St. Marien (Zwickau)
Marienkirche.jpg)
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. Marien in Zwickau , also known regionally as "Zwickau Cathedral", is the most important city church of the Evangelical Lutheran Nicolai parish of Zwickau and the ephoral church of the superintendent of the Evangelical Lutheran church district of Zwickau.
The church was Hieronymus Dungersheim's place of activity from 1501 . In 1520/1521 Thomas Müntzer preached here and the church subsequently became Protestant.
The Marienkirche is located in the center of the city and is its most important sacred monument. The building was originally built around 1180 as a Romanesque hall church , but was converted between 1453 and 1563 into a three-aisled hall church in the late Gothic style. The church tower (87 m), which dominates the cityscape, is a Baroque bell tower from 1672, which replaced the original tower top that was damaged by lightning. Opposite the main portal are the priests' houses, which are probably the oldest surviving urban residential buildings in East Germany.
Tower dome
The baroque tower dome was created by Joachim Marquardt, master carpenter from Plauen . His brother Peter Marquard created the baroque tower structure of St. Katharinen in Hamburg . A structurally identical Baroque church tower from the Marquardt workshop is located in Riga : St. Peter's Church. The identical construction was one of the reasons for the family of the painter Tatjana Lietz, who grew up in Riga , to accept Zwickau as their future home after 1945.
restoration
From 1885 to 1891 the Marienkirche was restored in the spirit of historicism under the direction of the Leipzig building officer Oskar Mothes . The originally Gothic church was reinserted and added to the associated style elements. For example, the baroque roof turret on the roof of the central nave was replaced by a Gothic one. Another noticeable change to the exterior of the church was made by adding numerous sculptures of prophets (choir), apostles (south side) and reformers (north side) made from French limestone under the pinnacles of the buttresses.
After recent investigations found the decay of the sandstone foundations to be the cause of the inclination and the threat of the church breaking apart, renovation work began in autumn 2016. The foundations are exposed and the old foundation is replaced with reinforced concrete. During the work, the outer walls are stabilized by two large wooden supports.
External influences
On March 19, 1945, the south side of St. Mary's Church in particular was damaged in a bomb attack on the city center when an air mine exploded in the southern cathedral courtyard. The spiral staircase on the nave was destroyed, the exterior architecture on the south side was severely damaged, especially the figural decorations on the south nave, the roof skin and leaded glass windows, inside the gallery including parapets, as well as epitaphs in the south nave. The church roof was repaired and the emergency glazing was carried out as early as 1945, then from 1951 to 1956 the reconstruction of the late Gothic architecture and the stairwell, further work in the following years.
Even today, the historical structure of the Marienkirche is threatened: The carbonic Zwickau sandstone from the area around Cainsdorf , Planitz and Bockwa , visible in the outer facade , was also used in the form of workpieces for the construction of the Marienkirche. It is interspersed with many organogenic, carbonaceous residues, is very porous in places and is heavily attacked by air pollution , especially in the 20th century, partly parallel to the layers. A replacement from the old regional outcrops seems to be no longer possible with a reasonable amount of effort.
As a result of the mining in the Zwickau coal district , the Marienkirche sank by more than 3.50 meters in the direction of the main market. The effect was created by the drainage of the pits and tunnels of the hard coal mining. The red layers of rock below Zwickau sank. The same effect occurred in the entire urban area of Zwickau. The entire city center sank below the water level of the Zwickauer Mulde .
Today this effect is reversed by the flooding of the former shafts, so that the Marienkirche rises again under constant tensile and compressive force from the interior of the earth.
To secure the structure, mighty tie rods were attached between the pillars inside the church. The position of the structure is monitored by means of a laser plummet .
Art treasures
The statues of the prophets and apostles, which are interesting from an art-historical point of view, come from the renovation carried out by Oskar Mothes between 1885 and 1891 , which was associated with a “regotisation” typical of the 19th century. The executors added elements of historicizing tracery and numerous personal sculptures. The sculptures, which were brought in individually or as groups of two, were made by Saxon sculptors, the “clever and foolish virgins” at the portal of the southern tower porch by Leo Münch, a sculptor from Cologne's cathedral building . They are all made from a French oolite limestone (phenotype Savonnières ). According to Heinrich Magirius, subareas of the figure program follow a theological concept of the former Zwickau superintendent Christian Friedrich Meyer.
In addition to the figurative decoration of the outer facade, the Marienkirche also holds important art treasures inside. This includes in particular Peter Breuer's Pietà ( Vesper picture ) exhibited here since 1502 , which is considered his main work.
The Holy Sepulcher is a work by Michael Heuffner from 1507.
The six-winged convertible altar (shrine with martyrs and Madonna; Christmas cycle; Passion cycle) is a late Gothic high altar by the Nuremberg master Michael Wolgemut (made around 1479), the pulpit and baptismal font from around 1538 are by Paul Speck .
Particularly noteworthy are the ribbed vaults (around 1536 to 1565), the double helix stone, the baroque Protestant confessionals from around 1632, as well as numerous sculptures and epitaphs from different epochs, including the tomb of general Carol Bose († 1657) in the right aisle in the Roman chapel to the left of the portal is the prayer chair of his widow Rosina Bose (from 1659) and the graves of the Schneeberg silver mine owner Martin Römer († 1483) and his brother Nicol Römer († 1493).
Organs
An organ in the Marienkirche is documented for the first time in 1383 . Nikolaus Hamicke from Merseburg built a new instrument in 1480, which was replaced in 1543 by Blasius Lehmann from Bautzen and in 1612 by Joachim Zschugk from Plauen. Johann Ludwig Krebs worked at the Marienkirche from 1737 to 1744 and tried to get a new building by Gottfried Silbermann . The plans did not come to fruition for financial reasons. Carl Gottlieb Jehmlich built a new organ in 1842, which was expanded to 75 registers in 1876 by Richard Kreutzbach and in 1890/1891 by Carl Eduard Jehmlich . Hill & Sons from London supplied two high pressure registers. After a further increase in 1929/1930 to 101 parts, the organ was the largest in Saxony. The failure-prone instrument fell into disrepair after the Second World War.
Today's main organ on the gallery was built from 1966 to 1969 by the organ building company Hermann Eule Bautzen . The main driver of this project was the organist Günter Metz at the time . The instrument originally had 77 registers (5400 pipes ), divided into four manuals and pedal . It is the largest new organ built in a church during the GDR era. Its exterior design goes back to the Hanoverian architect Heinz Wolff and is reminiscent of a pigeon. In the course of a re-intonation, the neo-baroque sound was given more fundamental pitch in 1994. In 2001 Arno Voigt restored the organ and changed the layout slightly. From 2008 to 2012, a technical revision and expansion by a few voices by Christian Reinhold took place. The organ was extensively renovated and its sound overhauled, and the wind chests were rebuilt. Since then, the instrument has 82 registers and two transmissions and has the following disposition:
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- Coupling : II / I, III / I, IV / I, III / II, IV / II, IV / III, I / P, II / P, III / P, IV / P
- Playing aids : 40 fixed combinations, 4000 setter combinations, 16 individual tongue racks, crescendo roller
There is also a choir organ in the church, which was also built in 1979 by the Eule / Bautzen company. The mechanical slider chest instrument has 4 registers (Gedackt 8 ′, Reed Flute 4 ′, Principal 2 ′, Zimbel III) on a manual (C – g 3 ).
The Eterna LP 8 26 804 "Klangwelt der Orgel", the content of which is currently available on CD from Berlin Classics, was recorded in 1974 on the main organ.
Bells
The cathedral had had a bell since 1328. It was destroyed in the city fire in 1403. No more is known about the first ring, not even the number of bells.
In 1424 a large bell was cast, its weight 59 quintals (2950 kg). In 1475 the Roman bell still preserved today was cast. The Zwickau patrician Martin Römer donated it, which is why it bears this name. The Roman bell is the oldest bell in Zwickau and one of the oldest in Saxony. It survived all fires because it hung in the roof turret until 1985. The St. Osanna bell from 1482 has also been preserved. It has a diameter of 1693 mm and a weight of 56 quintals (2800 kg). Today the Osanna bell is in the Zwickau Katharinenkirche .
On July 12, 1512, the big bell, which was cast in 1424, shattered during the ringing of a thunderstorm. The reason for this is said to have been too large a clapper made by the smith Hans Ficke from Cologne. On September 27, 1513, the bell founder Oswald Hilliger, together with his sons Martin and Andreas , poured over the cracked bell and poured a second smaller one with the name Anna . He also cast the Salva bell in the same year .
- The new big bell, whose name is not known, bore the following inscription: Est in honore piae fas hoc fusumque Mariae annus bis duo ecce vigintique mille vas Deus hoc signa plebs salva sit aura benigna Sit tempestatum per me genus omne fugatum. (Poured for the glory of Mary, piously proclaiming the divine promise that up to the year two times twenty thousand God will testify to bless the thirsty host of the saved, even if my sound fades in the wind.)
- The bell with the name Anna bore the following inscription: Ad laudem gloriosissimae matris genitrieis Annae, ejusdem nomen datum est huic campanae. (In praise of Anna, the glorious mother of the divine family, in the same name I call from the tower every day.)
- The bell called Salva bore the following inscription: Vas Deus hoc signa plebs salva sit aura benigna Sit tempestatum per me genus omne fugatum. (God testifies to bless the thirsting host of the saved, even if the wind blows my sound away.)
On April 17, 1650, the tower of St. Mary's Church and its bells were destroyed by a lightning strike. Two new bells were cast in August. However, they could only move into their place in the 25 m high bell chamber above the tower shaft in August 1658. These two bells have been preserved to this day and are among the oldest bells in the city of Zwickau and all of Saxony.
In 1683 today's large Seiger bell (clock strike bell) was cast and wound. It is rigidly mounted in the second lantern and is only struck by a striking mechanism according to the time.
In 1890 another bronze bell was cast by GA Jauck in Leipzig. It weighed 1,675 kg, was 1.20 m high, 1.41 m in diameter, and was decorated with a portrait of Luther . Its inscription read: God's word and Luther's teaching will now and never more. GA Jauck poured me in the year of the Lord in 1890. This bell had to be delivered to be melted down in 1943 during the Second World War .
In 1900 GA Jauck cast another small Seiger bell weighing 600 kg and 100 cm in diameter. This had to be delivered in 1913 before the beginning of the First World War .
In 1957, Franz Schilling & Sons in Apolda cast today's third largest bell in the cathedral.
| No. | Surname | Casting year | Casting location | Mass (kg) |
Height (mm) |
Ø (mm) |
Chime | Inscription, ornament, remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1650 | Zwickau | 5,750 | 1950 | 2040 | a⁰ |
Johann Georg HzSJVB Elector Augustus Reficit Quas incinerabat Aprilis campanas. Resonent aeraque et ora deodorant. L. Barthol. Stepnero Superint. (In the year when Johann Georg succeeded Elector August , the tower was reduced to ashes in April. The iron echo could not call God. I sound for God's glory, I flowed through fire.) D. David Plitzschio et Dav. Reihero Cosa. Bernh. Schmidt Praefecto. Fabian Weissenborn. Solos Deo gloria. I flowed through fire, Georg Schessler, Hans Hendel, Simon Brock cast me in Zwickav in the year MDCL. |
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| 2 | 1650 | Zwickau | 2,700 | 1600 | 1700 | h⁰ |
Immanuel God with us. That this bell hangs here and is heard, Mr. Karl Bos gently honored a hundred thalers . Mars gives way, the moon of the eyes brings you, oh Zwickav peace, since this Glock was cast that sounds to honor God. MDCL. The bell is decorated with the Bose coat of arms. |
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| 3 | Peace bell |
1957 | Apolda | 1,606 | 1140 | 1360 | cis¹ | Graciously grant us peace. Dedicated to the Lord in black times. I was poured in 1957 by Franz Schilling Sons, Apolda. |
| 4th | Roman bell |
1475 | Zwickau | 160 | 600 | 620 | f² |
Ave Maria gratia plena, Domus tecum b. The bell is adorned with a frieze. |
| 5 | Seiger bell |
1683 | Zwickau | 1,075 | 750 | 1300 | cis¹ |
Andreas Herold aD MDCLXXXIII poured me. The bell is adorned with a double bust of the Elector and Luther as well as the coat of arms of the founder. Strike bell only. |
The cathedral has one of the oldest and most valuable bells in Saxony.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Zwickau Cathedral is crooked: Foundations are the problem in Freie Presse , March 10, 2017.
- ^ Heinrich Magirius in Fates of German Monuments in World War II. Edited by Götz Eckardt, Henschel-Verlag Berlin 1978. Volume 2, pp. 465-466.
- ↑ Angela Ehling, Heiner Siedel and others: Building sand stones in Germany . Volume 2. BGR , Hannover 2011, ISBN 978-3-510-95985-3 , pp. 166-176.
- ↑ Festschrift for the inauguration of the renewed Marienkirche in Zwickau , Zwickau 1891, p. 89. (PDF); Floor plan and statue plan (PDF)
- ↑ Barbara Bechter, Wiebke Fastenrath, Heinrich Magirius : Georg Dehio - Handbook of German Art Monuments. Saxony II. Munich / Berlin 1998, ISBN 3-422-03048-4 , p. 1081.
- ↑ Heiner Siedel: Barrois -Oolithe ( "Savonnières limestone") in Saxony - use, weathering, conservation strategies. In: Gerhard Lehrberger, Esther von Plehwe-Leisen (eds.): Barrois-Oolithe. Occurrence, use, weathering and conservation of limestones from the area around Savonnières-en-Perthois and Morley in the department of Meuse in France (= Munich Geoscientific Treatises, Series B. Volume 22). Munich 2015, ISBN 978-3-89937-197-0 , pp. 366–378.
- ↑ Felix Friedrich , Vitus Froesch: Organs in Saxony - A Guide (= 257. publication of the Society of Organ Friends ). Kamprad, Altenburg 2012, ISBN 978-3-930550-89-0 , p. 71-73 .
- ↑ St. Marien (main organ) Information on the main organ
- ↑ Information on the choir organ
literature
- Michael Kirsten: The St. Marien Cathedral in Zwickau . Schnell + Steiner, Regensburg 1998, ISBN 3-7954-1144-0 .
- Information booklet St. Marien Cathedral . Association for the preservation of the St. Marien Cathedral in Zwickau e. V. (Ed.), Zwickau 2003
- Festschrift for the inauguration of the renewed Marienkirche zu Zwickau , Zwickau 1891, (including: description of the "Introduction of the Reformation in Zwickau", "Building history of the Marienkirche", "Idea of the statue plan" with "ground plan and statue plan") (PDF)
Web links
Coordinates: 50 ° 43 ′ 4.5 ″ N , 12 ° 29 ′ 42.6 ″ E