St. Michael (Schwäbisch Hall)

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St. Michael
View from the market square: St. Michael with the large outside staircase
Interior view: View through the central nave to the high altar

The Evangelical Parish Church of St. Michael is the main church of the entire parish of Schwäbisch Hall . As Johannes Brenz's place of work , it was the starting point for the Reformation in the imperial city after 1523 . Their gentle introduction to Hall preserved valuable furnishings from the pre-Reformation period in St. Michael too.

St. Michael is one of the most important buildings in Schwäbisch Hall. Since October 2013 the church has been the holder of the European Heritage Label (within the network of 20 sites of the Reformation in Germany ). Today it serves not only for church purposes but also as a concert hall.

location

Located on the eastern slope of the Kocher Valley and on the eastern edge of the city center, the church, together with its large staircase, forms a defining element of the cityscape. The building's dominant appearance is also a result of its relatively exposed location on a mountain spur . The structure is based on limestone cliffs covered with debris . The former city wall ran not far behind the church.

Ecclesiastical constitution and development

High altar

Before the Reformation

St. Michael first appeared on February 10, 1156, when the Würzburg Bishop Gebhard von Henneberg , in whose diocese Hall was located at the time, consecrated the new church to the Archangel Michael in honor of Christ , Mary , the Holy Cross . The initiative for the construction came from the citizens of Hall and was supported by Adalbert, abbot of the nearby Benedictine monastery Comburg , his successor Gernot and the convent in agreement with the Hohenstaufen rule. The sponsors hoped to participate in the prosperous economic development of the salt boiler town. In the text of the document, St. Michael is explicitly referred to as a branch of the Steinbach parish church, whose patronage was the Comburg.

In 1287 the Comburg incorporated the parish Hall-Steinbach, which in 1315 was one of the richest in the area with an average annual income of 200 pounds of Heller . The pastoral care of the parish was taken over by a priest (the so-called Eternal Vicar) appointed by the abbot and confirmed by the bishop, who received part of the income (140 pounds).

The increasing devotion to the Mass and Passion in the 14th century as well as the concern for the salvation of the deceased resulted in the foundation of numerous altars, associated benefices and altarist posts in St. Michael - in 1520 there were 17 altars in the church and one in the sacristy , in 1462 the clergy including Eternal Vicar 12 priests. 1502, the city council donated a Prädikatur whose main task of the ministry was, and reserved for this job and the presentation right.

architecture

Romanesque basilica (1156)

Floor plan through west tower, nave and choir ( Roman. Predecessor building and Gothic successor building)

A first church was consecrated on February 10, 1156 by the diocesan bishop Gebhard von Würzburg as a three-aisled basilica without a transept in the Romanesque style . The basilica had a flat roof and had a semicircular rectangular choir inside. The basilica had a smaller southeast tower and a larger west tower, which was separated from the nave by a kind of westwork, which served as a vestibule. The designs come from the Bauhütte in Comburg and the school in Würzburg. According to the inscription on the portal, Bertholt is the creator of the portal, probably also of the entire church. The four Romanesque basement floors of the west tower have been preserved. On the third and fourth floors of the Romanesque west tower, above the Magdalenenkapelle, there is the bell cage with five historical bells (1299–1538) and the bell in the lantern (1509). The old Romanesque main gate, the arched area of ​​which is decorated with architectural decorations, is decorated with flat ornaments. In the middle of the ornaments is a decorated cross, plus a Romanesque bundle pillar in the Romanesque tower vestibule. The Romanesque central column, which supports the apex of the cross-chord vault, shows volute capitals and warrior attachments with flat ornaments, palmettes and looped ribbons. The Romanesque tympanum shows a cross in the middle in the style of a lecture cross.

  • Romanesque components

  • tower

  • Portal in the tower vestibule

  • Capital of the central column in the tower vestibule

  • High altar 2015

  • columns

  • Ossuary

Gothic nave (1427–1456)

From 1427 the Romanesque basilica was demolished and in their place a square Gothic halls ship built. The naves of the hall church have the same width, while the round pillars are relatively thin. The Gothic hall church has four simple side doors. Further high three-part tracery windows. The bases of the pillars are octagonal, the cover plates of the mantelpiece also have an octagonal shape. Konrad von Nürnberg (1430 to 1438 in Schwäbisch Hall), who is presumably identical to Roritzer from Regensburg or Konrad Heinzelmann from Ulm, is considered to be the builder of the Gothic nave (1427–1456) . As the successor to apply Nicholas Eseler d. Ä. von Alzey (1438 to 1442 in Schwäbisch Hall) and Heinrich the Parlierer .

Planned west tower (1427)

A new Gothic west tower in place of the Romanesque tower was planned, but this was not carried out. The pieces of stone protruding from the façade indicate that the tower was not built.

Gothic vault (1456)

Cross-section through the nave and choir (Gothic successor building)

In 1456 the Gothic nave was vaulted . The year (of the vault) with the maker's mark was painted on the vault. The maker's mark (No. 26) presumably comes from Nikolaus Kiefer the Elder. It is located on the keystone on the last yoke of the south aisle by the west wall. There is a painting on plaster on the vault, which shows a master builder with calipers and rib stencil in the guild costume of the 15th century.

Gothic choir (1495–1525)

View into the Gothic choir vault

Only when the Gothic choir was built in 1495 was the old Romanesque choir demolished. According to the contemporary chroniclers Herolt and Widmann, the construction of the choir lasted from 1495 to 1525. Master Konrad , who is documented as church master as early as 1510, is considered to be the master builder .

Tower elevation (1539 and 1573)

After the choir was completed, the tower was raised. For example, Master Thomann built a half-timbered tower in place of the massive spire. The half-timbered building consisted of two octagonal floors with a slim tent roof. In 1573 this half-timbered building was removed and a massive structure was added. This stone building consists of two octagonal storeys in "Gothic Renaissance forms". According to the inscription in the tower, Jörg Burkhart was the builder. Burkhart was Stadtwerkmeister in Schwäbisch Hall and, according to Gradmann, is considered to be the “first known builder of the Renaissance in Hall”.

Furnishing

sculpture

The tympanum of the Romanesque west gate is decorated with flat ornaments. There is an ornate cross in the center of the ornaments.

In the sacred building consecrated to St. Michael , there are a total of 14 depictions of Michael, including one on the Romanesque pillar in the Romanesque tower vestibule, which depicts the early Gothic figure of Archangel Michael slaying a dragon from the 13th century, the wings of which are made of copper sheet and those originally with gold and colors were painted.

Michael as the soul weigher is located on the southeast corner pillar of the choir. This depicts the Archangel Michael in high relief , which was created around 1525. This stands on an elaborately designed console under a canopy . The angel is depicted in the type of a contemporary deacon and is holding a scale in his left hand and a sword in his right hand. On one side of the scale there is the figure of a child, which is supposed to symbolize the human soul, on the other side of the scale there is a devil trying to pull the scale down. The figure comes from Beuscher (1515/20) and is from the same workshop that created the fish fountain .

  • The tower porch with the statue of the Archangel at night

  • The statue of the Archangel Michael

Wall painting

The pillars are painted with pictures in the style of carpets from the 15th century: Holy Family (Joseph cooks the porridge) , Christ on the cross with Mary and John , Christ as the Man of Sorrows and Corpus Christi with two saints , Anthony the Hermit and St. Bishop.

Stained glass

In the center window of the choir there are remains of stained glass from the 15th and 16th centuries: The Fall of Man , Mary with Child , Flagellation of Jesus , Crowning with Thorns , Carrying the Cross , Christ on the Cross , Archangel Michael slaying the dragon and weighing souls , Archangel Michael , Mary under the cross , Luke the Evangelist , Catherine , Pope Gregory as well as a bishop and a doctor.

Altars

St. Michael has numerous medieval altars :

Other works

The interior of the church is characterized by a crucifix by Michael Erhart from Ulm, dated 1494 , which is considered a major work of late Gothic sculpture. In the choir there is also an epitaph of the town master Johann Friedrich Bonhöffer , who was a member of a family long influential in the imperial city, from which Dietrich Bonhoeffer also descends.

In the 16th century, the tusk of a mammoth was found in the Bühler Valley , which was then interpreted as the horn of a unicorn . This tusk is now in the ambulatory of St. Michael.

In the Christian sacred building there is also a Gothic font and a Gothic pulpit as well as an alabaster relief by Leonhard Kern : Resurrection of the dead according to Ezekiel and the Holy Grave (1455/56, wing around 1510) as well as the Gethsememan group on the northern outer wall of St. Michael.

St. Michael is a station on the Franconian-Swabian Way of St. James .

  • Alabaster relief by Leonhard Kern: Resurrection from the dead according to Ezekiel

  • Entombment of Christ (1455/56, wings around 1510, statues around 1520)

  • Mammoth tusk

  • pulpit

  • Gethsemane group

  • Scallop ( Pecten jacobaeus )

organ

The organ of St. Michael was built by the organ builder Friedrich Tzschöckel (Althütte-Fautspach) in 1980. Parts of the former organ from 1837, which had been built by Eberhard Friedrich Walcker (Ludwigsburg), were reused , according to the prospectus . The instrument was expanded in 2003. Today it has 63 registers on 4  manuals and a pedal .

I Hauptwerk C – g 3
1. Prefix 16 ′
2. Principal 8th'
3. Bifara 8th'
4th Wooden flute 8th'
5. Quintad 8th'
6th Great Sesqu. II 5 1 ⁄ 3  ′
7th octave 4 ′
8th. flute 4 ′
9. Quint 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
10. Super octave 2 ′
11. Mixture V 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
12. bassoon 16 ′
13. Trumpet 8th'
Tremulant
II Positive C-g 3
14th Pointed flute 8th'
15th Covered 8th'
16. Principal 4 ′
17th Reed flute 4 ′
18th Nasard 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
19th Octav 2 ′
20th Forest flute 2 ′
21st third 1 3 ⁄ 5  ′
22nd Seventh 1 1 ⁄ 7  ′
23. recorder 1'
24. Scharff V 1'
25th Dulcian 16 ′
26th clarinet 8th'
Tremulant
III Swell C – g 3
27. Bourdon 16 ′
28. Lovely principal 8th'
29 Cane-covered 8th'
30th Salicional 8th'
31. Vox coelestis 8th'
32. Fugara 4 ′
33. recorder 4 ′
34. Dolce 4 ′
35. Soave 2 ′
36. Salicet 2 ′
37. Larigot 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
38. Mixture V 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
39. Sesquialter II 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
40. Physharmonica 16 ′
41. Physharmonica 8th'
42. oboe 8th'
Tremulant
IV swell solo C-g 3
43. Viennese flute 8th'
44. Flute 4 ′
45. Plein jeu V 2 ′
46. Cornet V 8th'
47. Bombard 16 ′
48. Trumpets 8th'
49. Clairon 4 ′
Tremulant
Pedal C – f 1
50. Violon 32 ′
51. Principal bass 16 ′
52. Sub-bass 16 ′
53. octave 8th'
54. Covered bass 8th'
55. Bass zinc III 5 1 ⁄ 3  ′
56. Super octave 4 ′
57. Flute covered 4 ′
58. Night horn 2 ′
59. Rauschpfeife V 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
60. trombone 16 ′
61. Serpent 16 ′
62. Tromba 8th'
63. Clarine 4 ′
Tremulant
  • Pairing :
    • Normal coupling: II / I, III / I, III / II, IV / I, IV / II, IV / III, I / P, II / P, III / P, IV / P
    • Super octave coupling: IV / P
    • Sub-octave coupling: III / II, III / III, IV / IV

Art historical significance

According to Eugen Gradmann, the hall nave is in "the row of the Swabian-Franconian hall churches" behind the Heilig-Kreuz-Münster in Schwäbisch Gmünd and next to St. Georg in Nördlingen , but before St. Georg in Dinkelsbühl . There are also stylistic parallels. Gradmann refers to the number of free pillars - 10 in the nave and 12 in the choir. This corresponds to the total number of free pillars in the Nördlinger and Dinkelsbühler St. Georgskirche , both of which come from the same master builder school, namely the Eseler family . The chapel wreath shows similarities with the chapel wreath of the Holy Cross Minster in Schwäbisch Gmünd and St. Lorenz in Nuremberg.

literature

  • Eugen Gradmann : The art and antiquity monuments of the city and the Oberamt Schwäbisch-Hall . Paul Neff Verlag, Esslingen a. N. 1907, OCLC 31518382 , pp. 20-40 ( archive.org ). .
  • Dagmar Zimdars among other things: Handbook of German art monuments . Baden-Württemberg. Volume 1: The administrative districts of Stuttgart and Karlsruhe. Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich et al. 1993, ISBN 3-422-03024-7 , pp. 681-684.
  • Ulrike Roggenbuck-Azad: Expectations of use of church buildings. St. Dionys in Esslingen and St. Michael in Schwäbisch Hall. In: Preservation of monuments in Baden-Württemberg. 32nd volume, issue 1, 2003, ISSN  0342-0027 , pp. 92-97, (PDF; 17.3 MB) .
  • Wolfgang Deutsch among others: The Michaelskirche in Schwäbisch Hall. A guide through the medieval churches of St. Michael, St. Katharina and Urbanskirche. 2nd, improved and enlarged edition. Fink, Lindenberg 2004, ISBN 3-89870-075-5 .
  • St. Michael in Schwäbisch Hall. Ed. By the Historical Association for Württembergisch Franconia, the Evangelical Church District Schwäbisch Hall and the Hällisch-Franconian Museum Schwäbisch Hall. With contributions from Herta Beutter u. a. Photographs by Jürgen Weller. Swiridoff, Künzelsau 2006, ISBN 978-3-89929-056-1 .

Web links

Commons : Church of St. Michael (Schwäbisch Hall)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ St. Michael becomes an EU cultural heritage. Haller Tagblatt , October 23, 2013.
  2. ↑ Hans Werner Hönes: The building history. In: Historical Association for Wuerttemberg Franconia among others (Ed.): St. Michael in Schwäbisch Hall. Swiridoff, Künzelsau 2006, ISBN 3-89929-056-9 , pp. 76-115.
  3. ↑ Wirtemberg document book . Volume II, No. 354. Stuttgart 1858, p. 102 f. ( Digitized version , online edition )
  4. ^ Rainer Joß: Parish and parish church of St. Michael in Schwäbisch Hall in the late Middle Ages. In: Historical Association for Wuerttemberg Franconia among others (Hrsg.): St. Michael in Schwäbisch Hall. Swiridoff, Künzelsau 2006, ISBN 3-89929-056-9 , pp. 19–41, here p. 36.
  5. ^ Rainer Joß: Parish and parish church of St. Michael in Schwäbisch Hall in the late Middle Ages. In: Historical Association for Wuerttemberg Franconia among others (Ed.): St. Michael in Schwäbisch Hall. Swiridoff, Künzelsau 2006, ISBN 3-89929-056-9 , pp. 19-41.
  6. ↑ a b The St. Michael's Church in Schwäbisch Hall. On the website of the Baden-Württemberg State Archives .
  7. ^ Eugen Gradmann : The art and antiquity monuments of the city and the Oberamt Schwäbisch-Hall . Paul Neff Verlag, Esslingen a. N. 1907, OCLC 31518382 , pp. 21 ( archive.org ).
  8. ↑ a b c Eugen Gradmann : The art and antiquity monuments of the city and the Oberamt Schwäbisch-Hall . Paul Neff Verlag, Esslingen a. N. 1907, OCLC 31518382 , pp. 26 ( archive.org ).
  9. ↑ a b Eugen Gradmann : The art and antiquity monuments of the city and the Oberamt Schwäbisch-Hall . Paul Neff Verlag, Esslingen a. N. 1907, OCLC 31518382 , pp. 22 ( archive.org ).
  10. ^ Eugen Gradmann: The art and antiquity monuments of the city and the Oberamt Schwäbisch-Hall. 1907, pp. 22, 224 and appendix stonemason's mark .
  11. ^ Eugen Gradmann : The art and antiquity monuments of the city and the Oberamt Schwäbisch-Hall . Paul Neff Verlag, Esslingen a. N. 1907, OCLC 31518382 , pp. 13 ( archive.org ).
  12. ^ Eugen Gradmann : The art and antiquity monuments of the city and the Oberamt Schwäbisch-Hall . Paul Neff Verlag, Esslingen a. N. 1907, OCLC 31518382 , pp. 26-27 ( archive.org ).
  13. ^ Eugen Gradmann: The art and antiquity monuments of the city and the Oberamt Schwäbisch-Hall. 1907, p. 27.
  14. ^ Nina Schwarz: Church of St. Michael Schwäbisch Hall. In: reformationskirchen-wuerttemberg.de. Reformation churches in Württemberg, provided by the Evangelical Church in Württemberg , accessed on December 26, 2019.
  15. ↑ More information about the organ of St. Michael
  16. ^ Eugen Gradmann: The art and antiquity monuments of the city and the Oberamt Schwäbisch-Hall. 1907, p. 24.
  17. ^ Eugen Gradmann: The art and antiquity monuments of the city and the Oberamt Schwäbisch-Hall. 1907, p. 25.


Coordinates: 49 ° 6 ′ 45 "  N , 9 ° 44 ′ 17.7"  E