St. Michael (Rheinfelden-Karsau)

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St. Michael

The Church of St. Michael in Rheinfelden -Karsau is a Roman Catholic parish church of the Beuggen-Karsau community that was built in the early 1990s. The church, consecrated to the Archangel Michael , serves the community as the successor to the Castle Church in Beuggen . The church with a square floor plan has towers of different heights on each corner. The architects of the church were Josef Laule and Eberhard Wittekind. The artist Hortense von Gelmini came up with the ideas for the design of the tower battlements, which look like inverted portals from heaven to earth, and the entrance openings, the window arrangement and guidance, as well as the panels in the chancel and the floor of the cross. The main portal of the parish church and most of the furnishings (e.g. altar and choir cross) were created by Leonhard Eder .

history

A church at the foot of the Dinkelberg is first mentioned in a document in 1218. The community of the so-called "Upper Church" has been looked after from Castle Beuggen since 1246. Since it suffered severe war damage in 1678 and could only be used temporarily, it was demolished in 1836. For this reason, the Teutonic Order Commandery made the Marienkirche in Beuggen Castle available to the community for the service. After the commander passed over to the state of Baden , the grand ducal government committed itself to maintaining the castle church as a Catholic parish church. In this function she served the communities of Karsau, Riedmatt and Beuggen until May 16, 1993. As early as the 18th century, this emergency solution gave rise to the desire for its own church in the community. Both the location of the castle church on the outermost edge of the parish area and the up to five different locations for the celebration of Holy Mass were unsatisfactory. In addition, up to 80% of the Catholics lived in Karsau, so that the center of the place offered itself as a location for the new church. At the beginning of the 20th century and at the time of National Socialism , there were also increased efforts, but these failed due to the resistance of the Nazi authorities.

It was not until the 1970s that the plan for the new building took off again. The location was approved by the development plan of the city of Rheinfelden in 1979 and at the same time proposed for the development area from 3,700 to 6,500 square meters. In the years 1980 to 1986 the necessary land was acquired by the Archdiocese of Freiburg . Planning began in 1989; At the same time, the Catholic rectory in the area around Beuggen Castle was sold to the Evangelical Church in Baden . On March 16, 1990, the ordinariate in Freiburg approved the construction of the church, the community center and the rectory.

The groundbreaking ceremony took place on May 6, 1991 and on November 16 of the same year the foundation stone was laid in a solemn blessing and with a certificate. The topping-out ceremony was held on August 7, 1992 .

Location and description

Aerial view of the St. Michael Church

The St. Michaelskirche in the municipality of Karsau, northeast of the town center of Rheinfelden, is located at 348 meters above sea level and thus significantly higher than the center. The white sacred building on the slope is reminiscent of a castle in its design. The cult of St. Michaels, which was widespread in the Middle Ages, was strongly associated with architectural motifs. For example, the apparition of the Archangel in 492 on Monte Gargano in Apulia led to the establishment of the pilgrimage site of Monte Sant'Angelo in Italy or Mont-Saint-Michel in Normandy . In 590, the Archangel Michael is said to have appeared to Pope Gregory I in the fortress of the former Hadrian's mausoleum to end the plague. Since then this building has been called "Castel Sant'Angelo" . The designs of St. Michael's Church also refer to these motifs. Both the battlements of the four towers in the square plan and their arrangement in the corners of the square plan correspond to the shape of castles . The subterranean crypt also takes on the square shape set over a corner. To the west of the church is the parish hall, which is connected to the church via a connecting building. Separated from the church building, the rectory stands northeast of the church.

Towers

St. Michael from the southeast

One of the most distinctive features of St. Michael's Church are the four towers that rise at the corners of the square floor plan. The tallest among them bears the name of the church patron Michael and serves as the bell tower and main entrance to the church. Two doors at the main portal lead into an anteroom of the church. The inwardly staggered deepening of the open gates is reminiscent of the archivolts of medieval cathedrals. At the top of the 30 meter high tower is a 2.75 meter high tower cross made of stainless steel. The design of the cross made by Leonhard Eder is based on the Knight's Cross of the Teutonic Order in order to document the tradition with the former Teutonic Order Coming Beuggen. Below the tower battlements are two square sound openings on the representative west side , which stand on their tips. Below that are two door-like openings, in front of which a small balcony protrudes from the tower facade.

The second tallest tower, dedicated to Mary , is located above the chancel and tabernacle area . It rises 21.50 meters high and measures 26 meters including the basement. The baptistery is located below the St. Gabriel tower, which faces south-west. It measures 9 meters in height or 12.50 meters with the basement. The confessional chapel is hidden beneath the 9-meter-high St. Raphael Tower, which faces northeast.

Main portal

Main portal under the Michaelsturm

The main portal at the Michaelsturm was created by Leonhard Eder . It consists of two massive, separate doors made of oak wood that open to the outside and are clad with aluminum panels. Between the doors, the figure of the patron saint Michael stands guard as a center post. The striking figure is carved out of a limestone block. The doors glow in the colors blue and gold and in the upper half represent a supernatural world made up of various surfaces, curves and lines. The relief merges into the silhouette-like landscape of the Dinkelberg. St. Michael's Church can be seen on the left door and Beuggen Castle on the right.

Interior and equipment

If you enter the interior of the church through the main portal, you come to a small anteroom, which is located below the Michaelsturm. A holy water font is incorporated into the back of the Michael figure. The square floor plan of the central area of ​​the church is entered from the top of the anteroom. This conception of the church space is based on the modern design, which as a result of the Second Vatican Council envisaged a departure from the classic nave shape. Gathered at the entrance, the worshiper fans out towards the center and is brought together again in intensity in the sanctuary. The tent-like shape of the ceiling is unusual at the Michaelskirche. This design is also borrowed from Christian symbolism. In the Revelation of John (Jn 1:14) it is said that the righteous dwell in a tent with God. The light enters the interior of the church through window slits and particularly illuminates the corners of the church. a. the baptismal font and the sanctuary are located. The room diagonals form a cross in the center.

14 cross symbols are embedded in the floor of the church aisles , which simulate the stations of the cross of Jesus Christ. The stations are made of brass, stainless steel and white marble. The inlays of the panels are artfully worked together and come from the artist Hortense von Gelmini . Each plate is a square placed on a corner, which is enclosed by a circle. The square symbolizes the cross and the circle the infinite.

The altar reredos , consisting of six square plates, which are grouped together on four supports in the sanctuary next to the cafeteria, comes from the same artist . The panels are painted on both sides and, depending on the festival circle, are turned towards the prayer hall. The blue, yellow and green side of the Christmas festival circle and the Marian festivals shows the following motifs: (1) Creation and the fall of man, the eye of God is enthroned above everything, (2) Abraham's sacrifice, (3) Annunciation, (4) Birth of Jesus and Adoration, (5) twelve year old Jesus in the temple, (6) storm on the sea. The images of the Easter festival circle are mainly in the colors green and yellow. They represent: (1) Last Supper, institution of the Eucharist, (2) Jesus before Pilate, condemnation, (3) Entombment and Descent from the Cross, (4) Jesus and the disciples of Emmaus, (5) Ascension, (6) Pentecost, Spiritual Mission, Stream of grace upon the assembled church.

The sanctuary itself is on a pedestal with three steps. The altar table consists of a light marble block made of rough limestone in which a cross is embedded. Next to it is a lectern made from the same material. The sediles close off the rear area of ​​the altar. The tabernacle with an ornate aluminum house grows out of the platform floor in the altar . A hanging cross is attached above the altar table, which, like the altar table, was designed by Leonhard Eder.

On the steps of the altar island rises a stele on which a baroque Madonna figure is placed. The figure from around 1720 comes from the Rheinfeld artist Johann Isaak Freitag (1682–1734), who is regarded as the main master of Fricktal baroque sculptures.

The underground crypt - called the Maximilian Kolbe room - is also available as a chapel for services or other religious events .

Bells and organ

The five-part bell in the Michaelsturm is composed as follows:

Surname pitch Casting year foundry
Trinity Bell fis' 1992 Bachert bell foundry , Karlsruhe
St. Michael's Bell ais' 1992 Bachert bell foundry, Karlsruhe
Holy Cross Bell cis '' 1722 Bachert bell foundry, Karlsruhe
Marienbell dis '' 1956 Bell foundry Heidelberg
Elisabeth bell fis '' 1956 Bell foundry Heidelberg

The organ integrated in the gallery was built in the 1960s by the Franz Winterhalter workshop. The instrument has a manual , a pedal and eight registers . Before it was put into operation in the St. Michael Church, it was restored by Peter Vier .

literature

  • Hermann Brommer : Catholic Parish Church of St. Michael Rheinfelden - Beuggen-Karsau . Schnell & Steiner publishing house, Regensburg 1995, DNB 943950953 . ( Little art guide 2179).
  • Beuggen-Karsau Catholic community center St. Michael. New building. In: Das Münster: Journal for Christian Art and Art History. 47, 1993, pp. 105-107.
  • Bernhard Bischoff: Beuggen's building history as a contribution to the architecture of the Teutonic Order in the Altreich. In: Hermann Brommer (Ed.): The German Order and the Ballei Alsace-Burgundy. Publications of the Alemannic Institute Freiburg i.Br. No. 63. Konkordia Verlag, Bühl / Baden 1996, ISBN 3-7826-1263-9 , pp. 313-330.

Web links

Commons : St. Michael (Rheinfelden-Karsau)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Brommer: Catholic parish church St. Michael-Beuggen. P. 30.
  2. ↑ a b c Brommer: Catholic parish church St. Michael-Beuggen. P. 12.
  3. ^ Brommer: Catholic parish church St. Michael-Beuggen. P. 18.
  4. ^ Brommer: Catholic parish church St. Michael-Beuggen. Pp. 19-20.
  5. ^ Brommer: Catholic parish church St. Michael-Beuggen. P. 23.
  6. ^ Brommer: Catholic parish church St. Michael-Beuggen. P. 26.
  7. ↑ a b Brommer: Catholic parish church St. Michael-Beuggen. P. 29.
  8. ↑ a b Brommer: Catholic parish church St. Michael-Beuggen. P. 7.

Coordinates: 47 ° 35 ′ 6.6 "  N , 7 ° 48 ′ 24.2"  E