St. Vitus (Schnaittenbach)
The Roman Catholic parish church of St. Vitus in the Upper Palatinate town of Schnaittenbach in the Amberg-Sulzbach district is part of the Diocese of Regensburg . In 1326 the parish of Schnaittenbach appears in the deanery "Swaintzendorf" (Schwandorf) for the first time in the oldest parish register of the diocese. The Church of St. Vitus is mentioned for the first time in 1384 in a certificate from judge Peter Wiesenackers. Schnaittenbach is listed as a parish in the registry of the diocese of Regensburg from 1433. A bell dates from 1461 and the inscription shows that the church is dedicated to Saint Vitus . This bell is today's death bell .
Origin of the parish church
Count Gebhardt II. Von Sulzbach (1112–1188) is said to have had a church built in Schnaittenbach around 1163 by a bricklayer from Hirschau . Archaeological studies in 2012, however, show that the standing church had a building history that dates back to around the year 1000. The oldest stone church building recorded here includes part of the north wall, which may have belonged to a small hall with a retracted choir. This building seems to have been extended for the first time in the early 12th century. A total of five medieval construction phases from the time around 1000 to the 15th century could be detected in the investigations on the core structure of the church. In the 14th century, possibly between 1348 and 1368, the new choir was built, and around 1461 the current bell tower was finally built in the southeast. The excavations also revealed clues for a high medieval manor in the area of the Vitus Church, which is likely to be associated with an administrative seat of the Counts of Sulzbach on the important west-east route to Nabburg.
The church was supported with beams as early as 1701, and ten years later - in 1711 - significant deficiencies in the building fabric were discovered. The faithful did not dare for fear of their lives more in the church and the former Mesner reported, "all morning hauffige Schitt, Sandt, stone and other Un-rath so Auss the cracked gemäuer herausröhret and fallet, place." In the spring In 1712 the nave was laid down, and contrary to the plan, most of the choir vault collapsed. The building was completed the following year. However, the windows, the vault and the roof were still missing. "The carpentry, the side walls and the rear Gibl" were newly made. The church was now almost twice as big as before. Repair work took place in 1752, 1775, 1832, 1839, 1879 and 1886.
In the years 1910/11, according to the plans of the well-known Regensburg architect Heinrich Hauberrisser , the church was doubled towards the west, as the parish had around 547 residents in 1712 and almost 1200 in 1906. The expansion resulted in the structural situation that - contrary to the traditional east-west orientation d. H. "Altar in the east" of the church - the high altar of this church is exceptionally in the western part and the choir is in the east.
The parish church from 1911
The church has barrel vaults with stitch caps and wall pilasters. The church is 48.5 m long. In the transept, the width is 18.5 m, the narrowest point 12 m. In the interior up to the vault it is 11.20 m. The interior of the extension is vaulted by a Rabitz plastered vault with a crossing dome. In the old part of the church there are brick vaults.
Facility
When the church was expanded in 1712, completely new furnishings were added to the church. After Johann Michael Doser had earned an excellent reputation in the region, he was also commissioned to design the interior of the Schnaittenbach parish church.
High altar
“The beginning was made [1712] with the furnishing of the high altar , a high four-column structure composed in a pointed vault with curved segmented gables and richly cranked entablature; a small repetition in the elevator with the "painful trinity": on the crucified Christ , framed by clouds and angels, the dove of the Holy Spirit and the half-length figure of God the Father, everything in small edition, but in real dose fashion. "The two large angels with the instruments of torture were im Installed during one of the recent renovations. The altarpiece shows an oil painting depicting St. Vitus, the patron saint of the parish church. The top of the altar panel was decorated with acanthus carvings decades ago . A small part of it is still there. Two figures have been preserved on the altar; those of St. Peter and St. Paul , above which thick acanthus bushes are attached. Up to 1975 there were next to St. Peter and St. Paul the figures of St. James the Elder and St. Bartholomew . The last two are now in the transept between the "Evangelist windows".
Tabernacle on the high altar
The tabernacle and the altar table were designed in 1913 by the architect Bachmann from Munich and built by the sculptor Hans Loibl from Stadtamhof. In the throne of the cross - no longer visible - the Christ monogram IHS was shown in the form of a sun; the background was all gold. The throne of the cross is the place where the monstrance is at the time of suspension . This "cabinet" can be locked with a semicircular door that runs towards the rear and on which there is a cross in a gold-plated relief representation. Left and right of the tabernacle - visible behind glass - relics of saints are kept. These relics come from the earlier consecrated high altar and from purchased reliquary pyramids. Two worshiping angels on curved pedestals adore the Holy of Holies. The tabernacle is surrounded by a large halo, which is decorated with many angel heads.
Side altars
The side altars probably came into the church after 1720, also from Doser's workshop. The left side altar is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The figure was created around 1500. The baby Jesus, the crown and the scepter are baroque additions. The picture above in the altar shows the Holy Mother Anna with Mary. The holy grave is located in the altar substructure. The right side altar is dedicated to St. Joseph. The figure of St. Joseph with the child came to the parish church together with the altars. The picture above shows St. Leonhard . There is a tabernacle on the altar. This altar serves as a repositioning altar during Holy Week (transfer of the hosts on Maundy Thursday).
Francis altar
The rococo altar already had several locations. Originally it was in the so-called Mount of Olives. From 1911 the altar found a new use. His new place was in the baptistery on the west side of the new church. Instead of the wooden figure (Christ on the Mount of Olives), an oil painting of St. Francis was attached in 1911 , which was created by a Munich painter. As part of the church interior renovation in 1973, the previous people's altar in the chancel was replaced by the substructure of the rococo altar. The baptismal altar received a new, but unsuitable substructure, which is also used as a cabinet. In the course of the removal of two confessionals in 2003, a new place was found for the altar in the nave of the church, to the right of the north portal.
pulpit
The pulpit was in the old church to the left of the Joseph altar. The figure of the Good Shepherd was placed on the pulpit ceiling, which was replaced by the figure of the Archangel Michael in the 1950s . The good shepherd is now on the upper gallery parapet. The Holy Spirit is depicted below the sound cover of the pulpit. Before the pulpit found its new place in the nave of the new church, the pictures of the four evangelists were attached between the climbing rods. Pastor Freimuth from Wörth donated small figures of the four Latin church fathers ( Ambrosius of Milan , Hieronymus , Augustine of Hippo , Gregory the Great ) in 1911 . The staircase to the pulpit was removed during the last interior renovation and the open side of the pulpit cage was closed in a “stylish” manner.
characters
The parish church has a rich set of figures. Most of the figures date from the time the church was expanded around 1720. The figures were last restored during the interior renovation in 1973:
- Sacred Heart of Jesus
- the St. Twelve Apostles
- St. Paul
- Baptism group (Jesus and John)
- St. Barbara and Catherine
- St. Sebastian and St. Nepomuk
- Cross with Mother of Sorrows
- The Good Shepherd
- St. Conrad
- Holy Family
- Madonna in the rosary
- St. Vitus
Ceiling painting
In 1948 the interior architecture was thoroughly renovated and the nave was painted costly. The church painters Richard Holzner and Markus Hörmann completed the overall picture with 14 ceiling paintings, of which only 12 can still be seen. The largest painting depicts the coronation of Mary. On the left the three divine virtues are depicted: faith, hope and love. The motto of this painting reads: “The martyr glorifies you, the brilliant army.” In the four corners of the large vault are St. Lawrence, St. Stephen, St. Ignatius of Antioch and St. Perpetua. In front, left and right are three more pictures. The front painting shows four angels holding a banner with the following inscription: “Christ, you strength of the martyrs.” St. Vitus is shown on the other pictures. The last picture above the organ shows a choir with angels. There are three more ceiling paintings in the nave. The middle one shows the Holy Spirit surrounded by angels. The other two ceiling paintings depict scenes from the life of St. Vitus.
window
- Heart of Jesus and Heart of Mary
The two windows to the left and right of the high altar are dedicated to the veneration of the Heart of Jesus and the Heart of Mary. The windows were made by the Royal Bavarian Court Glass Painting Franz Xaver Zettler , Munich.
- Evangelists
The windows of the four evangelists Johannes, Lukas, Matthäus and Markus come from the royal Bavarian court glass painting Georg Schneider from Regensburg. The windows consist of diamond disks with hexagonal lead.
- Women window
In the long nave, on the south side from right to left in the window, there are depictions of St. Agnes, St. Anna and St. Elisabeth. The windows were designed and manufactured by the Zettler company. The installation took place in 1918.
- Men’s window
On the north side of the nave there are depictions of St. Wolfgang, Martinus and Isidore in the windows from left to right. The windows were made by the Schneider company.
- Window in the baptistery
There are two small windows in the baptistery. One shows St. Anthony of Padua , the other shows the Holy Spirit.
Bells
The following bells are located in the bell chamber:
|
No. |
Surname |
Chime |
Weight [kg] |
Diameter [cm] |
Casting year |
Caster |
inscription |
| 1 | Brotherhood bell | of the 1st | 1615 | 148 | 1950 | Karl Czudnochowsky | "Jesus, Mary, Joseph - help, save us" |
| 2 | Vitus bell | f 1 | 752 | 133 | 1950 | Karl Czudnochowsky | "St. Vitus protect us in all need " |
| 3 | Angelus bell | as 1 | 629.50 | 102 | 1965 | Georg Hofweber | "AVE MARIA GRATIA PLENA DOMINUS TECUM BENEDICTA TU IN MULIERIBUS" ("Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you, you are blessed among women") |
| 4th | Guardian angel bell | b 1 | 271 | 82 | 1950 | Karl Czudnochowsky | "God's angel be our guides towards heaven." |
| 5 | Marienbell | of the 2nd | 248 | 74.5 | 1965 | Georg Hofweber | "AVE MARIA ORA PRO NOBIS IN HORA MORTIS NOSTRAE" ("Hail Mary, pray for us in the hour of our death") |
| 6th | Death bell | as 2 | approx. 58 | 46 | 1461 | Transcription in Gothic minuscule: "Scta est hec campana Sti vi (ie Viti) anno MCCCCLXI". ("St. Vitus, the tower was built in the year of the Lord 1461.") |
The quarter-hour strike is melodic on bells 4, 3 and 2, the full hours are struck by bell 1. Every Saturday at 3 p.m., the bell rings for five minutes on Sunday.
There is also a cemetery bell at the morgue:
|
Surname |
Weight [kg] |
Diameter [cm] |
Casting year |
| "Dining bell" | approx. 200 | 63 | 14th century |
organ
The organ was built by the Mattes company from Metten behind the historic prospectus from 1724 by the organ builder Johann Konrad Brandenstein and inaugurated on June 4, 2000 by Wilhelm Schraml , then Auxiliary Bishop of Regensburg . It comprises 26 stops on two manuals and a pedal . The game action is mechanical, the stop action is mechanical and can also be controlled electrically. The instrument has the following disposition :
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- Coupling : II / I, I / P, II / P
- Playing aid : 64-fold setting system
Epitaphs
Kastner epitaph
On the south-east side of the church, on the right in front of the galleries, there is a magnificent grave epitaph . Before 1910 the memorial was attached to the north side of the high altar. The sculpture shows the creation of Eve. The so-called Kastner epitaph is made of limestone and is framed by two red marble columns. The coat of arms of the Kastners can be seen above the richly decorated cornice, the noble family that lived in Schnaittenbach for centuries. Left and right of the picture the two deceased. The following inscription is carved into the limestone below the picture: “The noble and Vhesten Alexander and Hanns Christoff die Castner, brothers from lower Schnaittenbach to Holzhamer are different. The first the xxviii Augusti Anno MVxLii. [1542] The ii den xxii sept: Anno MVxLvii. [1547] God approves of them. "
David Kastner epitaph
In the rear area of the church on the large corner pillar, another gravestone is walled in, which shows the death of David Kastner, who died on April 29, 1590 at the age of 49. The former location of this memorial stone was attached to the other Kastner's grave monument. In the middle of the red marble slab the Kastner coat of arms, surrounded by ten ancestral coats of arms. Below left and right the coats of arms of his two wives Gugel and Pötschner, the four coats of arms of the ancestors of the paternal line on the left (Castner, Sauerzapf, Plech and Hayden), the four coats of arms of the ancestors of the maternal line on the right (Kötzel, Rieter, Haller (von Hallerstein) and Imhoff). Including the praying family. The family had four children, but only one girl survived her father. The girl died on May 4, 1594. The girl was buried next to her siblings in the parish church. The gravestone of this girl, made of white marble, which is no longer there, contained a relief image of the deceased.
Lourdes Chapel
To the east of the church is the Lourdes Chapel in the churchyard. The chapel was built in 1911 in the neo-baroque style and is now slightly crooked.
literature
- Heribert Batzl: History of the city of Schnaittenbach. City of Schnaittenbach (Ed.), Schnaittenbach 1988, pp. 37-40.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Mathias Hensch : Building history studies in the foundation area of the Church of St. Vitus in Schnaittenbach . In: Contributions to archeology in the Upper Palatinate and Regensburg . tape 10 (2013) . Büchenbach, S. 307-326 .
- ↑ More information about the organ
- ↑
Coordinates: 49 ° 32 '50.6 " N , 12 ° 0' 0.6" E