St. Nikolaus (Comburg)

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Romanesque style tower .

The church of St. Nikolaus and St. Maria (also the collegiate church of St. Nikolaus ) on the Comburg is a cultural monument of special rank.

description

Previous building in Romanesque style

The Benedictine monastery was founded in 1078; The patron saint was St. Nicholas , additional patronage was Mary, the Holy Cross and all saints. The first monastery church was consecrated on December 21, 1088: a double-choir, three-aisled pillar basilica with an eastern four- pillar crypt, western transept and western tower. Only this west tower has been preserved almost intact, although it was later added two storeys. Their impressive total length was around 65 meters. This foundation building could also have had eastern choir flank towers. The Romanesque hexagonal chapel (Erhardskapelle) was built around 1200, and around 1220 it should have been newly vaulted inside. In 1480 and 1520 the side aisles of the monastery church were given a vault. In 1659 the west choir was given up and it was rebuilt. In 1706, in the course of the demolition work for the new baroque building, the crypt under the east choir was filled in, the remains of which were exposed again in the 1960s. The double choir system is modeled on the churches in Murrhardt and Ellwangen as well as in St. Burkard zu Würzburg.

  • Towers

  • Capitals

Works of art

  • Antependium (around 1125/1130)

  • Wheel chandelier (around 1135/1150)

  • Lectern (today in the chapter house)

Altars

  • Altar to Saints Peter and Paul (in the north tower, repealed)
  • Altar to St. Marien, showed a late Gothic altar shrine (in the east choir, repealed)
  • Altar of St. Nikolaus (in the west choir, canceled)
  • Altar of St. Benedict and Sebastian (western side choir, repealed)
  • Altar of St. Gregor (repealed)
  • Altar of St. Ursula with Katharina and Barbara (canceled)
  • Altar of St. Anna with Elisabeth (in the east tower, lifted)
  • Altar of St. Stephan with Lorenz (canceled)
  • Altar to the Sorrowful Mother (repealed)
  • Altar to the Holy Cross (repealed)
  • Altar to the 14 helpers in need (canceled)
  • Altar of St. Thomas and St. Elisabeth (in the crypt, filled in 1705)
  • Eltershofenscher Altar (Komburg) .

Today existing successor building in the Baroque style

From 1706 to 1715 the Romanesque basilica was demolished and a baroque cantilevered hall was built based on designs by Vorarlberg's Joseph Greissing , who was court architect in Würzburg at the time. The three towers from the Romanesque period were cleverly integrated into the new building by Greissing, but were originally intended to be converted to Baroque style and significantly increased on the outside. Since this elevation was ultimately omitted, the towers are now in a proportional disproportionate to the baroque church building. Inside, the impression of the room is essentially determined by its abundance of light and its harmoniously balanced proportions. The style forms that were already recognizable on the outside and were extremely conservative for the 18th century also determine the interior, which is reminiscent of the Renaissance. The architect deliberately stages the age and origins of the monastery for the conservative canons who came from the knightly class. So it is a matter of confidently proud tradition and not ignorance of modern architectural developments at the time. Already recognizable from afar, the unbroken Catholic tradition is to be shown in a predominantly Protestant environment. This well thought-out concept also includes the inclusion of prominent Romanesque furnishings such as the antependium and wheel chandelier, both of which have central spaces in the new building. A selection of grave monuments from the previous building has also been taken over, which also set deliberate historical accents. At the same time - and this is not a contradiction in terms - the Würzburg sculptor Balthasar Esterbauer created an altarpiece based on the most modern Roman models at the time, with which the canons could demonstrate their good taste and their education at the height of the times.

Works of art

  • Pulpit In August 1713, Balthasar Esterbauer delivered a model, which was probably mainly used by his workshop on the Comburg. The posture and an attribute of the risen Christ, who crowns the sound cover, is extraordinary, because the wooden sculpture is evidently in the tradition of Greco-Roman antiquity. Hurling a bundle of lightning, like Zeus or Jupiter, his anger is directed against the personified seven deadly sins arranged below him. This line of tradition, inspired by antiquity, also includes the atlases designed as almost naked youths, which carry the pulpit decorated in relief. Angels carry the sound cover, which is stylistically rococo, and another extremely elegant messenger from heaven with a trumpet carries God's word out into the world in a meaningful way.

Altars

  • High altar: This was created by Balthasar Esterbauer (1712/1713) according to Roman fashion and deliberately shows five almost completely gilded statues in the glaring backlight of the white glazed east window: Maria Immaculata in the center, flanked by the main patron of the collegiate church St. Nikolaus and, out of tradition, St. Benedict as patron of the former Benedictine abbey. In addition, John the Baptist as the patron saint of the then Prince-Bishop Johann Philipp II von Greiffenclau and St. Joseph with the baby Jesus. Joseph, in turn, stands for the Comburg tradition; the chapel next to the chapter house is also dedicated to him. The most holy trinity outshines the scene from the clouds in the canopy.
  • Altar of the Sorrowful Mary: The north side altar was consecrated in 1717. The figures show two women. One with a jar of ointment, the other with a book with a grape on it: Maria Magadalena and her “Old Testament archetype” Abigail . The oil painting - painted by Oswald Onghers - shows a Pietà .
  • Peter and Paul Altar: The southern side altar was consecrated in 1717. The figures show the Saints Peter and Paul. The oil painting - painted by Oswald Onghers - shows Christ at the pillar of torture and was donated to Wacker in 1662. At the Tabernacle is the coat of arms of the Dean of Erthal.
  • Altar of St. Anne: The altar is located in the southern arm of the cross and was consecrated in 1716. The essay was created by Thomas Gesele in 1767. This consists of a wall canopy with columns and cranked cornices and flower vases in the Rococo style. In the center, St. Anne floats up to heaven, carried by angels. It is flanked by the figures of St. Catherine of Alexandria and Ursula.
  • Altar of St. John Nepomuk from 1766 in the north arm of the cross. In the middle you can see John from Pomuk - namesake of the altar founder - floating up to God and carried by angels. It is flanked by the figures of Saint Barbara and Thekla. The coats of arms of the canon Joseph Carl Ferdinand Franz von Sickingen are on the bent beams.

  • Choir with high altar

  • High altar, canopy with "Trinity"

  • Peter and Paul Altar

  • Altar of the Sorrowful Mary

  • Anne Altar

Chapels

Joseph's Chapel (1470 and 1674)

The chapel (then still St. Jodokus) was prepared as a burial chapel in 1470 by the donor Friedrich V. von Limpurg (died 1474) in memory of his wife Susanna, a born Countess von Thierstein (died 1460). Noteworthy is a Gothic triumphal arch that divides the chapel in the middle. In front of the altar, under the floor, the donor couple is buried, their tombs can be seen on both sides of the entrance on the west wall. Count Friedrich appears dressed in Burgundian court costume, Countess Susanna wears a bonnet and a precious cloak with elaborate folds - both of them immersed in eternal adoration. Because of their high artistic quality, the figures are attributed to the circle of the Ulm sculptor Hans Multscher.

In 1674 the monastery dean Johann Heinrich von Ostein had a new high altar built at his own expense and consecrated the chapel to St. Joseph. Correspondingly, the altarpiece made in the same year by the Würzburg court painter Oswald Onghers , who came from Flanders, shows St. Joseph with the baby Jesus. Two side altars are dedicated to Saint Joachim and Saint Helena. There is also a picture painted on wood from the 17th century. It shows the crucifixion with Maria, Johannes and Maria Magdalena, as well as Laurentius and Katharina as well as an inscription with ascetic content.

  • Chapel of St. Joseph

Lady Chapel (13th century), abandoned in 1830

Remains of the Romanesque Lady Chapel are on the parapet between the vestibule and the chapel. So four small Romanesque capitals and a sandstone base from the 13th century. According to Eugen Gradmann, these probably come from the late Romanesque Marienkapelle, which was given a vault around the middle of the 13th century. The capitals have the basic shape of a dice knob and are adorned with tendril ornaments, in them figures such as birds, lions, dragons, people. The base has corner bosses designed as the heads of animals and people. In 1830 the chapel was demolished.

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. 128 ( archive.org ).
  • State Palaces and Gardens of Baden-Württemberg and Klaus Gereon Beuckers. With the collaboration of Sören Groß (ed.): The Comburg. New research, Regensburg 2019, ISBN 978-3-7954-3442-7 .
  • Elisabeth Schraut (ed.): The Comburg. From the Middle Ages to the 20th century (= catalogs of the Hällisch-Fränkisches Museum Schwäbisch Hall. Vol. 3). Exhibition in the Hällisch-Fränkisches Museum and on the Comburg, Neue Dekanei. July 13 to November 5, 1989. Thorbecke, Sigmaringen 1989, ISBN 3-7995-3303-6 .

Web links

Commons : Klosterkirche Comburg  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Alena Leinen: On the founding building of the Großcomburg monastery church . In: State Palaces and Gardens of Baden-Württemberg and Klaus Gereon Beuckers. With the collaboration of Sören Groß (ed.): The Comburg. New research . Regensburg 2019, ISBN 978-3-7954-3442-7 , pp. 95–107, here 95–96 and 100 .
  2. ↑ Cornelius Hopp: On the dating of the hexagonal chapel on the Großcomburg taking into account the architecture of the 12th and 13th centuries . In: State Palaces and Gardens of Baden-Württemberg and Klaus Gereon Beuckers. With the collaboration of Sören Groß (ed.): The Comburg. New research . Regensburg 2019, ISBN 978-3-7954-3442-7 , pp. 125-144 .
  3. ^ 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.  129-130 ( archive.org ).
  4. ↑ 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.  155 ( archive.org ).
  5. ^ 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.  157 ( archive.org ).
  6. ^ 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.  133-138 ( archive.org ).
  7. ↑ Vivien Bienert: The Comburger Antependium. Remarks on its art-historical position as a supposed "main work of the South German goldsmith's art of the 12th century" . In: State Palaces and Gardens of Baden-Württemberg and Klaus Gereon Beuckers. With the collaboration of Sören Groß (ed.): The Comburg. New research . Regensburg 2019, ISBN 978-3-7954-3442-7 , pp. 185-207 .
  8. ^ 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.  141-148 ( archive.org ).
  9. ↑ Ursula Prinz: Civitas Dei. To the Hertwig wheel chandelier on the Großcomburg and its figure program . In: State Palaces and Gardens of Baden-Württemberg and Klaus Gereon Beuckers. With the collaboration of Sören Groß (ed.): The Comburg. New research . Regensburg 2019, ISBN 978-3-7954-3442-7 , pp. 217-235 .
  10. ^ 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.  130 ( archive.org ).
  11. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j 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.  140 ( archive.org ).
  12. ↑ Johannes Mack: Clear space and appreciation building. The baroque collegiate church of St. Nikolaus and St. Maria by the Vorarlberg master builder Joseph Greissing . In: State Palaces and Gardens of Baden-Württemberg and Klaus Gereon Beuckers. With the collaboration of Sören Groß (ed.): The Comburg. New research . Regensburg 2019, ISBN 978-3-7954-3442-7 , pp. 341-367 .
  13. ^ 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.  141 ( archive.org ).
  14. ↑ Johannes Zahlten: The baroque furnishings of the "Newen church building in the noble knight monastery Comburg" . In: Elisabeth Schraut (Ed.): The Comburg. From the Middle Ages to the 20th century (=  catalogs of the Hällisch-Fränkisches Museum Schwäbisch Hall . Volume 3 ). Sigmaringen 1989, ISBN 3-7995-3303-6 , p. 36–56, here 47–48 .
  15. ↑ Johannes Mack: Clear space and appreciation building. The baroque collegiate church of St. Nikolaus and St. Maria by the Vorarlberg master builder Joseph Greissing. Regarding the baroque interior: Build traditionally - furnish according to the latest Roman fashion . In: State Palaces and Gardens of Baden-Württemberg and Klaus Gereon Beuckers. With the collaboration of Sören Groß (ed.): The Comburg. New research . Regensburg 2019, ISBN 978-3-7954-3442-7 , pp. 341-367, here 358-361 .
  16. ↑ a b c d 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.  138 ( archive.org ).
  17. ↑ Johannes Zahlten: The baroque furnishings of the "Newen church building in the noble knight monastery Comburg" . In: Elisabeth Schraut (Ed.): The Comburg. From the Middle Ages to the 20th century (=  catalogs of the Hällisch-Fränkisches Museum Schwäbisch Hall . Volume 3 ). Sigmaringen 1989, ISBN 3-7995-3303-6 , p. 36–56, here 50–51 .
  18. ↑ Johannes Zahlten: The tombs of the Großcomburg. Heraldic stones, epitaphs and family burials of an imaginary grave museum . In: Elisabeth Schraut (Ed.): The Comburg. From the Middle Ages to the 20th century (=  catalogs of the Hällisch-Fränkisches Museum Schwäbisch Hall . Volume 3 ). Sigmaringen 1989, ISBN 3-7995-3303-6 , p. 57–80, here 75 .
  19. ^ Gradmann: The art and antiquity monuments of the city and the Oberamt Schwäbisch-Hall. 1907, pp. 149, 155-156.
  20. ^ Aristocratic knight monastery St. Nikolaus Komburg in the Baden-Württemberg State Archives.

Coordinates: 49 ° 6 ′ 0 ″  N , 9 ° 45 ′ 0 ″  E