St. Sisinius (Laas)

St. Sisinius from the southwest

Tony Grubhofer : St. Sisinius (1899)

inside view

St. Sisinius is a small church in the municipality of Laas in South Tyrol . It is dedicated to the Nonsberg martyr Sisinius.

history

The previous building of this church, which was first mentioned in 1290, dates from the 7th / 8th centuries. Century as the uncovered wall remains on the western inner side of today's church prove. The first church was possibly built by traveling craftsmen from the Como area , who ran a stonemason workshop in the Lasa area . The monument office assumes that the St. Stephen's Church at the Marienberg Abbey , St. Stephan (Morter) , and St. Prokulus (Naturns) are of the same origin.

Dr. Franz Tappeiner from Laas had excavations carried out within the surrounding wall in 1880 and came across an abandoned cemetery, which was already mentioned in the visitation protocol of 1638. Found early medieval graves containing bones and pottery shards that on an even older prehistoric sanctuary of the Bronze Age suggest at this point. These finds are now in the Ferdinandeum in Innsbruck . Since the area around the church was used as a military training area during the Austro-Hungarian monarchy and trenches were dug, a possible early medieval settlement can no longer be proven with certainty.

On the basis of the visitation protocol from 1638 with the indication "Sacellum S. Caesini episcopi" the patronage is no longer attributed to St. Sisinius from Nonsberg, but to an unknown bishop Caesinus. But since there is nowhere a further mention of this bishop, there will have been a corruption of Sisinus to Sanisius and Caesinius over the years. The scribe of the Chur bishop also adopted this version in 1638 for the sake of simplicity. In the Urbar of 1496, the church is " Sandt zesynnen " or " Sandt Sisinen called". In 1586 it appears as “ sanndt Cesin ” or “ S. Sesinen pühl ”. It is therefore understandable that the name varied widely over the years in dialect. At that time, however, the correct spelling was not so precise.

• Wording of the visitation protocol in German

“SACELLUM S.CAESINII EPISKOPI
It is the largest of the small chapels, it is vaulted and has an altar, the stone and the reliquary closure of which are intact. The painted altar isn't bad. The yellow flag is not very valuable. There are paintings on one side of the wall, very simple. The small choir is vaulted.
There are two boxes, in one of which there are old pictures with [...], in the other, however, two holes can be seen to pour the grain into, the grain is missing.
In the tower, rather high and square, there are two bells, on the altar a beautiful cross, on the side the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. John and at the foot of the cross St. Maria Magdalena, all new figures. Just two cloths are on the altar, a copper holy water kettle is available. (The elder bushes in the cemetery are to be torn out.)

The church was visited on November 9, 1638. Bishop John VI. Flugi from Aspermont. "

Building

It can be found a little northwest of Laas on a hill called "Sonta Sina Pichl" in an angle that is formed here by the state road and the junction to the village. It is one of the few choir tower churches to be found in Vinschgau .

The rectangular, simple nave and the square chancel correspond to the style of Irish and Anglo-Saxon missionary work in German-speaking countries.

The church is made of irregular quarry stones, faces east-west and is surrounded by an approx. 3.5 meter high wall (asylum wall), on the eastern side of which there is a Gothic pointed arched gate, the gate wing of which is missing. On the west side a passage has broken and on the south side it is badly damaged in one place. The construction of the wall with herringbone parts suggests a Romanesque origin.

The choir is in the tower. The latter is covered by a stone tower pyramid from the 11th or 12th century and is equipped with biforic windows whose round arches are separated by columns and cube capitals . At the foot of the tower, a rectangular window is inserted on the southern side and a small arched window on the western side. It was built later than the nave. The tower was originally equipped with two bells, one of which was built in 1472. It is no longer there; However, since church bells of this age were not removed during World War I , it is likely to have broken. The still existing bell was cast by Pankratz Böckle in Bozen in 1841 . It has a diameter of 63 centimeters and weighs 140 kilograms. It bears the inscription:

“WATCH AND PRAY; YOU DO NOT KNOW THE DAY OR THE HOUR WHEN THE BELL IS CALLING YOU TO THE DOM "

Four half-reliefs show the crucified, the coronation of Mary, the queen of heaven with child and St. Florian. It probably comes from the broken Bruggkirchl in Laas.

The nave has a flat ceiling, which is separated from the apse by a triumphal arch made of large granite blocks . It is provided with two arched windows that are let into the south wall. The rectangular window on the choir tower dates from the 16th century. Also in the south wall is the entrance door, which was repaired with original tools during the restoration in 1972. The corresponding door frame is made of Lasa marble . The square door, which was broken out of the western end wall at an unknown point in time, was bricked up on this occasion. Outside on the south wall a fresco with a border and coat of arms can still be seen.

Both the church and the surrounding wall were covered with plaster over a large area, but only remnants are left on the wall.

The interior of the church is kept very simple and has no sacred furnishings. Everything that was added later was removed during the restoration.

It is used once a year for a prayer service before Easter and for a prayer to St. Sisisinius (on May 29th) and is otherwise closed.

literature

• Ascended to Heaven - Alpine Romanesque Road. Information brochure of the holiday region Obervinschgau Mals / Burgeis-Schluderns-Glurns, undated
• Josef Weingartner : The art monuments of South Tyrol . Vol. II, 7th edition, Athesia, Bozen 1991, p. 846
• Gertraud Laimer Tappeiner: Churches of Laas, Eyrs, Tschengls and Tanas. Ed. Pfarre Laas, Verlag Tappeiner, Lana 2011, pp. 57–62.
• Franz Waldner, Harbert Raffeiner, Hermann Schönthaler, Isidor Schönthaler, Wilfried Stimpfl, Johann E. Thumler, Manfred Zangerle "Houses from Laas, Tschengls, Eyrs, Tanas, Alitz" Verlag Tappeiner Lana 1990 p. 57.

Web links

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

• Entry in the monument browser on the website of the South Tyrolean Monuments Office

Individual evidence

1. ↑ here two words cannot be deciphered
2. ^ The bishop's own handwritten note in the margin of the protocol

Coordinates: 46 ° 37 ′ 24.3 "  N , 10 ° 41 ′ 35"  E