City parish church of Wels

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City parish church of Wels

The parish church of Wels is one of the oldest churches in the Upper Austrian city of Wels . It is dedicated to Saint John the Evangelist and the patronage is celebrated on December 27th. It belongs to the Deanery Wels-Stadt in the Diocese of Linz and is a listed building .

history

The church was mentioned for the first time on April 13, 888, when King Arnulf transferred his fiefdom in Wels to the chaplain Zazco. At that time it was still a chapel, which was the core of the donation. For the next few centuries the church was owned by the Kremsmünster Abbey .

During the 13th century it was demolished and replaced by a Romanesque basilica. In the 14th century it was redesigned into a Gothic, three-aisled church, although Romanesque elements can still be found today. The cross vault also dates from this period.

The Romanesque west tower on its lower floors was raised in the first half of the 18th century and given an onion helmet. The reconstruction of the tower and the west portal under Mayor Johann Paumgartner in the years 1731 and 1732 by Johann Michael Prunner , for whom a new tower clock and five new bells were purchased, is well documented by invoices . The Linz bell founder Silvius Creuz received 2000 guilders and 53 Kreuzers for this. In the course of this redesign of the portal, three stone sculptures were also set up, which depict the Saints Sebastian , Michael and Rochus from left to right and are probably made by the Linz sculptor Michael Herstorfer.

In the 19th century, the church was renovated again for its 1000th anniversary. During the renovations, the church is partially redesigned in a neo-Gothic style. The re-Gothicization of the church is still visible on the facade of the nave. In 1958, with renewed restorations, the church was partially restored to its original state. In addition to painting in the nave, the organ was also renovated and the ribs on the aisles were repaired.

Furnishing

Stained glass window of the parish church
  • The west portal is today baroque from the outside. Inside you can still see the former Romanesque west portal.
  • The altars by Michael Stolz (1856) and the pulpit are neo-Gothic .
  • In the tower hall are the marble sarcophagi of members of the Polheimer noble family, who were buried here after the abolition of the Minorite monastery in 1785.
  • The parish church is decorated with many stained glass windows. The three magnificent stained glass windows in the presbytery are worth mentioning.
  • The pictures of the Stations of the Cross are associated with the Haindl family of painters from Wels.
  • The large bell dedicated to the Evangelist Johannes dates from 1731 (the other four bells from Silvius Creuz had to be delivered in 1916/17).

Crypt

Originally there were several tombs in the parish church, but they were filled in over time. In the still existing crypt below the baptistery, an old tombstone with the viewing surface facing down serves as a cover plate. In addition to a coat of arms, it also shows grave inscriptions from those buried here belonging to the upper class of Wels and the nobility. The crypt is 8 meters long and 4.6 meters wide. The top of the flat arched vault is 2.35 meters and extends to one meter above the floor. Inside there are several inscriptions in red chalk as well as the year 1692.

Outside around the church

In the Middle Ages the church was surrounded by a cemetery, which was moved in 1559 to a place where the market area is today until the current cemetery was finally built in 1886. From these abandoned cemeteries come several epitaphs that are attached to the outside of the church.

use

It is the main Roman Catholic church in the city of Wels and the seat of the Wels-Stadt deanery.

Along with the Herz Jesu Church, it is one of the largest churches in Wels.

Web links

Commons : Stadtpfarrkirche (Wels)  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Upper Austria - immovable and archaeological monuments under monument protection. ( Memento of June 8, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) . Federal Monuments Office , as of June 26, 2015 (PDF).
  2. ^ Rudolf Zinnhobler : The city parish Wels in the Middle Ages (a legal historical study). In: 5th year book of the Wels Museum Association 1958/59. Wels 1959, p. 84, entire article p. 83–122, online (PDF) in the forum OoeGeschichte.at.
  3. ^ A b Florian Oberchristl: Bells of the Diocese of Linz. Verlag R. Pirngruber, Linz 1941, pp. 589f.
  4. ^ Bruno Grimschitz: Johann Michael Prunners buildings in Wels. In: 7th year book of the Wels Museum Association 1960/61. Wels 1961, p. 97f, entire article p. 90-102, online (PDF) in the forum OoeGeschichte.at.
  5. ↑ Kurt Holter : The Wels parish church. Building history notes on the occasion of its restoration in 1958. In: 5th year book of the Wels Museum Association 1958/59. Wels 1959, p. 21f, entire article p. 21–33, online (PDF) in the forum OoeGeschichte.at.
  6. ^ Josef Flotzinger: The parish church of Wels. II. Press club calendar Linz, Linz 1890, p. 73 .
  7. ↑ Gilbert Trathnigg: The crypt in the parish church of Wels. In: Yearbook of the Musealverein Wels 1957 Wels 1957, p. 193, entire article p. 193–196, online (PDF) in the forum OoeGeschichte.at.
  8. ^ Aubert Salzmann: The tombstones of the Wels parish church choir. In memoriam Ferdinand Wiesinger. In: 11th year book of the Wels Museum Association 1964/65. Wels 1965, p. 150f, entire article p. 150–167, online (PDF) in the forum OoeGeschichte.at.

Coordinates: 48 ° 9 '28.1 "  N , 14 ° 1' 36.8"  E