altar, the mechanical playing and register actions and the completely preserved bellows with a wedge bellows system and a total of three originally preserved wedge bellows. The instrument can thus be classified as one of the rare southern German late baroque organs. In 2011, the instrument of the company Orgelbau Sandtner skilfully restored from Dillingen and in a solemn Mass on 25 September 2011 re-consecrated . The organ comprises a total of 644 pipes and eleven registers on the manual and pedal . The disposition , which is essentially baroque, but already has early romantic echoes, is as follows:
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Bells
In the mighty choir tower of the St. Lorenz Church there is a wooden belfry in which three historical bells are hung on wooden yokes. The entire ringing with the wide-ranging tone sequence f sharp 1 –h 1 –g 2 survived both world wars unscathed. All three bells have a shoulder inscription in Gothic minuscule , which is listed in the following overview:
| No. | Surname | Casting year | Caster | Diameter [mm] | Chime | inscription |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Laurentius bell | Late 15th century | Hans Glockengießer, Nuremberg | 1005 | f sharp 1 | TO GOD'S PRAISE AND DINST I BELONG TO HANS GLOCKENGIEßER TO NURMBERG GOS NAME ME. |
| 2. | Marienbell | 14th Century | unmarked | 850 | h 1 | AVE MARIA GRACIA PLENA DOMINVS TECVM BENEDICTA TV IN MVLIERIBVS ET BENEDICTVS |
| 3. | Holy Spirit Bell | around 1500 | unmarked | 510 | g 2 | COM HOLY SPIRIT FILL IN THE HEARTS OF YOUR GLAVBIG MARY |
Mount of Olives Service and Mount of Olives Group
In 1516, Leonhard Griessel, a canon at the Nuremberg Lorenz Church, founded a so-called Angst, an oil mountain devotion , which was to be held on the five Thursdays before Good Friday . In 1595 an additional donation was made, so that the prayer now took place every Thursday of the year. In 1854 the tradition was resumed by the Berching Franciscans on the six Thursdays of Lent after a brief interruption due to secularization . With a few interruptions, until the dissolution of the Franciscan monastery in 1967, the Ölberg devotion always took place in the monastery church there. In 1982 the tradition was resumed. Since then, the Mount of Olives devotion with the Mount of Olives Game has been attracting numerous guests from near and far as well as well-known preachers from abroad, as it was originally in the St. Lorenz Church .
In connection with the foundation of this oil mountain devotion is certainly the Ölberggruppe, which is housed in an open porch with crenellated gable and niche architecture on the north side of the nave, which was added in the 19th century. Such a scene house can be found in many Bavarian churches. In Berching there are life-size figures of Jesus Christ and three apostles from the second half of the 16th century. These are set up in front of a sandstone relief on which you can see how the henchmen already climb over the fence into the garden of Gethsemane in order to take Jesus prisoner a little later.
Former St. Michael's cemetery chapel
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To the southeast of the St. Lorenz Church, in a corner of the abandoned cemetery, is the former St. Michael cemetery chapel. It was built in the years 1701 to 1703 instead of a two-storey courtyard . Executive architect was the Graubündner Anton Antrieto / Andreota. When the chapel was demolished in 1816, only the choir remained; today it serves as a war memorial. It opens to the north by means of a round arch with a pilaster frame , which is closed with a wrought iron grille. Above it is a shield-shaped ornament with foliage and the Berching city coat of arms . The semicircular apse has elaborate baroque stucco from the time the chapel was built. Acanthus tendrils with pendants of fruit surround a fresco with a view of the city of Berching. There is a stone figure of Saint on the altar of Michael , of the Satan , the lance pushes into the neck. It is probably a work by the Eichstatt court sculptor Christian Handschuher .
literature
- Catholic rectory in Berching (ed.): Church leader Berching - Assumption of Mary, St. Lorenz. Edition 2017.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Location of the Lorenz Church . Online at berching.bistum-eichstaett.de; accessed on August 18, 2017.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Werner Robl: The Church of St. Lorenz in the Berchinger Vorstadt . Online at www.robl.de; accessed on August 18, 2017.
- ↑ a b "Old" Parish Church of St. Lorenz - Timeline . Online at berching.bistum-eichstaett.de; accessed on August 18, 2017.
- ↑ a b Old Parish Church of St. Lorenz . Online at www.berching.de; accessed on August 18, 2017.
- ↑ a b Catholic parish office Berching: Kirchenführer Berching, pp. 11-14.
- ↑ [http, // www.kirchenmusik-berching.de/html/joh_-m_-bittner-orgel.html Johann-Michael-Bittner-Orgel]. Online at www.kirchenmusik-berching.de, accessed on August 17, 2017.
- ↑ [http, // www.orgel-information.de/Orgel/b/be/berching_st_lorenz.html The organ in St. Lorenz, Berching]. Online at www.orgel-information.de, accessed on August 17, 2017.
- ↑ Neumarkter Nachrichten on May 27, 2011, [http, // www.nordbayern.de/region/neumarkt/orgeltone-erklingen-1.1261618 organ tones sounding - St. Lorenz, restoration only takes three weeks]. Online at www.nordbayern.de, accessed on August 17, 2017.
- ↑ [https, // berching.bistum-eichstaett.de/kirchen/alte-pfarrkirche-st-lorenz/glocken/ Bells of the old parish church of St. Laurentius]. Online at berching.bistum-eichstaett.de, accessed on August 17, 2017.
- ↑ [http, // www.glockenklaenge.de/orte/nm/berching_lorenz.html Berching, Old Parish Church St. Lorenz]. Online at glockenklaenge.de, accessed on August 17, 2017.
- ↑ [https, // www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mpszYAI5EY BERCHING (NM), Old Parish Church St. Lorenz - full bells]. Online at www.youtube.com, accessed August 17, 2017.
- Jump up ↑ The Berchinger Ölbergandacht with Ölbergspiel from 1516 . Online at berching.bistum-eichstaett.de; accessed on August 18, 2017.
- ↑ Catholic parish office Berching: Church leader Berching, p. 15.
Coordinates: 49 ° 6 ′ 21 ″ N , 11 ° 26 ′ 37 ″ E