St. Verena (Stäfa)

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Church of St. Verena

The Church of St. Verena is the Roman Catholic parish church of Stäfa on the upper right bank of Lake Zurich in the Meilen district in the canton of Zurich . Today the church is best known for the stained glass windows by Dan Rubinstein.

history

History and naming

The shores of Lake Zurich in Stäfa have been settled since the Neolithic , as excavations from 1937 show. The name can Stäfa anchorage mean or buildings , which in Nordic with Staff Church is playing. The first church in Stäfa could be the successor to a Celtic sanctuary. From the year 970 a Verena church is occupied in Stäfa . In 972 Otto the Great Stäfa gave the Einsiedeln monastery as a gift . The lower part of the church tower, which was built above the choir of the former church, dates from the Romanesque period. In 1491 a Gothic church was built, of which only the remains of a pointed arch vault in the tower have been preserved. From then until 1836 the tower had a cheese bite roof . The upper part of the church tower was replaced in 1836–1837 by the current shape including gallery. After the Reformation in Zurich from 1523, Catholic worship was banned in Zurich's subject area, which is why the church was henceforth used for Reformed worship.

The name of today's Catholic Church St. Verena goes back to the medieval church, as does the coat of arms of the political community of Stäfa, which has also shown St. Verena since 1526.

Development and construction history

When freedom of religion and freedom of residence was enshrined in the constitution of the Swiss federal state in the 19th century, the first Catholics again moved to the area between Meilen and Rapperswil in the course of industrialization . That is why the domestic mission in Männedorf set up the first Catholic mission station in the region. On November 11, 1864, the first Catholic mass in the area since the Reformation was celebrated there. In 1881, Männedorf established an outstation in Stäfa. In 1938 Stäfa was elevated to its own Catholic mission station. The first church services took place in the Spittel in the harmonium factory from this year . The mission station was headed by Prelate Franz Höfliger , who knew how to beg the money for his own church under the difficult conditions resulting from the Second World War. In 1939 he founded a church building association for this purpose. On July 18, 1946, the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the St. Verena Church took place, which was built according to plans by Victor Schäfer, Rapperswil. The foundation stone was laid on November 17 , 1948 and the church was consecrated by the Bishop of Chur , Christian Caminada . On July 29, 1949, the former mission station was raised to an independent parish. In the years 1997–1998 today's parish center was built. In 1999–2003, the Zurich artist Dan Rubinstein created 13 new windows that were designed on the subject of mercy and love - law and justice . In 2005 the church received its new organ.

The parish of St. Verena with its 3,441 members (as of 2017) is one of the smaller Catholic parishes in the canton of Zurich.

Building description

Church tower and exterior

The steeple

The St. Verena Church is located between Kirchenbühlstrasse and Kreuzstrasse on sloping terrain. The church is based on the topography of the building site, which is why the choir of the church faces south-east. It is a single-nave church that is 30 meters long and 13 meters wide and offers 350 seats. The 25 meter high steeple is built to the north of the church. The church portal on the northwest side leads into the interior of the church.

The church tower houses a five-part bell. The first bell dates from 1947. It was consecrated on Easter Monday and wound up in the tower. The other four bells were blessed on March 19, 1962 by Vicar General Alfred Teobaldi and then raised in the tower.

number Weight volume dedication inscription
1 2520 kg c Christ You Lord, are kind and gentle, rich in mercy for all who call to you.
2 1490 kg it St. Verena Saint Verena, Patroness of Stäfa, pray for us.
3 782 kg G Mother of God Holy Mary, help of Christians, pray for us.
4th 460 kg b Holy Brother Klaus Brother Klaus, protect the people and the fatherland with a strong hand.
5 300 kg c Guardian Angel Glory to God, peace to people.

Interior and artistic equipment

View to the organ gallery

The equipment of the church was added in stages. At the time of the consecration of the church in 1948, the most defining element was the Way of the Cross , that of the Stäfner painter Viktor Wildhaber, which was attached using a fresco technique . The crucifixion group followed in 1956, followed by the Marien Altar a year later. In 1998 the statue of Joseph was consecrated and between 1999 and 2003 the 13 glass windows by Dan Rubinstein were installed. With the consecration of the new organ in 2005, the design of the church came to a preliminary conclusion.

Stained glass window

The Zurich artist Dan Rubinstein put the 13 stained glass windows under the theme: Mercy and Love - Law and Justice . The windows on the lake side take up the subject of law and justice in the middle third of the picture. With one exception, the windows are in three parts.

  • Abraham : The picture cycle begins with the first glass window on the mountain side that bears the name Abraham: Abraham and Lot move away from their homeland (below). Abraham receives the promise of the offspring (middle and above) and Sarah laughs at this (above).
  • Sodom and Gomorrah / Isaac : The second window below shows the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah . The two upper segments show the sacrifice of Isaac (in the middle of the path, above the actual sacrifice).
  • Jacob's ladder : God meets Jacob in a dream. At the bottom there is the sleeping Jacob, the Jacob's ladder is shown across all three image segments . The symbols of the Twelve Tribes of Israel can also be found on this window , with Ephraim and Manasseh being shown in a separate window.
  • The Josefskantel : This window tells the story of Joseph up to his reconciliation with his family. The Star of David can be seen in the upper part of the Joseph's coat .
  • Judah and Tamar : The fifth window shows the blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh (the sons of Joseph) by Jacob (above). In the middle is the story of Judah and Tamar . The lower window segment shows Naomi , who is accompanied by Ruth to her home, while Orpa stays behind.
  • Moses in the basket : the Nile can be seen through the three window segments . Moses as a baby is entrusted to the Nile below, the Pharaoh's daughter can be seen above, who will find the basket.
  • Encounter with God : During the trek through the desert, the sullen people receive water from Moses hitting the rock. God shows himself twice on this window: As a life-giving force in the water (below), in the upper part to Moses through the gentle touch.
  • The golden calf : the only two-part window in the picture cycle depicts the destruction of the Ten Commandments of God - and thus the relationship with God - through the worship of the golden calf .
  • Moses and the spies : This window shows Moses at the top, who comes down for the second time from the mountain with the Ten Commandments, while the people are blinded by his face. In the lower third, the scouts return from the promised land and bring grapes with them as a sign of the land's fertility.
  • Ruth and David : This window on the mountain side is the end of the whole cycle. Ruth meets her future husband Boaz . In the middle is the glorious victory of David and above the cheering of David himself. David sings his praises to God: I will sing of grace and justice, Psalm 101.

organ

Kuhn organ from 2005

Up until 1968, the church had to be content with instruments that hardly met the requirements for church services and other musical events. On the day of prayer in 1968, the church received an organ that met the needs. In 2005 the previous organ was replaced by the current instrument. It is an instrument with 29 registers from the organ builder Kuhn . The action is mechanical, the filing is electrical, the typesetting system has 15 × 500 combinations, a register and a USB interface. The register Konzertflöte consists of historical pipe material, the register Cello is an extension of the register Violonbass , wherein the registers delicate Bass , Bourdon and trumpet in the pedal is transmissions from the main drive. The inauguration of the instrument took place on June 19, 2005 by the organ expert Ambros Koch from Einsiedeln Abbey .

Disposition:

I main work C – a 3
Bourdon 16 ′
Principal 8th'
Double bourdon 8th'
Concert flute 8th'
Dulciana 8th'
Octave 4 ′
Fifth 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
Supteroctave 2 ′
third 1 3 ⁄ 5  ′
Mixture IV 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
Trumpet 8th'
Tremulant
II Swell C – a 3
Suavial 8th'
Reed flute 8th'
Viol 8th'
Vox caelestis (from c 0 ) 8th'
Fugara 4 ′
Transverse flute 4 ′
Nasard 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
Forest flute 2 ′
third 1 3 ⁄ 5  ′
Plein jeu IV – V 2 ′
Trompette harmonique 8th'
oboe 8th'
Tremulant
Pedal C – f 1
Violon bass 16 ′
Sub bass 16 ′
Subtle bass 16 ′
Principal bass 8th'
Bourdon 8th'
cello 8th'
Choral bass 4 ′
trombone 16 ′
Trumpet 8th'
  • Coupling : II / I, II / I sub, II sub, I / P, II / P

literature

  • Episcopal Ordinariate Chur (ed.): Schematism of the Diocese of Chur. Chur 1980.
  • 1988 Franz Höfliger the begging prelate , Kanisius-Verlag, Freiburg, ISBN 3-85764-276-9
  • Marta Rubinstein: I want to sing of grace and justice. 13 stained glass windows in the Catholic Church of Stäfa / Zurich CH. Zurich 2003.
  • Catholic parish St. Verena Stäfa (publisher): Kuhn organ in the church of St. Verena Stäfa / ZH. Stäfa 2005.

Web links

Commons : Verena Stäfa  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Felix Marbach, in: Bischöfliches Ordinariat Chur (ed.): Schematismus des Bischums Chur. P. 252.
  2. ^ Website of the Reformed Church in Stäfa, section The Church - History. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  3. ↑ Episcopal Ordinariate Chur (ed.): Schematism of the Diocese of Chur. P. 252.
  4. ^ Website of the Reformed Church in Stäfa, section The Church - History. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  5. ^ Website of the parish of Stäfa. History section. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  6. ↑ Guido Kolb: Franz Höfliger the begging prelate, pp. 163–181.
  7. ↑ Episcopal Ordinariate Chur (ed.): Schematism of the Diocese of Chur. P. 52.
  8. ↑ Guido Kolb: Franz Höfliger the begging prelate , p. 176.
  9. ^ Website of the parish of Stäfa. History section. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  10. ↑ Catholic Church in the Canton of Zurich (Ed.): Annual Report 2017. p. 84
  11. ↑ Guido Kolb: Franz Höfliger the begging prelate , p. 176.
  12. ^ Website of the parish of Stäfa. Our Church section. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  13. ^ Website of the parish of Stäfa. Our Church section. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  14. ^ Website of the parish. Section stained glass window. Retrieved September 13, 2014.
  15. ^ Website of the parish of Stäfa. Our Church section. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  16. ^ Website of the parish of Stäfa. Kuhn organ in the church of St. Verena Stäfa / ZH. ( Memento of the original from September 13, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved July 10, 2014. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.pfarreistaefa.ch

Coordinates: 47 ° 14 '23.3 "  N , 8 ° 43' 37.8"  E ; CH1903:  697 560  /  232898