St. Maria (Müllheim TG)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Church of St. Mary
View in winter

The Church of St. Maria is the Roman Catholic church in Müllheim in the canton of Thurgau . It is consecrated to Our Lady Mary , her patronage is the Assumption of Mary.

history

History and naming

In 1275 a parish church in Müllheim is mentioned for the first time. She is St. Verena , St. Martyrs to Mauritius and consecrated to the Nativity . The landlord of the village was the abbot of Reichenau Monastery , whose ownership later passed to the Bishop of Constance . In 1473, a branch church in Hüttlingen TG is mentioned in a document . After the Reformation was carried out in German-speaking Switzerland, the residents of Müllheim converted to the new faith in 1528. For 80 years there was no more Catholic church service in Müllheim. In 1608, following the end of the Second Kappel War and the Second Kappel Peace of 1531, the Catholic rite was reintroduced in Müllheim. From then on, the Müllheim church was used equally by both denominations and was the property of both religious communities. In 1839 a new rectory was built on Kreuzlingerstrasse . After the Grüneck weaving mill opened in Müllheim, the number of residents more than doubled in Müllheim. In 1864 the parishes of Wigoltingen , Bonau TG and Illhart were transferred from the parish of Homburg TG to the parish of Müllheim.

Development and construction history

In the middle of the 20th century, a separation of the Catholic and Protestant parishes became apparent in several places in the canton of Thurgau. The Catholics of Müllheim founded a church building fund in 1942 and decided in 1954 to purchase a building site of around 1000 m 2 . On the Storenberg , the site on which the St. Maria Church is located today was purchased for CHF 22,000. In 1957 a church building association was founded and in 1959 talks began to end the simultaneous relationship in Müllheim. In 1962 the Catholics decided to build their own church. In 1966 the parish approved the cost estimate of CHF 1,460,000 for the construction of a church according to a reduced building program, in particular without a rectory. On August 15, 1966, the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary , the groundbreaking ceremony for the building according to the plans of the architects Bächtold and Baumgartner, Rorschach , took place. On March 5, 1967, the Bishop of Basel , Franziskus von Streng , laid the foundation stone for the new Marienkirche. On April 14, 1967 at 4 p.m., the five bells were cast in the Eschmann bell foundry in Rickenbach TG . The new bells arrived in Müllheim on September 23, 1967 and were consecrated the following day by Johann Haag, the episcopal commissioner of the canton of Thurgau, and lifted into the tower by the students on September 25.

The consecration of the new church, which is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, Saint Verena and Saint Brother Klaus , was carried out by Bishop Anton Hänggi on May 5, 1968. In the following year, on September 1, the simultaneous relationship for the old church, which since then has been called Evangelical Church of St. Verena for Müllheim serves. The rectory, which had not yet been built for financial reasons, was built next to the church in 1981; the building's architect was HP Büchel, Weinfelden . An overall renovation of the church, in particular the installation of a wooden ceiling, took place in 1991–1992. In 2016, a lift was installed from the car park to the church to make the building accessible for the disabled.

Entrance portal

Building description

Exterior and bells

The church is located southeast of the village on the Storenberg , a hill on the edge of the Thur valley . The white-painted concrete church is visible from afar thanks to its slightly elevated position in the Thur Valley. The church tower has a five-part bell that sounds in the tone sequence c sharp '- e' - g sharp '- b' - c sharp '. A staircase and, since 2016, a lift lead from the forecourt to the church and to the parish center built in the basement. A special feature of the church is the entrance portal, which was forged from galvanized sheet iron. The azure blue color refers to heaven and thus to the presence of God. The green door handle protrudes from the blue of the portal. The green color expresses people's hope in God's power and goodness. The white cross on the portal refers to the Christian orientation of the house of God, based on Joh. 3,16.

inside view

Interior and artistic equipment

The room is designed as a post-Vatican church. The wall shells are grouped around the assembled community in the shape of a hand. The gathered congregation should get a feeling of security through God's closeness and protection. The room is not entered in the axis, but at the rear, past the baptistery , which is given a special distinction due to its placement under the bell tower. At the intersection between the entrance axis and the church axis leading to the altar, the niche of the Mother of God is located in the rear wall. Here was the Baroque - Madonna erected from the joint church. The spatial movement leads the visitor from the portal over the Marian niche to the altar .

The five different types of wall shells are connected to one another by means of ribbon windows that extend from the floor to the ceiling to form a unified whole. The differently designed wall shells refer to the different kinds of people who gather in this room for worship and form a community with one another.

The artist Anton Egloff from Lucerne created the sculptures of the altar, ambo , sacrament altar , priest's seat and baptismal font . Painter Peter Bolliger from Lucerne designed the two abstract stained glass in the baptismal font and the niche of Our Lady. Anton Egloff also designed the Apostle chandelier and the candlestick for the Virgin Mary niche, while the portal is a joint work of the two artists.

The church ceiling is a wooden structure and was installed on the occasion of the renovation of the church in 1991-1992 instead of a flat plaster ceiling. The ray-shaped formations that converge in a circle on the ceiling above the chancel and run out from there indicate that the faithful should always gather around the altar over and over again in the course of their lives.

The baptistery with the baptismal font is built into the wall shell of the bell tower. As in pre-Vatican churches, the baptistery is located near the entrance, so that walking through the church via the baptistery to the altar symbolizes the introduction of people in the course of their lives to the Christian center in the celebration of mass . The lid of the baptismal water vessel, which is embedded in the round-shaped baptismal font, is reminiscent of an opening bud from which new life emerges, and indicates the deeper meaning of baptism.

Like the ceiling installed later, the stained glass window of St. Niklaus von Flüe also dates from 1991. It was created by the Ticino Capuchin Fra Roberto Pasotti and installed next to the font. Events from the life of the saint are shown. Above is the vision of the Trinity , which the saint refers to with his open hand pointing upwards. The rosary is a sign of the spirituality of St. Brother Klaus. The stone at his feet symbolizes his visions. You can also see the Eucharistic Bread, the saint's only nourishment for a long time in his life. The bright, warm colors on the glass window stand for the spiritual hints, the gray and purple tones for the separation from his family as well as for the simplicity of his life in seclusion.

The ambo is designed as a massive, stone lectern. Next to the ambo is a hand-forged, iron candlestick with the Easter candle .

The people's altar stands in the middle of the choir room. He symbolizes Jesus Christ , who becomes the center of the assembled community. The altar is made of three stone blocks to form a single rectangular stone in the shape of a table and symbolizes the Trinity. The stone from which the altar is made also refers to the Bible verse: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone (Mt. 21:42). In the altar a crack can be seen in the right half, which reminds of the people of Israel , who had no water in the Sinai desert . Moses struck a rock with his staff, and water quenched people's thirst (Num. 20, 1–12). Jesus Christ - represented in the altar - quenches the hunger and thirst of those present with the bread and wine of the Eucharist; everyday life is equated in this picture with the desert wandering of God's people.

The Eucharistic bread is kept in the tabernacle and is thus a symbol of God's real presence in the Church. Running water is depicted on the bronze tabernacle door. This is reminiscent of Jesus' encounter with a Samaritan woman at Jacob's fountain (John 4, 1–14), in which Jesus describes himself as the water of life. The eternal light at the tabernacle underlines the presence of God with the burning flame.

The priest's seat and the altar server are on the front left of the choir wall. All places of liturgical events were created from Mägenwiler shell limestone and thus symbolize the unity and solidarity of all worship events in the church.

A baroque figure of Christ is attached to an iron cross, which used to hang on a wooden cross. This has been owned by the parish for a long time and was probably originally located at the entrance to the cemetery at the formerly parity church. Our Lady of Sorrows and Mary Magdalene on the right belong to the cross group. Both figures were created by the sculptor Joseph Anton Feuchtmayer (1696–1770) on behalf of the Bishop of Constance for the parish of Müllheim, which is under his control. In 1970 the figures were restored by bringing out the original version.

The niche of Our Lady nestles in the rear wall of the church. The baroque Madonna figure with baby Jesus has been in the parish's possession for a long time and was located in the former parity church on the left side wall of the choir. The blue glass window to the right of the Madonna figure symbolizes the divine mother's reliance on God.

organ

The organ was built in 1972 by the company Späth Orgelbau , Rapperswil. The instrument is located on the dais on the right side of the choir room. The front pipes rise in six raised rectangles. The case is made of oak. The asymmetry of the prospectus is canceled out by the rhythm of the front whistles. Decorated veil boards were later attached above the front pipes.

The disposition of the organ:

I Hauptwerk C – g 3
Principal 8th'
Reed flute 8th'
octave 4 ′
octave 2 ′
overtone 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
Mixture III-IV 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
II upper structure C – g 3
Lead-covered 8th'
Praestant 4 ′
Pointed flute 4 ′
Flageolet 2 ′
Fifth 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
Scharff IV 1 ⁄ 2 ′
Pedal C – f 1
Pedestal 16 ′
Tube bare 8th'

literature

  • Hermann Blöchlinger: On the history of the Catholic parish of Müllheim. Muellheim 1993.
  • Angelus Hux, Alexander Troehler: KlangRäume. Churches and organs in Thurgau. Frauenfeld 2007.

Web links

Commons : Catholic Church of St. Maria (Müllheim)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Parish website, History section. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  2. ^ Parish website, History section. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  3. ↑ YouTube. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  4. ^ Hermann Blöchlinger: On the history of the Catholic parish of Müllheim , p. 37.
  5. ^ Website of the parish, section Marienkirche. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  6. ^ Hermann Blöchlinger: On the history of the Catholic parish of Müllheim , p. 37.
  7. ^ Website of the parish, section Marienkirche. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  8. ^ Hermann Blöchlinger: On the history of the Catholic parish in Müllheim , p. 38.
  9. ^ Website of the parish, section Marienkirche. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  10. ^ Hermann Blöchlinger: On the history of the Catholic parish of Müllheim , p. 39.
  11. ^ Website of the parish, section Marienkirche. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  12. ^ Hermann Blöchlinger: On the history of the Catholic parish of Müllheim , pp. 40–41.
  13. ^ Website of the parish, section Marienkirche. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  14. ^ Hermann Blöchlinger: On the history of the Catholic parish of Müllheim , p. 42.
  15. ^ Website of the parish, section Marienkirche. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  16. ^ Hermann Blöchlinger: On the history of the Catholic parish of Müllheim , p. 43.
  17. ↑ Angelus Hux, Alexander Troehler: KlangRäume. Churches and organs in Thurgau. Pp. 334-335.
  18. ^ Organ directory Switzerland and Liechtenstein, section Catholic Church St. Maria Müllheim TG. Retrieved December 11, 2016.