St. Prokulus (Naturns)

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St. Proculus Church
St. Prokulus, "the rocker"

The St. Prokulus Church in Vinschgau is a small church on the eastern outskirts of Naturns , a market town in South Tyrol , about 12 km from Merano . The church is consecrated to the holy bishop Prokulus von Verona and stands in the immediate vicinity of the local cemetery and a little away from the center of the market town. It is known for the early fresco cycle, which was divided into two registers with surrounding ornamental bands.

The place of the church

The place on which the St. Prokulus Church stands is an old settlement area . In late antiquity there was a house on the site of the church. The construction method of this house, characterized by dry stone walls and wooden structure, was widespread throughout the Alpine region from the 4th to the 7th century AD.

The late antique house was destroyed by fire around 600 AD. It is possible that a 45 year old woman was killed, at least this is suggested by archaeological finds . After the fire, the house was not rebuilt and the ruins were used as a burial place.

The St. Prokulus Church itself was built around 630 to 650 AD. There are no reliable sources about the client. Only archeology provides information about the age of the church. The position of the early medieval graves to the south and east suggests an already existing church. In a grave on the south side of the church, a Germanic sax (short sword) was found as a grave goods . This sax, like various other finds, is dated to around 640 AD. Since the church already existed at this time, an age of at least 1,350 years for the original existence can be assumed.

Most of the pictures in the base register are lost.

The early medieval frescoes

View into the chancel

The oldest wall paintings of the small church are in the lower part of the interior of the church. They show angels, saints and scenes from the life of Saint Proculus, including a herd of cattle on the western wall. These paintings are to be classified as pre-Romanesque . The Gothic frescoes in the upper part of the church interior are more recent and date from the 14th century. During this time the church interior was raised. The builders at the time, the gentlemen von Annenberg, provided a picturesque design. The motifs shown above the triumphal arch in the east refer to the Mother of God Mary , God the Son and God the Father . On the south wall there is a representation of the Last Supper . The three kings are depicted on the north wall . Wall paintings from the Gothic period can also be found on the southern outer wall. The main motifs represent the creation of the world and the fall of man .

The frescoes of the St. Proculus Church have been described in numerous scientific treatises . There have been various attempts to classify and date the pre-Romanesque wall paintings in terms of art history. Some scientists, including the former state curator Helmut Stampfer , dated some of the murals as early as the 7th century AD. Other scholars are of the opinion that the oldest frescoes were created in the 8th century, but before Charlemagne's coronation on Christmas Day 800 in Rome. That is why one speaks of “pre-Carolingian” frescoes in connection with the wall paintings in the St. Proculus Church. Still other researchers, among them Stampfer's successor Leo Andergassen , suspect a later date of origin in the 9th or 10th century. It should be emphasized that these murals are the most complete cycle of early murals in Tyrol .

  • St. Prokulus, the rocker

  • The so-called cattle procession

  • Ornamental friezes

  • Angel

  • The last supper

  • Fresco on the south wall

The Gothic frescoes

In the early and high Gothic period (14th / 15th century), the sacred space was first repainted several times, then the walls of the elevated nave were repainted in a narrative and instructive manner.

The lost layer of paint

The north wall was repainted by the Romanesque period at the latest ; the seated saints with their pointing, oversized hands may no longer be pleasant. The paint layer was technically defective; the colors partly ate their way into the lower layer of paint, while the layer as such dissolved.

A single-imposed Orantenhand be seen (in addition to heads); the figures were in adoration. The first saints, however, sat (see knee folds) and directed the visitor away from him to the altar . In the northeast corner, an angel leads the row in a dance-like manner. Sitting was the bearing of a special dignity.

The early ornamental ribbons

The choir arch wall was the first of the four walls to be painted. A simple braided ribbon (see R. Kutzli, Langobardische Kunst, Stuttgart 1974) with open knots and square suns on one corner extends over the entire width; in their (eccentric) center the hand of God, the cross-bearing lamb and the spirit dove are painted. From the north as from the south there are thirteen elements each, so a total of 26 - according to the numerical letter doctrine ( number symbolism ) the number of the unpronounceable name of God YHWH (10-5-6-5). “So there are still many secret relationships in the holy books, under different number forms, which are hidden from readers because they are ignorant of the numbers. Therefore those who want to get to know the Holy Scriptures must diligently acquire this art. "

The top ribbon in the ship is a swastika - meander in parallel perspective. Its elements , together with the braided band, result in an encrypted way ( cross-sums ), the number 26, which can also be found elsewhere in painting. These two ornamental ribbons went out of use by 1200, their inner statements are no longer needed.

A detail: the "four" red upright lines, each on the right side of the individual cube, are horizontal as soon as they are interpreted as the left side of the left cube.

The early pictorial program and the blueprint

In contrast to the later pictures in today's top register, the early frescoes are individually and unframed freely on the entire surface; there is neither rigor nor teaching. (Compare the mighty grids of the Carolingian monastery churches Müstair GR and Mistail GR ).

There is a double arrangement. You entered on the south side at the west corner. From there you can see the inclined altar as if it were in the middle of the room. The longer path leads over the north wall (hands), the shorter over the south wall ("rocker").

A building plan is presumed to be based on the length of the west side (ideal plan and real building plan). The ingenious inclusion of the ornamental bands in the picture program supports this assumption of a well thought-out plan.

The "rocker".

The saint, sitting in a loop, swings; but that is an idea of ​​our time. But the lines of the “rope” deviate from the right angle, which is hardly noticeable in the entire building except for the door and window. The saint is seated and his eyes point in the opposite direction of the “rocking”: he emphasizes “both”. The “rope”, however, can also be understood as a bulge of the architecture above, and if this should be the heavenly Jerusalem of the Book of Revelation , the man could be the returning Christ , who is addressed in the Sanctus of Holy Mass : Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini “ Praised be he who comes in the name of the Lord ”. But is it also possible that it is the apostle Paul or Bishop Proculus? Christ lived in them! That is how one thought in the multiple interpretations of that time. "The multiple type of interpretation is an important part of the theological and philosophical texts of the time."

museum

museum

In 2006 the museum was opened in the immediate vicinity of the church. It mainly houses the finds that were discovered during the excavations in 1985 and 1986 under the direction of Hans Nothdurfter . The museum is divided into the thematic areas of Late Antiquity , the Middle Ages and the Plague Period in the 17th Century. The Gothic frescoes from the time of the Gothic rebuilding and renovation (entrance) of the church, which were removed during the restoration in 1986, are also shown.

Proculus Cultural Association

The Prokulus Cultural Association , which has existed since 2006, has set itself the task of making the importance of this church known by means of various measures (e.g. guided tours and lectures in the St. Prokulus Church and in the museum as well as public relations work).

literature

  • St. Prokulus in Naturns. For the 100th anniversary of the discovery of early medieval wall painting. Der Schlern , issue 12/2012 (various authors).
  • Christopph Eggenberger: The early medieval wall paintings in St. Prokulus in Naturns . In: Early Medieval Studies. Volume 8, Issue 1 (January 1967). Pp. 303-350. DOI: 10.1515 / 9783110242072.303 .
  • Victor H. Elbern: St. Prokulus in Naturns and Duke Tassilo von Baiern . In: Abhandlungen der Braunschweigische Wissenschaftlichen Gesellschaft, Volume 50, 2000, pp. 161–174. Online (freely accessible).
  • Mathias Frei: St. Prokulus in Naturns. Südtirol Bildverlag, Bozen 1966.
  • Michael Lochmann: On the building history of the St. Prokulus Church. In: St. Prokulus in Naturns, on the 100th anniversary of the discovery of early medieval wall painting. Der Schlern 12/86 (June 2012), pp. 78-103.
  • Alexandra Meier: St. Prokulus in Naturns and St. Benedikt in Mals. Seminar paper. University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. Grin 1996. E-book
  • S. Müller: Other observations in St. Prokulus Naturns (building plan, the number 26 and the meander). In: Der Schlern, issue 89/2015, pp. 94-103.
  • Hans Nothdurfter, Ursula Rupp, Waltraud Kofler: St. Prokulus in Naturns. 3rd edition, Tappeiner, Lana 2003.
  • Robert Boecker: Where the bishop rocks . In: Church newspaper for the Archdiocese of Cologne, edition 49/2017, p. 10
  • Günther Kaufmann (Ed.): St. Prokulus in Naturns (publications of the South Tyrolean Cultural Institute, Volume 10). Bozen: Athesia Verlag 2019. ISBN 978-88-6839-474-5

Web links

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

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ So also with the "Schaukler". Hajo Eickhoff: Heavenly throne and rocking chair. The story of sitting. Munich-Vienna 1993.
  2. ↑ Hrabanus Maurus, cited above. in: Franz Neiske: Europe in the early Middle Ages 500–1050. A history of culture and mentality , Darmstadt 2007, p. 74
  3. ↑ a b S. Müller: Other observations in St. Prokulus Naturns (building plan, the number 26 and the meander). In: Der Schlern , issue 89/2015, pp. 94-103.
  4. ↑ oral communication from Prof. Dr. Chr. Eggenberger, Zurich
  5. ↑ a b S. Müller: The unity of the two-one . In: St. Prokulus in Naturns. In: Der Schlern 86/2012, pp. 18-25.
  6. ↑ Franz Neiske: Europe in the early Middle Ages. A history of culture and mentality , p. 73.

Coordinates: 46 ° 39 ′ 7.7 ″  N , 11 ° 0 ′ 32.6 ″  E