St. Martin (Amberg)

St. Martin's Basilica in Amberg

Interior with altar of St. Martin's Church

Stained glass window in the south facade of the nave

St. Martin's Basilica from above

The St. Martin Basilica is a Catholic parish church in Amberg in the Bavarian diocese of Regensburg .

Building history

The church on the south side of the market square was built in 1421 by the citizens of Amberg in the late Gothic style. The design is a three-aisled hall church with a common roof. The church is 72 meters long and 27.8 meters wide. The publicly accessible tower is almost 92 meters high. A wreath of 19 chapels surrounds the church, which are closed at the top by a shared gallery. In terms of design, St. Martin became a model for many churches in the Saxon mining area.

A few decades after its completion, Protestant services were held in the course of the Reformation from 1544 . On the orders of Elector Ottheinrich of the Palatinate , the Calvinists carried out a Reformation iconoclasm in 1557 , they removed the side altars and sculptures. Later the church was completely cleared out and the frescoes were destroyed.

After the Counter-Reformation , the church received a new baroque high altar with a painting by Gaspar de Crayer , a student of Peter Paul Rubens . After damage from bombardment in 1703 during the War of the Spanish Succession - the old glass windows were also broken - the church was given valuable baroque furnishings. In 1720 the tower was given its current shape.

Today's glass windows and the neo-Gothic furnishings come from a restoration at the end of the 19th century. A comprehensive renovation has been underway since 2003; that of the roof structure and the roof was successfully completed in 2009, that of the foundation and tower in 2017. That of the facade, the windows and the interior is still pending.

Basilica minor

The papal coat of arms (Joh. P. II) with the day of the elevation of the basilica above the main portal

Because of its importance for the region, Pope John Paul II elevated the parish church of St. Martin on September 27, 1980 with the apostolic letter Inter templa to a minor basilica .

Roof truss

The roof structure is unique for its time. With beams and rafters, each almost 28 meters long, a cantilevered roof structure made of all-wood beams was built, which extends from outer wall to outer wall.

organ

The instrument was built in 1968 as Opus 4993 by the EF Walcker company in Ludwigsburg. It has mechanical performance and electrical stop action . In 1973 it was expanded to include a bomb bard mechanism with an electric action mechanism in front of the main case, playable from the first manual.

I Hauptwerk C – g 3 1. Quintad 16 ′ 2. Principal 8th' 3. Dumped 8th' 4th Gemshorn 8th' 5. Octave 4 ′ 6th Hollow flute 4 ′ 7th Fifth 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′ 8th. Super octave 2 ′ 9. Cornet v 8th' 10. Mixture VI – VIII 2 ' 11. Zimbel III 1 ⁄ 4 ′ 12. Trumpet 16 ′ 13. Trumpet 8th'

II Swell C – g 3 14th Bourdon 16 ′ 15th Principal 8th' 16. Coupling flute 8th' 17th Willow pipe 8th' 18th Octave 4 ′ 19th Smalled up 4 ′ 20th Nasat 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′ 21st Flageolet 2 ′ 22nd third 1 3 ⁄ 5  ′ 23. Oktavlein 1' 24. Mixture IV-VI 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′ 25th bassoon 16 ′ 26th Vox Humana 8th' Tremulant

III Kronwerk C – g 3 27. Covered 8th' 28. Pointed Gamba 8th' 29 Principal 4 ′ 30th Reed flute 4 ′ 31. Octave 2 ′ 32. Sesquialter II 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′ 33. Fifth 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′ 34. Sharp cymbal v 1' 35. oboe 8th' 36. Clairon 4 ′ Tremulant

Pedal C – f 1 37. Principal bass 16 ′ 38. Sub-bass 16 ′ 39. Soft bass 16 ′ 40. Fifth bass 10 2 ⁄ 3  ′ 41. Octave bass 8th' 42. Pointed flute 8th' 43. Chorale bass 4 ′ 44. Tube bare 4 ′ 45. Mixture V 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′ 46. Bombard 32 ′ 47. trombone 16 ′ 48. Trumpet 8th' 49. Rohrschalmei 4 ′ 50. Singing cornet 2 ′

I Bombardenwerk C – g 3 51. Trumpet 16 ′ 52. Trumpet 8th' 53. Trumpet 4 ′ 54. cornet 8th' 55. cornet 4 ′ 56. cornet 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′ 57. cornet 2 ′ 58. cornet 1 3 ⁄ 5  ′ 59. cornet 1' 60. cornet 2 ⁄ 3 ′ 61. cornet 1 ⁄ 2 ′

Bells

The bells in the basilica are very valuable: nine bells from the 14th to the 19th century hang across two bell chambers.

The main bell hangs in the lower bell. The Elferin , cast on July 24, 1318, is the oldest bell on St. Martin. It forms the basic bell for the Sunday bells; the ringing of the big Unsres-Herrn-Glock is reserved for high feasts. The little locking bell has cracked. It rang before the city gates closed every evening.

In the upper belfry there are two bells in their own belfry: the fire bell and the poor sinners bell . The fire bell could be struck with hammers on the outside. The last tower keeper worked at St. Martin until 1921, one of his tasks being to strike the fire bell in the event of fire or enemy threats. The smaller bell for poor sinners was rung during executions .

No.	Surname	Casting year	Foundry, casting location	Diameter (mm)	Mass (kg, approx.)	Percussive ( HT - 1 / 16 )
1	Our Lord Glock	1537	Hans III . Bell founder, Nuremberg	1,760	3,500	h 0 −2
2	Elferin	1318	anonymous (Nuremberg School)	1,398	2,200	dis 1 +6
3	Twelve (Martinus)	1515	anonymous (Nuremberg School)	1,162	900	f sharp 1 +4
4th	Vespers bell	1399	Hans Bayr, Regensburg	1,148	900	g sharp 1 +6
5	Death bell	1405	anonymous	890	500	c 2 −5
6th	Measuring bell (Martinus)	1521	Hans Stain, Amberg	660	200	f sharp 2 −5
7th	Locking bell	unknown	anonymous	515	100	jumped
8th	Fire bell	1519	Hans Stain, Amberg	1.010	800	g 1 +2
9	Poor sinners bell	1897	The Klaus brothers, Heidingsfeld	755	290	c 2 +4

Individual evidence

1. ↑ https://www.onetz.de/amberg-in-der-oberpfalz/vermischtes/gut-geplanter-bau-bringt-lob-statt-spott-fuer-turmsanierung-jesu-rat-fuer-st-martin-d1797982 .html
2. ^ Ioannes Paulus II .: Litt. Apost. Inter templa , in: AAS 72 (1980), n.6 , p. 802s.
3. ↑ www.amberg-st-martin.de ( Memento of the original from October 6, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Amberger Zeitung, September 23, 1980 (Catholic Parish Office St. Martin). Accessed March 19, 2011. 
4. ↑ Video recording of the ringing of bells 6 to 1 (YouTube, January 5, 2011, 10:23 pm)
5. ↑ www.oberpfalznetz.de - Consolation for the gallows bird .

Web links

Commons : St. Martin  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Page of the parish

Coordinates: 49 ° 26 ′ 41.8 ″  N , 11 ° 51 ′ 27.9 ″  E