St. Venantius (Bonn)

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The chapel with its westward entrance. The two older, rear parts are whitewashed
The first construction stage of the chapel (in the foreground on the right) on an engraving by Laurenz Janscha from 1792

The St. Venantius Chapel is located in the Röttgen district of Bonn at Reichsstraße 28 . It was consecrated in 1740 in honor of the patron saints Venantius and Hubertus and is a listed building .

history

The chapel was built by the Cologne Elector Clemens August around 1740. It was part of a group of smaller buildings and boundary stones (including crossroads and a hunter's house) that should belong to the hunting grounds of the planned Herzogsfreude Castle . The chapel was built before work on the castle began (the completion of which the elector would never see).

Elector Clemens August consecrated the Venantius Chapel in 1740:

“All believers in Christ of both sexes who, after sincere penance, repentance, confession and receiving communion, visit this chapel on the anniversary of the consecration itself or on the feast days of St. Venantius [18. May] and St. Hubert [3. November] in a pious disposition. "

- Deed of dedication signed by Elector Clemens August : "Festschrift 275 Years of St. Venantius"

Mounted hunters could take part in the service, as the chapel was initially built open on one side. This original chapel consisted of a brick-built nave with a three-sided choir , a small, attached sacristy and a baroque, onion-crowned roof turret . The entrance to the west was open.

In 1866 an extension was built: a higher two-bay nave was added; the original building was now the choir room, the roof turret was demolished. In 1937/38 the nave was extended further under the architect Johannes Stumpf ; A porch with an organ gallery made of red brick was added to the west . At the same time, a roof turret with a curved hood was put on again.

The chapel was used as the parish church of the community until 1971 ; then the newly built Church of the Resurrection (consecrated in August 1971 by Auxiliary Bishop Augustinus Frotz ) took over this function. The chapel is still used today for baptisms, weddings and funeral services.

Protection cartridge

The par force hunt was not without risk, there were frequent falls from the horse. According to the legend of Hubertus (conversion by a stag), St. Hubertus of Liège is venerated as the patron of the hunt. In addition to him, the chapel is also dedicated to St. Venantius von Camerino, whose name is derived from the Latin venari - "to hunt". The martyr , who came from Camerino , Italy and was killed around 250 AD, is supposed to protect against dangerous falls as patron. According to legend, his knees were pressed into a stone when he was tortured.

architecture

On the outside, the different colors of the chapel building are striking; the older part, facing east, consists of whitewashed bricks, the extensions are not whitewashed. Inside there is a baroque high altar made of oak. This green altar of the chapel contains images of the two patrons. The altarpiece shows St. Venantius in hunting clothes in front of a crucifixion scene ; the painting is framed by bronze busts of the Jesuit saints Ignatius and Franz Xavier from the 18th century. In the altarpiece there is a painting of St. Hubert with a stag with a cross in its antlers.

Images of saints on the walls of the choir show St. Joseph , the Mother of God Mary with child , St. John Nepomuk and St. Walburga . The porch has stained glass windows; There are two old documents here: Clemens August's deed of foundation and a work describing the life of St. Venantius.

The ceiling is a barrel vault with pointed arches . The pillars have green, red and blue capitals , which are decorated with oak leaves and acorns typical of the country. The baptismal font is on the left in front of the choir room. A Sonreck organ from 1875 stands on the gallery. The instrument has a manual , a mechanical playing and stop action mechanism and seven stops . The chapel now has white painted benches for around 100 worshipers.

Clemens August donated an ivory crucifix to the chapel , which is now in the parish church.

Hunting Order "Of Kindness"

After Clemens August shot another hunter in a hunting accident, in 1746 he founded the hunting order "Von der Gütigkeit" (also: High Noble Knightly Order of Goodness or Ordre "De la Clémence" ). The Venantius Chapel was designated as the seat of the order. Only twelve aristocrats could belong to the order, who were drawn from important families. It can be assumed that politics was also pursued through the joint practice of hunting.

See also

Web links

Commons : St. Venantius (Bonn)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Elector Clemens August: sovereign and patron of the 18th century , Augustusburg Castle Brühl (ed.), Volume 1960 by: Rheinischer Verein für Denkmalpflege und Heimatschutz, DuMont Schauberg , 1961, p. 361 (snippet)
  2. ↑ a b Publications of the Bonn City Archives , ISBN 978-3-7928-0599-2 , City Archives and City History Library, 1963, p. 47 (Snippet)
  3. ↑ List of monuments of the city of Bonn (as of March 15, 2019), p. 48, number A 3678
  4. ↑ a b c d e Paul P. Werhahn, Elector Clemens August and his hunting castles , thesis on obtaining the academic title "Academic Hunting Owner " as part of the university course Jagdwirt / in at the Institute for Wildlife Biology and Hunting Management (IWJ) , Vienna 2016
  5. ↑ Michael Grouls (editor), Chapel Sankt Venantius - Festschrift 275 years of St. Venantius , Catholic Church Community of St. Maria Magdalena and Christ Resurrection Bonn (ed.), Bonn 2015
  6. ^ Where to go in Bonn and the region: Leisure tips for the weekend , June 24, 2015, Bonner General-Anzeiger
  7. ↑ Valerie Bans, Hubertus: The patron saint of hunters and foresters , September 28, 2010, Bonner General-Anzeiger
  8. ↑ Frank Günter Zehnder, The Ideal of Beauty: Rhenish Art in Baroque and Rococo , Volume 6 of: “Der” Riss im Himmel, ISBN 978-3-7701-5009-0 , Dumont Literature and Art, 2000, p. 283 ( Snippet)
  9. ↑ Georg Bönisch, Der Sonnenfürst: Career and Crisis of Clemens August , ISBN 978-3-7743-0172-6 , Greven , 1979, p. 100 (snippet)

Coordinates: 50 ° 40 ′ 52.7 "  N , 7 ° 4 ′ 24.4"  E