St. Marien (Olten)

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Exterior view from Engelbergstrasse
Interior of the church
New pastoral room bell at the secretariat
Bell tower
Church window

The Roman Catholic parish church of St. Marien is a church building on Engelbergstrasse in Olten in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland . The church is on the right bank of the river Aare in the Bifang district.

construction

The building was built from 1952 to 1953 according to plans by the architect Hermann Baur from Basel. The building is accessed via an angled staircase; the 42-meter-high tower, in which four bells hang, stands a little apart in the manner of a campanile . The figure on the stairs represents the Mother of God , it is the work of the sculptor Paul Speck . The interior of the church is characterized by simplicity and clarity. The central location is the altar created by the sculptor Albert Schilling . The Marienkapelle is to the side of the sanctuary (left). It is arranged so that the view of the altar is unobstructed. The singing gallery rises above the entrance. The organ is arranged on both sides of the window above the gallery.

The choir mural comes from the artist Ferdinand Gehr , as well as the concrete glass windows (color choice) above the gallery and the glass windows of the Lady Chapel as well as the fine design of the canopy, which was designed by Baur himself. For many, Gehr was one of the most terrible artists there was at the time. The fresco in Olten generated a strong negative echo throughout German-speaking Switzerland. Especially after Gehr's “Scandal” in Wettingen, where he painted the choir wall, which looked so abstract that the Bishop von Streng even refused to consecrate the church until the picture had disappeared from the choir wall. It was then covered with a curtain. This was also considered in Olten. The then very provocative church painting by Gehr caused red heads and media attention and at the same time attracted many interested people to Olten. Today he is one of the most famous artists. He gave Olten one of the few publicly accessible art sights of importance.

The church is also referred to as a twin building of the All Saints Church in Basel , also built by Hermann Baur from 1948 to 1951 , also because of the very similar-looking concrete light chambers and window works. The tower is also very similar to that of the Marienkirche in Olten and, like a campanile, stands a bit apart from the main building.

Bells

The bells, which are now attached to four strongly cranked yokes with counterweight clappers (for short: GGK or Standard GGK) until mid-2018, ring in the glorious motif or: Christ has risen, i.e. the first four notes of the Easter sequence. The following dates were selected for casting the bells.

  • 1st bell, strike tone of 1 , weight 2085 kg, Marienglocke, inscription: NONS CUM PROLE PIA BENEDICAT VIRGO MARIA (Mary with the child dear, give us all your blessings). (Donated by Fräulein Josefine Müller sel. (Bell Fund), J. Schibler's heirs Olten.)
  • 2nd bell, strike tone es 1 , weight 1445 kg, Joseph bell, inscription: SANCETE JOSEF PATRONUS MORIENTIUM ORA PRO NOBIS (Saint Joseph, patron saint of the dying pray for us). (Donated by Mrs. and Fraulein Atzli Olten, Dr. J. Atzli, master builder Olten.)
  • 3rd bell, strike tone total 1 , weight 896 kg, brother claw bell, inscription: PACIFERI PATRIAE VOX PACIS MUNERA PANDO (The homeland resounds from my mouth, the brother clause's peace lore ). (Donated by Arbeitsgemeinschaft Marienkirche Olten, C. von Arx, Jos. Erne, AG. Jäggi.)
  • 4th bell, strike tone as 1 , weight 605 kg, guardian angel bell, inscription: REGEM ANGELORUM DOMINUM VENITE ADOREMUS (The Lord and King of Angels come, let us worship). (Donated by the Theodor Frey-Bader family, Wilerhof, Starrkirch-Wil .)

All bells were cast in 1952 by the H. Rüetschi foundry from Aarau. The total weight of the four bells is 5000 kg.

In 2018 the old bell clappers were replaced by new clappers. The reason was that the old clappers hit the bells too hard and there was fear that the bells might be damaged. The new clappers no longer have a counterweight. A decision was made for clapper bobbins , which not only hit softer, but also make the sound of the bells less overtone and shrill.

A similarly heavy peal, also consisting of four bells, with the same tone sequence can also be found at the All Saints Church in Basel.

Since the pastoral room was opened in 2017, a small Rüetschi bell rings on certain occasions, which can only be struck. It is a gift to the new pastoral room and was blessed by the Bishop of Basel in the St. Martinskirche Olten at the main service of the opening of the pastoral room. The bishop also received a bell.

St. Marien (Solothurn)

The new modern church of St. Marien in Solothurn is intended to be a conscious reminder of the St. Marien church in Olten . Since the architect Schötz did not want to violate the copyright and had his own architectural style , he could not take over all components and details 1: 1 from the Olten building.

literature

  • Kurt Eggenschwiler: 50 years of Marienkirche Olten 1953–2003. Olten 2003.
  • Hanns A. Brütsch, Armin Hofmann, Carmen Humbel and others: Hermann Baur 1894–1980: Architecture and planning in times of upheaval. An exhibition in the Architekturmuseum Basel from August 27 to October 30, 1994. Architekturmuseum Basel, 1994, ISBN 978-3-905065-24-4 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Brief description / Olten. In: oltentourismus.ch. Retrieved November 29, 2018 .

Coordinates: 47 ° 20 '53.1 "  N , 7 ° 54' 48.7"  E ; CH1903:  six hundred thirty-five thousand eight hundred and eighty-five  /  244244