St. Maria Magdalena (Beyenburg)
The monastery church of St. Maria Magdalena (also popularly known as "Beyenburger Dom" ) is a church building in Beyenburg , in the southeast of the city of Wuppertal .
history
The church was built in 1497 as a late Gothic hall church. It belongs to the building ensemble of the Steinhaus monastery , which was partially rebuilt at the end of the 15th century on the exposed location in the Wupperschleife . Accordingly, it was used as a monastery church until the monastery was secularized , the parish church for Beyenburg and the surrounding area remained the chapel on the stone house, where the Kreuzherrenkloster was founded. After secularization, the chapel on the stone house was demolished in 1811, as the monastery church had taken over the function of the parish church for the Catholic community in Beyenburg in 1804.
building
The church is a single-nave building made of Ruhr sandstone with six bays and a polygonal 3/8 apse on the east side. The restrained late Gothic formal language follows the early order rule of the Knights of the Cross. Therefore, a tower was omitted, a ridge turret on the steep, slate-covered gable roof accommodates the two bronze bells (mood h 'and d' '). This was renewed or replaced several times in the history of the building, most recently in the 1960s. It was then that the roof turret from 1862 was replaced when the church was extensively renovated.
The exterior is characterized by the stone-faced facade with the three stepped buttresses, which are placed across corners at the ends of the building, as well as by the large ogival tracery windows. The west gable impresses with the large four-part tracery window with fish bubble motifs, the arched double portal and the division of the gable by four horizontal bars. It is crowned by the modern weathercock on the globe, as a symbol of the church's guardianship over the world. The arched, Romanesque-looking archivolts of the portal tympanum are striking, suggesting that these could be components of the previous building from the early 14th century.
The south side has four, the choir two further large tracery windows with fish bubble motifs and ornamental, partly floral colored motifs of the lead glazing. Due to the monastery buildings attached to the north side, of which the section of the former cloister running parallel to the church is now used as a cruciform chapel, there are no windows.
Due to the exposed hillside location in the Wupperschleife, the church dominates the historic half-timbered buildings of Alt-Beyenburg and enables atmospheric photos and paintings, especially with the reflection of the buildings in the reservoir. Even the west facade is still impressive today when you approach the church from the west through the street "Beyenburger Freiheit", as the view of the west facade opens between the half-timbered and slate buildings and the road leads straight to the west facade for the last 200 m .
Inside, the large south-facing windows create a light, spacious impression of the room, which is characterized by the contrast between the strict Gothic design language and the magnificent baroque interior.
Furnishing
The important baroque interior was created in the course of the restoration of the entire complex after the monastery and church were damaged by fires in 1615 and 1678. Preserved historical reports of wall paintings from the time the church was built, which are no longer there, suggest that they were removed or whitewashed in the Baroque period.
High altar
pulpit
Choir stalls
The egg crown
Interior view at Christmas time
Door handle on the Beyenburger monastery church
inner space
High altar:
The interior of the church is dominated by the wooden high altar from 1698, which rises up to the central arch of the apse and takes up almost the entire width of the church. The monumental overall impression is characterized by the gray-blue marbling and the high-quality, diverse detail design. In the center of the altar is the magnificent altarpiece, which is flanked by four winding columns with elaborate leaf capitals on both sides. It is a depiction of the crucifixion in a splendid gold leaf frame. In the past the work was ascribed to Rubens and later to an unknown Rubens successor. Today it is assumed that it is a work by the important Rubens successor, Anthony van Dyck . The work shows a crucifixion group at the hour of Jesus' death. To the left of the cross Mary in the arms of two other women, Mary Magdalene embraces the cross, to her right, John is shown in front of the silhouette of Jerusalem. A Pieta is enthroned in the uppermost gable field of the altar, above it the religious cross in a golden halo, flanked on the right by St. Helena, on the left by St. Augustine. The antependium shows the discovery of the holy cross by Saint Helena. It bears the coat of arms of Duke Johann Wilhelm II. Von Berg , Elector of the Palatinate and the year 1715. The tabernacle rises on the marble altar table as a reduced representation of the altar, with the lamb of God as the crown. On both sides of the tabernacle there is a baroque reliquary monstrance that did not originally belong to the altar.
Between the high altar and the choir stalls is the baroque celebrant's chair on the south side. It is beautifully crafted with a particularly beautifully crafted crown.
The choir stalls were created in the late Gothic period, but today's look is shaped by the baroque makeover and color scheme. The cheeks and seats are late Gothic, on the curved armrests of the seats there are extremely elaborate knobs, crabs, huddled animals and depictions of people. The Gothic cheeks each contain three finely crafted slender figures of saints in high relief: Saints Agnes, Katharina and Barbara in front on the northern choir stalls, Saints Maria Magdalena, Helena and Laurentius in the back, and Saint Anne with Maria, Odilia and Margaretha on the south side in front the founder of the order Theodor von Celles and two unknown saints. A late Gothic figure of a saint stands free on each of the four cheeks: Mary with the Child (north side in front), Christ as World Savior (north side in back), Saint Augustine (south side in front), an unknown bishop on the south side in back. Because of the great value of these figures, some copies can be seen in the church interior, the originals are better secured in the exhibition area in the former cloister. 26 small, finely crafted saint figurines were taken over from the late Gothic choir stalls and worked into the raised baroque rear wall and the parapets.
A baroque lectern with the cross in a rich frame can be seen in the choir room. In 1965, the Düsseldorf artist Aloys Klingen created the precious lecture cross depicting the church patron Mary Magdalena.
On the south side, the splendid baroque pulpit from the end of the 17th century should be noted. The artistic, diverse jewelry has been carefully restored in color to match the other furnishings. In the niches of the pulpit there are finely crafted sculptures of the four evangelists, their biblical symbols are arranged in the fields below: On the stairs Mark with the lion, then Luke with the bull, John with the eagle, Matthew with the man. Between Luke and John Christ as the world savior. In the splendid rear wall of the pulpit there is a representation of St. John of Nepomuk. The sound cover is crowned with a magnificently decorated lantern on which St. Michael stands, with the hell dragon at his feet.
On the north wall hangs the central panel of a late Gothic winged altar with a crucifixion group, created by an unknown master. On the south wall there are two baroque paintings, former antependums from side altars that were removed in 1965. They also bear the coat of arms of Duke Johann Wilhelm II and the year 1715. One picture shows the meeting of Maria Magdalena with the risen Christ on Easter morning, the other picture shows the discovery of the bones of St. Odilia of Cologne by the cruiser Johannes by Eppa around 1287 in Cologne. Since then, St. Odilia has been the patroness of the Order of the Cross. In 1964 some of their relics were brought to Beyenburg in a solemn procession, where they are venerated in the Kreuzkapelle of the monastery church.
Since the 1960s, the entire complex has been completely restored step by step. The restorer Peter van Heekern from Essen began in the early 1960s with the uncovering and restoration of the original color version of the high altar. Between 1965 and 1971, the rest of the furnishings were also restored to match the color of the high altar. A great merit for the sensitive restoration and coordination of the overall furnishings can be attributed to Father Cross, Gerardus Petrus Vos OSC, who was pastor from 1963 to 2001. He died on October 26, 2014 in Beyenburg and was buried on October 31, 2014 in the monastery cemetery there.
The west wall is dominated by the organ gallery with the prospectus of the main work from 1693, thus the oldest preserved in Wuppertal. The splendid gallery parapet from 1694 with the case of the Rückpositiv matches this. Organ case and parapet are extremely richly decorated. Three trumpet angels crown the front gable as an angel concert .
organ
The organ was built by an anonymous organ builder in 1693. The magnificent prospectus has been preserved. Nothing is known about the disposition at that time . In 1898 the organ was replaced by a new work by Georg Stahlhuth jun. from Aachen replaced. Today's organ was built in 1970 by the organ builder Romanus Seifert (Kevelaer). The instrument has 22 registers on two manuals and a pedal . The game actions are operated mechanically, the stop actions electrically. 12 stops have been taken over in whole or in part from the previous organ. The new pedal mechanism from 1970 was placed behind the case of the main mechanism in such a way that the baroque prospectus is not visually altered by the new mechanism . In the interplay with the excellent acoustics of the room and the imposing, harmonious impression of the room, the organ also offers impressive sound possibilities for the varied, contemplative or festive accompaniment of the church singing as well as for the presentation of baroque, but also romantic and modern organ literature. Intonation and disposition together enable a wide range of possibilities for a baroque, colorful sound, which presumably comes close to an original baroque sound image even with warm, fundamental timbres .
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- Coupling : II / I, I / P, II / P
Others
In addition to the regular services of the Catholic parish, numerous weddings take place in the church every year. There are also organ concerts and other concerts. The opening concert of the Wuppertal Organ Days takes place in the church regularly in September. Income from weddings and many of the concerts help maintain it.
The Beyenburg Chapel Maria Schnee is just a few hundred meters away behind the Wupper on the Way of St. James.
literature
- Hermann Hirschberg: " The Catholic Monastery and Parish Church of St. Maria Magdalena Beyenburg ", Schnell & Steiner, ISBN 3-7954-5217-1
- Gerd Helbeck : "Beyenburg - History of a place on the Bergisch-Markische border and its surrounding area" , Volume II (The Modern Age: Progress and Setbacks) , ISBN 978-3-9811749-2-2
Individual evidence
- ^ Hermann Hirschberg: The Catholic Monastery and Parish Church of St. Maria Magdalena Beyenburg, p. 2ff.
- ^ Hermann Hirschberg: The Catholic Monastery and Parish Church of St. Maria Magdalena Beyenburg, p. 4ff.
- ^ Gerd Helbeck, Beyenburg Volume 2, page 122.
- ^ Hermann Hirschberg: The Catholic Monastery and Parish Church of St. Maria Magdalena Beyenburg, p. 7ff.
- ^ Gerd Helbeck, Beyenburg Volume 2, page 368
- ↑ For more information on the organ, see the commune's information sheet
- ↑ St. Maria Magdalena (Beyenburg). In: arch INFORM .
Web links
- Entry in the Wuppertal monument list
- On the history of the monastery
Coordinates: 51 ° 15 ′ 1 ″ N , 7 ° 18 ′ 5 ″ E