St. Stephan (Villanders)
St. Stephan is the main church of the parish of Villandro in South Tyrol ( Italy ) in the Eisack valley above Klausen . The architectural style of the church has changed several times in the course of its history. The then Romanesque church was first mentioned in 1200. The lower parts of the tower go back to this time. The late Gothic church building that is preserved today dates mainly from the early 16th century, the furnishings are largely from the 19th century and in the neo-Gothic style . A comprehensive restoration took place in the early 20th century after a fire. A cultural and historical specialty is the adjoining cemetery with its wrought iron crosses facing away from the burial mounds.
history
Earlier church buildings
It is assumed that a church was built early in Villanders , in a very early settled area and near the Säben bishopric . The Romanesque church, which can be verified in the area of today's cemetery, was probably built around 1200. The current tower up to the first round arched sound windows is still part of this church. The nave was built onto it on the valley side. You come across the old foundation walls again and again when digging graves at the cemetery. The old sacristy, discovered in 1891 - it is located under today's sacristy and is not accessible - is decorated with Gothic inscriptions from that time and had access to the church on the valley side.
The church from 1520
When the church was built from 1517 to 1521, the old Romanesque tower remained. It was raised, the ogival sound windows were added and a pointed helmet was put on. He is 59.8 m high. A large excavation had to be made on the mountain side in order to be able to add the nave and choir room there. A large representation of St. Christophorus and the Madonna with the village saints Stephanus and Valentin as well as the sundial on the south deck of the church tower are hardly recognizable. These paintings are dated 1569. The inside of the church was also originally painted. The Last Supper is depicted on the wall behind today's pulpit . The current neo-Gothic decoration was painted in 1886, the design comes from Josef Schmid.
The builder of this late Gothic church was probably Benedikt Weibhauser, who was also involved in the construction of the Klausner St Andreas Church. The builders and donors of the church are named on the keystones adorned with coat of arms on the vault.
The church fire of 1900
On March 5, 1900, fire broke out at the Mesnerstadel. Due to flying sparks, the wooden roof of the church tower and, as a result, the roof of the nave caught fire. However, the vaults held up and so the interior of the church was not badly damaged. With almost exclusively donations, the congregation managed to restore the church. From this time on, only repairs were carried out.
Furnishing
High altar
The high altar is considered "a good example of the dignified neo-Gothic style of art". In 1870 the pastor Pius Schmid commissioned his nephew Josef Schmid, building officer in Innsbruck , to design a new high altar. It was made and installed in 1884. The carvings on the rear structure, which resembles a monstrance , were made by Anton Kob from Bolzano. On the base we see smaller reliefs of the Old Testament figures Abel , Moses , Melchizedech and Aaron .
Baroque panel painting
The central picture of the former high altar now hangs in the front left in the priestly choir and depicts the stoning of the church's patron saint, St. Stephanus, represents. It is one of the most beautiful panel paintings of the Tyrolean Baroque and is the work of the famous Brixen artist Franz Sebald Unterberger (1706–1776).
The two neo-Gothic side altars
In the past there were three other altars in addition to the main altar, which were dedicated to St. Nicholas, George and Dorothea. In 1903 the side altars, some of which were damaged by the church fire, were replaced. They were designed by Anton Weber in Vienna and made by the cabinet maker J. Meraner in Klausen. Franz Kobald did the carving in Schwaz. The left side altar is dedicated to the heart of Mary. Next to the main statue are Joachim and Anna, below as reliefs the Mother of God, who gives the rosary to St. Dominic and St. Theresa of Avila . On the right side altar, the side figures next to the Sacred Heart statue represent St. Aloisius and St. Barbara. The death of Joseph is depicted as a relief below.
organ
The organ was built in 1994 by Franz Zanin from Camino al Tagliamento and inaugurated on May 8, 1994. It has a mechanical action and 28 registers , divided between main work, positive and pedal .
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- Coupling : II / I, I / P, II / P (steps)
particularities
Stained glass of the squires
On the front side window six culturally and historically significant stained glass in the Renaissance style (around 1525) can be seen. In the upper row, next to the depiction of the Madonna, are the portraits of the mining patrons Daniel and Barbara. Below you can see the miner's coat of arms and next to it two very interesting images of their work.
The baptismal font from the early Renaissance
The baptismal font, almost hidden under the gallery on the right wall of the church, is an early Renaissance work. It has a triangular base and a bulbous shaft with volute bands made of white marble. The ribbed bowl above is made of red Veronese marble . The stone carving on the foot shows the coat of arms of the founder Gregor Angerer: a wild, hairy man with a curved sword and a cut off head in his left hand.
The baroque rosary Madonna
A dignified representation of Our Lady hangs on the north-west wall of the nave, surrounded by a large carved frame with pointed leaf tendrils. The 15 oil paintings show the secrets of the rosary (albeit different from the ones known today). It is a splendid high baroque work from around 1700, which used to hang in the Michael's Chapel and was probably donated by a mine owner or by the miners of the Villanders parish.
The cemetery
The cemetery is a landmark of the village due to its wrought-iron grave crosses, the uniform size of the graves, the care and location. A special feature of the complex is that the grave crosses are placed the wrong way round: the dead are buried with their heads facing west and feet facing east, but the grave cross above is turned away from the burial mound. A possible explanation could be that the old burial form (head in the west, view to the east) was still retained when the grave crosses began to be turned towards the visitors entering via Dorfgasse.
The entrance to the cemetery and the surrounding wall were built in 1924 at the suggestion of Brixen Provost Adrian Egger.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Nina Schröder: Merian Travel Guide South Tyrol . Travel-House-Media, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-8342-0025-9 , pp. 135 .
- ↑ Sepp Kußtatscher (Ed.): Villanders - Portrait of an Eisacktal community . Brixen 2001.
Web links
- Entry in the monument browser on the website of the South Tyrolean Monuments Office
Coordinates: 46 ° 37 ′ 58.8 ″ N , 11 ° 32 ′ 24.5 ″ E