St. Viktor (Oberbreisig)
The Catholic parish church of St. Viktor in Oberbreisig , a district of Bad Breisig in the Ahrweiler district in Rhineland-Palatinate , is a late Romanesque church from the middle of the 13th century. It is dedicated to St. Viktor von Xanten , a martyr of the Theban Legion . The church has wall paintings that date from the 13th to the 16th centuries. The church belongs to the parish community Breisiger Land in the diocese of Trier .
history
The first written mention of a parish church in (Ober-) Breisig (“ecciesia in brisiaco”) is passed down from the year 1041. The St. Florin Abbey in Koblenz had the right of patronage . In a contract dated July 26, 1311, the Archbishop of Cologne, Heinrich II of Virneburg, stipulated that the right of patronage to “Brische” was to be exercised jointly by the Koblenz Florinsstift and the Essen monastery . The Cologne Liber valoris from the 13th century lists the church among the churches belonging to the Argau deanery. According to a list of the Archdiocese of Cologne from 1668, the church at "Breysich" had three altars, the parish also included the incorporated chapel of St. Nicholas and Sebastian of the Niederbreisig branch and a church of the Order of St. John. The Niederbreisig branch community built the new St. Mary's Church between 1718 and 1725 . In 1786 Niederbreisig was raised to an independent parish.
The current church was built in the middle of the 13th century as a three-aisled pillar basilica. In the substructure of the west tower remains of a previous church are probably built. During the Reformation , between 1557 and 1587, the paintings were whitewashed. They were rediscovered in 1849 and exposed between 1909 and 1914 by the Cologne painter Anton Bardenhewer. In 1990 they were restored again.
architecture
Exterior construction
The west tower is built on a transverse rectangular floor plan . It has the same width as the central nave and a gabled roof covered. The tower and nave are decorated with blind arcades and pilaster strips . In 1963 the original color scheme of the facade was restored.
inner space
The church of St. Viktor is laid out as a three-aisled basilica . The nave extends over two bays and is illuminated through two large fan windows on both sides of the upper aisle . The north aisle is two-storey and has a low gallery with a baroque parapet , which continues on the west side. The south aisle opens into two conches . An eight-part choir bay is inserted between the main nave and apse . The choir, which already refers to the Gothic , is divided into a base zone with pointed arcades. Five large arched windows open above it . The five - part half - dome rests on slender columns that are decorated with leaf capitals .
Murals
The oldest paintings, the decorative painting of the keystones and ribs , date back to around 1280. The large depictions of saints, such as those of St. Christopher , the patron saint of travelers, on the central pillar of the south aisle date from the 14th century. Likewise, the depiction of St. George on the east side of the same pillar, who thrusts a lance into a dragon's mouth. The evangelist symbols are depicted in the spandrels of the eastern aisle cone, the eagle for John , the lion for Mark , a winged person for Matthew and the bull for Luke . The names of the evangelists are written on the ribbon underneath. On the south wall of the aisle, the apostle James crowns pilgrims . A similar representation can also be found in St. Cyriakus in Niedermendig, where it is also interpreted as a reference to the medieval Way of St. James on the left bank of the Rhine to Santiago de Compostela .
The ceiling fresco of the choir depicts Christ as the judge of the world , enthroned on the rainbow and from whose mouth the sword and lily emerge. The sword is the symbol of the wrath of God, the lily of his forbearance. Next to Christ, Mary and John the Baptist kneel as intercessors. The graves from which the dead rise open at their feet. Two angels with trumpets soar above them . The representations in the choir niches are perhaps the Seven Angels of the Secret Revelation of John , which were later reinterpreted like the figure of the Apostle Peter with a book and key . The archangel Michael is shown in a niche stabbing the dragon.
The two scenes on the northern wall of the choir, which were only rediscovered in 1990, presumably reproduce the legend of the three living and the three dead . In this story, three young horsemen encounter three skeletons emerging from their graves. These remind the young nobles of death and admonish them to lead a godly life.
The mural The three holy virgins in the north aisle dates from the 16th century, the last phase of painting. It depicts St. Dorothea , who is marked with the flower basket as her attribute , St. Catherine and St. Barbara . The latter, along with St. Margaretha, are the only female saints of the Fourteen Helpers . The veneration of the three virgins is interpreted as a Christian overlay of the Celtic-Roman-Germanic matron cult .
Furnishing
- In a niche in the north aisle stands a baptismal font from the Hohenstaufen era, supported on six columns , which was taken over from the previous church.
- The oldest bell , the Marienglocke, dates from 1488.
- Today's organ was installed in 1966 by the Klais organ building company from Bonn .
- The sculpture of St. Viktor on the north side of the choir arch was made in 1995 in the Albert Comploj workshop in South Tyrol .
literature
- Philipp de Lorenzi: Contributions to the history of all parishes in the Diocese of Trier . Bischöfliches General-Vicariate, Trier 1887, p. 393.
- Carl Bertram Hommen: 950 years of Sankt Viktor Oberbreisig. The "mother church of the Breisiger Ländchen" renovated . In: Ahrweiler district's homeland yearbook 1991.
- Michael Hoellen: Catholic parish church St. Viktor Oberbreisig (= Small Art Guide No. 2385). Schnell and Steiner publishing house, Regensburg 2000, ISBN 3-7954-6208-8 .
Web links
Coordinates: 50 ° 30 ′ 14 " N , 7 ° 16 ′ 58.8" E