St. Mary in Jerusalem

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The Cologne council chapel St. Maria in Jerusalem was built between the years 1424 and 1426. Its eventful history ended with its destruction in air raids during the Second World War .

Council Chapel of St. Mary in Jerusalem
Chapel and sacristy, floor plan

history

As is documented for the years 1329 and 1341, the Cologne council originally used the Michael's chapel above the market gate for the councilors' services. Probably because of the cramped space, the council had planned the construction of its own chapel as early as 1393/94 and requested a corresponding permit from the highest church authority. Apparently after a positive decision in 1423 the Cologne Jews were asked to leave the city within a year .

From Koelhoff and other sources

The processes for the creation of the council chapel, which are handed down in the yearbooks of the 15th century, were subsequently interpreted differently. If the research by the historians Fuchs or Ennen in the 19th century still referred to a conversion of the synagogue building, H. Vogts considered a possible new building of the council chapel in 1828, but relativized it in a subsequent treatise.

The publication by Keussen based on the Cologne shrine books , the publications by Doppelfeld and that by Anna-Dorothee von den Brincken in the 1950s and 60s, which also rejected a new building, drew the right conclusions from their research. They have now been confirmed by archaeological findings from the latest excavations in front of the town hall .

Lore
Johann Koelhoff the Younger, "Cronica van der hilliger Stat van Coellen", 1499

Johann Koelhoff , who was a student in Cologne in 1487, also referred to the development of the council chapel in his later written chronicle of the city and wrote the following comments on the events of 1426.

Dat the Joeden schole tzo Coellen gewyet was in the selven jair. In the even maende up our liever vrauwen roof nativitatis do dede the Rait von Coellen die joeden schoille wyen in Ere our liever vrauwen. In the meantime the chapel was taken to Jherusalem. Up den vurs dach heals men with groisen eren in the selver chapels homisse ind wart sung with discante. This joedenschole had stood in the joeden hant 414 jair .
(“The (former) Cologne synagogue was consecrated in this year (1426 as a church). In the month when the birth of our Lady is celebrated, the Council of Cologne consecrated the (former) synagogue in honor of our Lady the chapel was named after Jerusalem. Previously, services had been celebrated under this roof with great pomp and sung in the treble. This synagogue had been in Jewish possession for 414 years. ")

Realization of the council chapel

After the expulsion of the Jewish population from the city, which was completed in 1424 , the synagogue of the Jewish quarter , which was built between 1012 and 1040 and was renewed after pogroms in the 14th century, also known as the Jewish school , became the chapel of St. Mary, reserved for the council converted into Jerusalem and consecrated in 1426 on the feast day of the " Birth of Mary ". Apart from the daily devotions, which were now comfortably performed by the councilors in front of their "home" in the chapel, there was also a report of a mass . It was the first funeral mass held in the chapel , which took place on the occasion of the funeral of Mayor Wenemar von dem Birbaume in front of our house in the Chapel of Our Lady . The chapel remained the councilors' church until it was profaned in 1798.

Funeral celebrations of the councilors

From time immemorial, the place of the municipal representative office was the collegiate church of St. Maria im Kapitol . At special secular festivities, such as inaugurations into the highest political body, but also in the event of the death of a council member, all representatives of the city and the church came together there.

The deportation of the Jews ordered by the council during the term of office of the mayors Johann von Heymbach and Eberhard Hardefust (1423/1424) also resulted in the confiscation of their property. The building site obtained in this way had led to the construction of the council chapel, which should now also be included as a venue for special occasions and, according to the sources, was also used for these purposes for at least some time.

The 1431 funeral mass of a mayor of the same name "von dem Birbaum" is also said to have taken place in St. Mary in Jerusalem. In the same year the city established an ordinacie for the ceremonies of a funeral and the following funeral celebrations.

When the mayor Johann von Breyden, who had been in office since 1456/57, died in 1471, the new order was followed, according to which a high number of invited people was to be expected. Since the council chapel did not offer enough space for the large number of clergy and secular dignitaries, the main celebrations took place in the Capitol Church.

The funeral procession usually moved from the house of the prominent deceased to the burial site previously determined by him (mostly within the municipal parish churches) and then, because of the large number of those invited, to the church of St. Mary in the Capitol, which was open to all the Requiem took place. The funeral procession of the “gentlemen” was followed by the clergymen who sang the “Libera me Domine”. The funeral procession in black mourning clothes (which was reimbursed to them in the form of a certain amount of cloth depending on their social status) was followed by the clerical dignitaries, the relatives, the mayors, renters and councilors. The representatives of the guilds , whose top priority was their participation in the “jailing” of their masters, were represented, if they were not prevented by an “injustice” (illness). After the festivities, the councilors moved back "to our Lord's Chapel at the town hall" where they set up the rest of the twelve torches carried in the funeral procession to commemorate the deceased. How long they followed this rite, which was documented until 1471, is currently not known.

Foundations, fines and indulgences for mortgage lending

The council chapel of St. Mary in Jerusalem, which was inaugurated under the name "Sacellum B. Virginis in Jerusalem ante curiam", was initially only subject to a few structural changes. The later external changes mainly included the addition of a roof turret with a cross as a Christian symbol . There were only changes to the three windows on each of the long sides of the nave. They were given a greater measure in order to “put the changes in the room in the right light” and at the same time made it easier to follow a course of the liturgy .

The canonicus donated 100 gold guilders to “Arnold Schillinc” and “Ulrich vom Boichem” 20 gold guilders for further renovations and extensions of the chapel . In 1474 the councilors “Constantin von Lyskirchen ” and “Johann Hardenrath ” commissioned and financed the construction of a Gerkammer adjacent to the chapel . In order to meet the desire of the council to equip the chapel better, they looked for further financing possibilities. These were found in fines to be levied, such as those imposed on the heretics . Such a fine in the amount of 1400 gold guilders was collected and used to restore the chapel in 1608. For the same purpose, a fine of 200 gold guilders was issued in 1612, which was intended for the "finishing" (beautification) of the chapel in 1614 by building a gallery on marble pillars instead of the old wooden cover. The work carried out in 1616 by master “Jakob Sieglar” for 300 Reichstaler was under the direction of the councilors “Peter Terlaen” and “Peter Gudenau”. Further such income made possible the equipment, elevation and vaulting as well as other improvements of the chapel, this time under the direction of the councilors "Caspar Grefrath" and "Goddert Dunwaldt". After the completion of the restoration work, a solemn parish fair was held on September 8th in 1619 .

Surroundings of the chapel

Town hall square and surroundings around 1571

Today's town hall square, briefly referred to in the sources as the “square”, only slowly grew into a larger open space. It was built above Judengasse , where the council house was located, which for a long time was also called the long hall or the court town of the "gentlemen".

Change from residential to administrative district

Even before the expulsion of the Jews, space had been created in the north-east corner by buying and moving houses and the town hall tower (1407/14) was built on the property of the house "Zum Blasebalg". The buildings on the south corner were demolished in 1426, with the escape of a new building (only demolished in 1887) being moved further east. By 1426 at the latest, almost all of the buildings surrounding the “House of Citizens” were, with a few exceptions, in municipal ownership. This included a property on the northwest corner, which was acquired in 1542, and the building of an old Jewish property, the so-called "Haus zur Kemenate", which in 1475 became the property of the council. In its place, first a chancellery was built and then a new building built in 1513 by the councilor of the fish men’s guild Jakob Beiß, which, due to its secure vault, was used to store shrine files, later to issue council signs, to register the mayor’s court and, in 1537, to the lay judges. This building on the "Platz" was the predecessor of the new building that was built in several phases at the beginning of the 17th century and later (presumably after the conference venue of the Spanish League was moved from Frankfurt to Cologne in 1623 ) as the "Spanish Building". The houses on the square now served the administration or had become official apartments for the administrative employees and replaced many of the historical buildings with a few exceptions.

New buildings and demolitions

The Gülich House, acquired by the council in 1417 on the corner of Judengasse, which had since become the town clerk's house and was named "Aldenbrückshaus" after one of its users, was demolished in 1878. In 1874 the aldermen's shrine house on the south deck of Portalsgasse, built by the city in 1439, a brick building with a vaulted hall, which later served as the calibration office. When it was demolished, a painting of St. Christopher was uncovered behind a paneling , the creation of which was dated between the 15th and 16th centuries. A building on the corner of the square on Bürgerstrasse opposite the town hall tower was known as the "Lieutenant Colonel House". It was built on the site of the “Aiche” house, a three-storey building acquired by the council in 1425, and had a mansard roof in the middle of the 18th century . The Lieutenant Colonel House last served as a prison and was popularly referred to as the "old violin". In 1785 it was replaced by a new building by the “Stadtwerk people” M. Cremer and P. Schmitz.

Streets and gates
Gate entrance to Rathausplatz from Bürgerstraße

The square acquired its later closed character only gradually. This was mainly due to the gates built for security reasons that could close the three streets leading to the square. So it said in the council minutes of July 1611 about the building: "These graceful gates with strong dills in the middle, stank chains or trallia and above with sharp spikes".

Initially only the "Sternger" (possibly pedestrian openings) in the gates were open during the day, but it was decided from 1512 that from now on the gates would be half opened and manned by sentrymen .

The gate on Bürgerstrasse, the former northern part of Judengasse, was a round arch flanked by Corinthian columns and could be closed by an iron grille. The gate openings on Juden- und Portalsgasse were also round-arched and corresponded to the architectural style of the Spanish building. Bills from 1676 show that the sculptor "Melchior von dem Steinen" created a city coat of arms for 52 Reichstaler, which was placed above the gate of Judengasse. All three gates were removed for traffic reasons in the following 19th century between 1860 and 1880.

Building description of the chapel

The original structure was single-nave and after changes had a clear dimension of 14.50 × 9.20 meters. According to the city plan chamber , the east side facing the town hall had been designed as a windowless stepped gable from around 1618 , to which a protruding three-sided choir was attached. The sides of the chapel nave were equipped with two-part pointed arch windows (probably also since 1618). Also at this time, an ogival, wooden barrel vault was hung on the roof structure , which was divided by wooden ribs.

Inside, the floor was raised and the bima on the east wall was removed ; the Torah shrine was replaced by a stone, walled cafeteria , which later became the location for the image of the city patron. This altar was later flanked by reliquaries containing numerous bust reliquaries. The chapel walls were painted in some cartouches from the 18th century, and the floor of the small church was initially covered with white marble . The chapel was accessed from the street via a rectangular courtyard on the north side (the site of the former women's synagogue) through a door that was temporarily crowned by a blind arch . In this arch a tympanum was probably originally attached, which was dismantled after the addition of the sacristy in 1474, according to a note in the expenditure book of the Wednesday rent chamber in 1502. The costs incurred for a restoration in connection with a colored painting of the relief were noted.

  • West side of the square with chapel entrance, archive and Spanish building

  • Entrance gate and subsequent buildings in the direction of Bürgerstraße

  • Tympanum from 1867

  • View from the town hall arbor

  • Today's tympanum as a reminiscence

Tympanum

After the sacristy was built, the chapel on the west side of the still relatively small square was connected by a wall to the adjoining “archive building” from the 15th century and the later adjoining “Spanish building” from the 17th century. Now the access to the courtyard from the square was crowned with the tympanum and is clearly visible on the historical photos next to the gable and side of the sacristy.

The first copy of the relief made in the 19th century is in safekeeping at the city conservator . The relief on display today was made of sandstone like the original . It differs only slightly from the original depiction, which shows two angels holding the city's coat of arms . The once the Coat of arms of Cologne statements in brass crafted crowns are in the depot time has been lost of the tympanum, and the lateral upper wings of angels have splintering. One of the original angels' heads is in the holdings of the city curator, the second in the Schnütgen Museum .

sacristy

The sacristy of the chapel was an extension begun in 1474 and completed in the same year on its northwest side. The small building had an almost square floor plan and, apart from the side of the square, was equipped with three-part tracery windows with fish-bubble ornaments , one of which contained a glass painting depicting the adoration of the three wise men. The dimensions of the glass painting , which was preserved before the last world war, are known, they allow conclusions to be drawn about the size of the windows. The window had a height of 2.80 m and had a width of 1.80 m, so it came close to the windows of the northern cathedral nave. The ceiling of the sacristy was given a star vault and the roof was crowned with a flat pyramid cap.

Bell tower and roof

The bell tower was described as an art-historically important traditional ornament of the outer structure . The roof turret , which looked like a work designed by stonemasons , was a four-sided, wooden , late-Gothic tower placed over the top of the roof ridge . The lead- clad tower began with a closed ledge from the ridge height, which was bordered on all sides by filigree ornamentation. This roof top was followed by the lantern-like open bell cage, the four corner pillars of which ended in pinnacles above the gargoyles in the form of animal heads . Then the tapered crab-studded helmet began , which ended with an attached cross on which the Cologne coat of arms was attached as a weather vane . The sketches of the roof construction made on the occasion of the facade renovation in the 19th century document a subsequent attachment of the roof ridge, which was attached to the retained framework of the synagogue roof truss from the 14th century.

Furnishing

Triptych by Stefan Lochner, today the Marienkapelle of Cologne Cathedral

The furnishings of the chapel, which existed until the secularization , had been carefully selected and acquired by the council over the centuries. It comprised pieces, some of which were of high artistic value, but not much of which has survived.

painting
Stalls
  • In the 16th century the chapel was furnished with stalls with numerous carvings . A choir bench of the chapel found its way into the church of St. Maria im Kapitol and a cheekpiece made of oak wood with a carving of the city's coat of arms in the way that Anton Woensam made it known, found its way into the then Rhenish Museum after secularization and is now in Cologne Armory .
Bell jar
  • The bell of the council chapel was invoiced by Heinrich Lucas Dinckelmeyer on June 25, 1691, who received 65 Reichstaler for his work . It was provided with a relief of Maria immaculata , the inscription of which read Ave Maria gratia plena Dominus tecum Anno 1691 . The bell with a diameter of 48 cm was also given a foundry stamp with the inscription Johann Lucas Dinckelmayer von Niremb poured me in Cölln AO. 1680 .
organ
  • An organ from 1501 was probably already on the marble gallery in the 17th century. This was probably replaced by a new organ around 1745. A document dated February 6, 1745 suggested an order from the council, since it mentioned a contract with the organ builder Johann Georg Karnau, in which details of registers and parts of the structure were described. The organ was made of oak. Ebony and ivory were used for the keyboard . Nothing is known today about the dimensions of the organ and the whereabouts of the instrument. According to the minutes of the council of 1751, it was announced that an organist should be employed for the organ of the chapel, which was built a few years ago .
Sacred devices
Madonna sculpture
  • Madonna from the wood of the Scherpenheuveler oak. 1st half of the 17th century, oak, ebony, gold, precious stones, dimensions and whereabouts unknown. The Council received the Madonna in 1643 as a thank you from the French King Ludwig for welcoming the Queen Mother Maria de 'Medici . It was a wooden sculpture made from the wood of the Scherpenheuvel oak, which was considered miraculous. After the chapel was closed, the Madonna was sold to Ludwig Foveaux, whose daughter sold it on in 1844.

From profanation to destruction

Town hall square and council chapel from the north around 1827
The chapel on Melaten , virtually a twin of the council chapel, got the bell

After the chapel was profaned on July 15, 1799 (27th Messidor VII) during the French period in Cologne , the building served as a storage facility until 1847 and took up Wallraf's stone collection, which was added to in 1844 on the grounds of St. Cäcilien von Johann-Peter Weyer uncovered large "philosopher mosaic" from the Roman era . In 1847 the building was restored and the sacristy a year later .

During the use of the church (from 1862 to 1875) as the home of a men's choir, the east gable was renewed in 1863/64 according to plans by Vincenz Statz , but at the request of the government in ashlar and not, as planned by Raschdorff , in brick construction. The gable wall had attachments on the side buttresses , which the Cologne people mockingly called dovecotes and which were later removed.

During the use by the Old Catholic community of Cologne, between 1877 and 1907, a new west gable was made in brick masonry in 1877 and in 1889/90 the east gable received its last change according to plans by Cologne architect and builder Hermann Weyer . After the Old Catholics moved out, the church was initially again a municipal magazine. Due to a plan to set up the chapel as a committee meeting room, the interior was renovated in 1910. The intended use was abandoned for reasons of acoustics .

At the instigation of Konrad Adenauer , the Anglican St. George's Congregation was given the use of the chapel, which had been renovated at the city's expense, from 1931 until the British entered the war. The council chapel was destroyed during the last world war, with the exception of some remains that had to be salvaged.

One of these remnants of the chapel was its bell , which was later moved to the bell tower of the chapel on Melaten . The chapel there (also a St. Mary's Church) could be a twin of St. Mary in Jerusalem in its design with the eastern choir extension, the lateral window arrangement, its roof turret and its roughly equal dimensions.

literature

  • Hermann Keussen : Topography of the city of Cologne in the Middle Ages. 2 volumes. Bonn 1910. (Reprint: Droste, Düsseldorf 1986, ISBN 3-7700-7560-9 and ISBN 3-7700-7561-7 )
  • Hans Vogts , Fritz Witte: The art monuments of the city of Cologne. on behalf of the Provincial Association of the Rhine Province and the City of Cologne. Edited by Paul Clemen , Vol. 7, Section IV: The profane monuments. Schwann, Düsseldorf 1930. (Reprint: Pädagogischer Verlag Schwann, Düsseldorf 1980, ISBN 3-590-32102-4 )
  • Carl Dietmar: The Chronicle of Cologne. Chronik Verlag, Dortmund 1991, ISBN 3-611-00193-7 .
  • Arnold Stelzmann: Illustrated history of the city of Cologne. Bachem publishing house, Cologne 1958, DNB 454866879 . (11th revised edition with Robert Frohn, 1990, ISBN 3-7616-0973-6 )
  • Klaus Wolfgang Niemöller: The Hardenrathsche Musikstiftung in the Salvatorkapelle. 330 years of urban representation in the collegiate church of St. Maria in the Capitol. In: Colonia Romanica. Yearbook of the Friends of the Roman Churches Cologne eV 2009. Cologne 2010.
  • Marianne Gechter, Sven Schütte: The council chapel. In: Walter Geis, Ulrich Krings (Hrsg.): Cologne: The Gothic town hall and its historical surroundings. City tracks - monuments in Cologne. Volume 26, ISBN 3-7616-1391-1 .
  • Isabelle Kirgus: St. Mary in Jerusalem, Chapel of the City Council of Cologne. In: Colonia Ronanica. Yearbook of the Friends of Romanic Churches Cologne eV 2005.

Web links

Commons : St. Maria in Jerusalem (Cologne)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Information from the City of Cologne on a display board on Rathausplatz
  2. ↑ Vogts, Witte, p. 186. with reference to: Stein, Akten zur Verfassungs und Verwaltung I, p. 24 u. 88
  3. ↑ Vogts, Witte, p. 166, reference to Sauerland Vatican Regesten VI, No. 243
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Vogts, Witte: The art monuments of the city of Cologne. on behalf of the Provincial Association of the Rhine Province and the City of Cologne. Edited by Paul Clemen , vol. 7, section IV: The profane monuments of the city of Cologne , p. 263 ff.
  5. ^ A b c d e f Walter Geis, Ulrich Krings (ed.): Cologne: The Gothic town hall and its historical surroundings. City tracks - monuments in Cologne
  6. ^ Adam Wrede, Volume I., p. 63.
  7. ↑ Klaus Wolfgang Niemöller, with reference to: Ennen, the funeral of Cologne mayor Johann von Breide 1471 in: Annalen des Historisches Verein für den Niederrhein 1865, pp. 176–181.
  8. ↑ a b c d Isabelle Kirgus in: St. Maria in Jerusalem, Chapel of the Council of the City of Cologne. Pp. 103-114.
  9. ^ Vogts, Witte in: Das Rathaus, p. 183 ff.
  10. ↑ Hermann Keussen, Top. Volume I., p. 143 b
  11. ^ Vogts, Witte in: Der Spanische Bau, pp. 257 ff.
  12. ^ Vogts, Witte, reference to Ennen: Geschichte VS 572 f, in: Der Spanische Bau, p. 257 ff.
  13. ^ Vogts, Witte in: Der Rathausplatz, pp. 255 ff.
  14. ↑ Isabelle Kirgus, St. Maria in Jerusalem, Chapel of the Council of the City of Cologne , pp. 103-114.
  15. ^ Arnold Stelzmann, p. 252.
  16. ↑ http://www.anglicanbonncologne.de/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=15 - 25k - accessed October 12, 2010

Coordinates: 50 ° 56 ′ 16.2 "  N , 6 ° 57 ′ 30.6"  E