Abbey of Our Lady of the Old Chapel (Regensburg)

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North view of the collegiate church to the old chapel

The Abbey of Our Lady of the Old Chapel in Regensburg is one of only four existing collegiate monasteries in Bavaria . It was first founded in 875 by King Ludwig the German , but quickly went under again. It has existed uninterrupted since it was re-established in 1002 by King Henry II, who was later canonized . Even in the course of secularization in 1802/03 and the transition from Regensburg to Bavaria in 1810, it was not dissolved. In addition to the monastery for the Old Chapel, there is a second community of this kind in Regensburg, the St. Johann Collegiate Foundation.

history

Legendary prehistory of the old chapel

According to tradition, today's collegiate church to the old chapel stands on the site of a Roman Juno temple. This was built near the prefecture of the Roman camp Castra Regina , which was located on the square now known as the Old Corn Market . The legend also sees the Old Chapel as the oldest church and “mother church” in Bavaria, from which the country is said to have been Christianized . Around the year 700 the Agilolfingian Duke Theodo II was supposedly baptized here by the holy Bishop Rupert of Salzburg . In addition, Rupert is said to have converted the Roman temple into a Marian shrine, which Theodo made his palatine chapel . In medieval historiography this is referred to by a chronicler as “an anvankch (...) of all gotz houses in Bavaria”, although this has not yet been documented.

Foundation of the collegiate foundation by Ludwig the German and decay

A church in honor of the Mother of God Maria and an associated collegiate monastery is mentioned for the first time in a document from Ludwig the German from the year 875. The church originally served the Carolingians and Ottonians and later the Bavarian dukes as a palatine chapel in which the courtiers celebrated the service - in contrast to the citizens who visited the parish church of St. Kassian . In 887, Emperor Arnulf relocated the Palatinate to the immediate vicinity of the St. Emmeram Monastery , so that the previous Palatine Chapel was no longer needed and fell into disrepair. The collegiate monastery also quickly dissolved. In the year 967 the name “antiqua capella” (old chapel) is found in a document for the first time, as the building complex was visibly deteriorating at that time.

Memorial plaque to the imprisonment of the apostle-like Saint Methodius , Slav apostle and first Archbishop of Moravia and Pannonia , in Regensburg at the old chapel.

Re-establishment by Heinrich II. In 1002

It was only when Heinrich II , King of the East Franks , who later became Emperor Heinrich II , moved his residence back to the Old Corn Market when he took office in 1002. He immediately had the ruinous collegiate church rebuilt. In addition, he re-founded the Collegiate Foundation of Our Lady of the Old Chapel in 1002, which he and his wife Kunigunde made numerous donations. In the founding deed, the collegiate church is referred to as "mater ecclesiae" (mother church), a title that was otherwise only used for episcopal churches. Heinrich and Kunigunde are still venerated today, especially in the collegiate church of the old chapel, as the new and actual founders of the monastery, as it has been in existence without interruption since 1002.

In 1009 Heinrich transferred the monastery to the newly founded diocese of Bamberg , with which the old chapel remained until secularization. With a few exceptions, the provost of the old chapel was always a Bamberg canon , while the monastery chapter in Regensburg largely managed itself independently under the direction of a dean . Important clerics emerged from the collegiate chapter, such as the Magdeburg Archbishop Tageo . However, it quickly lost its importance as a result.

Creation of a pilgrimage to Mary

It is possible that a Marian pilgrimage to a supposed St. Luke Madonna in the old chapel began as early as the 13th century. In terms of style, it is a Byzantine icon of the Virgin Mary, which was actually made in Regensburg around 1225. Although there are numerous letters of indulgence from the 13th and 14th centuries, according to the church historian Joseph Staber it cannot necessarily be concluded that a Marian pilgrimage to the Old Chapel was already taking place at this time. Such a pilgrimage can only be documented in the 17th century, after the end of the Thirty Years' War .

Change in the pen chapter over time

Up until the 15th century, the collegiate monastery consisted mainly of nobles ; in the 15th century, citizens slowly gained the upper hand. It was not until 1581 had all the canons , there were an average of 15 canons, medieval priests be. Today the collegiate chapter only awards 7 canons, primarily to deserving retirement priests. The monastery chapter elects a dean from among its members, who heads the collegiate monastery. Since 1933 the canons have been appointed by the Regensburg bishop after consultation with the collegiate chapter.

Afflictions in the 17th and 19th centuries

During the Thirty Years' War, the collegiate monastery was in dire straits for the first time. At that time there was a temporary resettlement in the Regensburg Domanikanerkloster as well as a temporary deportation to Ingolstadt .

In the course of secularization in 1802/03, the monastery was not dissolved like most other monasteries and was retained even after Regensburg was taken over by the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1810. The reason for this was the fact that the majority of the foundation's assets were invested in Austria and, in the event of the foundation's dissolution, there was fear that the assets would be taken over by the Austrian Empire. The monastery initially remained under state supervision and was only occupied by one canon. It was not until 1830 that King Ludwig I confirmed the continued existence of the monastery and granted it self-government again in 1838.

More recent history of the monastery

At the suggestion of Bishop Rudolf Graber , the collegiate church of Our Lady became the Old Chapel of Pope Paul VI. on March 5, 1964 with the apostolic letter Inisgnis et imperialis raised to the Basilica minor .

Monastery building

Exterior view of the Zant Chapel from the east

The four-wing system of the monastery building connects to the south arm of the transept of the collegiate church. This contains a groin-vaulted cloister with a Gothic core , the current appearance of which is mainly due to a redesign in 1624. Numerous grave monuments of canons, especially from the 15th and 16th centuries, have been preserved here.

To the east of the cloister is the so-called Zant Chapel, which was donated as a burial chapel by the canon Heinrich Zant in 1299 and is consecrated to St. Martin . It has an un-vaulted, western anteroom through which one enters the two-bay chapel. This is equipped with a ribbed vault on profile consoles with carved keystones . The eastern facade of the Zant Chapel was remodeled in the neo-baroque style in 1897 . The Neue Dechantei, i.e. the administration building of the monastery chapter, is built on to the southwest of the cloister. It is a historicist building from 1860/61 with an Art Nouveau facade from 1909.

Collegiate church to the old chapel

The Collegiate Church of Our Lady of the Old Chapel was originally built in the second half of the 9th century as a Carolingian basilica with a transept. This T-shaped floor plan was retained during the reconstruction by King Heinrich between 1002 and 1004. It was not until the middle of the 15th century that the late Gothic high choir was added to create a cross-shaped floor plan. In the 18th century, especially the interior was redesigned in the Rococo style. As a result, the old chapel is the most important Bavarian rococo church after the Wieskirche .

Abbey Parish Church of St. Kassian

In addition, the collegiate monastery of the Old Chapel has always looked after the parish church of St. Kassian, which was first mentioned in 885 and is therefore the second oldest church in Regensburg. Like the collegiate church of the old chapel, the core of the medieval building was remodeled in the middle of the 18th century in the Rococo style. After an extensive overall restoration between 2007 and 2015, the Kassianskirche now shines again in its old splendor. In addition to the collegiate parish of St. Kassian, the old chapel also looked after numerous rural parishes in the Middle Ages.

Church music at the collegiate monastery to the old chapel

Pope Benedict organ in the collegiate church of the old chapel

The monastery also made great contributions to the cultivation of church music , especially from the 19th century. The musicologist Carl Proske , the musicians Dominikus Mettenleiter and Johann Georg Mettenleiter and the church composer Michael Haller should be mentioned here. The monastery also had its own school for the training of choirboys, which was first mentioned in 1177 and lasted until 1874. In 1901 the "Study and Music Seminar for the Old Chapel" was founded, which accepted up to 90 pupils before it was dissolved in 1957.

A special feature is the Pope Benedict Organ, which was initiated in 2005 by the then Stiftkapellmeister Josef Kohlhäufl and built by the Mathis Orgelbau company from Näfels , Switzerland . In September 2006 the instrument was consecrated by the Holy Father as part of his pastoral visit to Bavaria . The instrument is based on the baroque disposition of a predecessor instrument by Andreas Weiß from 1791 and, through an additional register, also takes into account the requirements of today's liturgy .

Well-known members of the collegiate chapter

  • Johann Sebastian Distlberger, Canon from 1675
  • Matthäus Gietl (Güetl, Mathias) († 1576), 1553 to 1575 canon at St. Johann, from 1575 canon at the old chapel, dean in Pondorf
  • Norbert Glatzel (* 1937), (canon since 2005, 2013–2018 monastery dean)
  • Rudolf Volkart von Häring, named as Stiftsdekan from 1429 and several times from 1441 to 1458, also Vicar General in spiritualibus of Bishop Friedrich ( Friedrich II. Von Parsberg (Regensburg) or Friedrich III. Von Plankenfels )
  • Joseph Thomas von Haas, monastery dean and episcopal chancellery director, around 1803
  • Michael Haller (church musician) (1840–1915)
  • Caspar Macer, († 1576), Dr Juris Utriusque, rhetoric teacher in Ingolstadt, 1566–1570 canon at St. Johann Regensburg, from 1571 canon at the old chapel in Regensburg, cathedral preacher
  • Master Rudolph von Heringen, doctor in medicinis, dean and canon to St. Johann and canon at the Old Chapel (from 1429)
  • Helmut Huber, (* 1938), Director of the Institute for Theological and Pastoral Training Freising (1992–2004), Canon from 2010
  • Johann Baptist Kurz (1881–1968)
  • Karl von May, monastery dean around 1723
  • Ulrich Onsorg (around 1430–1491), Canon at the Old Chapel, author of a Chronicon Bavariae
  • Sigismund Pender, († 1559/60), cleric from Venice, Dr., 1511/13 secretary of the Synod of Pisa, from 1517 canon, later dean of the old chapel in Regensburg
  • Johann Baptist Pichelmair, († 1604), 1579 titular bishop of Almira and auxiliary bishop in Regensburg, 1581 canon at the old chapel
  • Carl Proske
  • Gregor Sartori, Canon, around 1691
  • Joseph Schmid, dean around 1924
  • Walter Siegert (1928–2012)
  • Tagino († 1012)
  • Ulrich Teytinger, dean around 1438
  • Johann Michael Franz von Velhorn (1746–1782), Stiftsdekan, initiator of the redesign of the chapel from 1747 to 1787
  • Thomas Wiser (1810–1879), Canon at the Old Chapel from 1848, Stiftsdekan from 1855
  • Emmanuel Maria von Zillerberg, Canon and Senior, around 1784

literature

  • Joseph Schmid: The document regesta of the collegiate foundation UL Frau zur Alte Kapelle in Regensburg. 2 volumes, Habbel, Regensburg 1911/12.
  • Werner Schiedermair (ed.): The old chapel in Regensburg. Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 2002, ISBN 3-7954-1496-2 .
  • Karl-Heinz Betz, Harald Gieß, Regensburg - The Collegiate Church of Our Lady of the Old Chapel (= Small Art Guide No. 415). Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 2013, 14th edition.

Web links

Commons : Alte Kapelle in Regensburg  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. a b c d e f g h i Betz, Gieß; Pp. 2-6.
  2. ^ Joseph Staber: Remarks on the history of religion on the origin of the pilgrimages to Mary in the diocese of Regensburg. In: Georg Schwaiger (Hrsg.): Contributions to the history of the diocese of Regensburg. Vol. 7, Regensburg 1973, pp. 54-55.
  3. ^ Hans Jürgen Becker: The handover of Regensburg to Bavaria . In: Hans Jürgen Becker, Konrad Maria Färber (Hrsg.): Regensburg becomes Bavarian. A reader . Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg 2009, ISBN 978-3-7917-2218-4 , pp. 29 .
  4. Paul VI .: Litt. Apost. Inisgnis et imperialis. In: AAS 56 (1964), n.11, p. 681s.
  5. a b Betz, Gieß; P. 31f.
  6. a b Collegiate monastery of Our Lady of the Old Chapel (ed.): Brochure 1000 Years of Grace in the Collegiate Church and Basilica of Our Lady of the Old Chapel (PDF; 1.1 MB). Online at www.bistum-regensburg.de; Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  7. ^ State Library Regensburg, provenance file
  8. ^ State Library Regensburg, provenance file
  9. ^ Franz Seraph Storno, additions and corrections to the Baierischen Schehrten-Lexikon ... together with addenda by Benefiziaten Gandershofer, 1825
  10. Hermann Göhler, Das Wiener Kollegiat-, later Cathedral chapter of Sankt Stephan in Vienna 1365–1554, Böhlau Verlag Wien, 2015, p. 306
  11. ^ Franz Xaver Schwäbl : Send letter from Bishop Franz Xaver of Regensburg to his diocese clergy, about the charitable works of the Catholic clergy, and about the needs of clerical education , Regensburg 1836, p. 145
  12. ^ State Library Regensburg, provenance file
  13. ^ Hermann Göhler: The Viennese collegiate, later cathedral chapter of St. Stephen in Vienna 1365–1554: By Hermann Göhler . Ed .: Johannes Seidl, Angelika Ende, Johann Weißensteiner. Böhlau Verlag, Vienna 2015, ISBN 978-3-205-20092-5 , pp. 305 ( limited preview in Google Book Search).
  14. ^ Marianne Popp: Dr. Dr. Johann Baptist Kurz (1881–1968). Stiftsdekan der Alte Kapelle , in: Georg Schwaiger (Hrsg.), Life pictures from the history of the diocese of Regensburg, 1st part (contributions to the history of the diocese of Regensburg 23/24) , Regensburg 1989, pp. 992–999
  15. List of works by Dr. Dr. Johann Baptist Kurz (PDF file)
  16. Kurz, Johann B. in the DNB catalog
  17. ^ Franz Xaver Schwäbl: Send letter from Bishop Franz Xaver of Regensburg to his diocese clergy, about the charitable works of the Catholic clergy, and about the needs of clerical education , Regensburg 1836, p. 145
  18. ^ State Library Regensburg, provenance file
  19. ^ State Library Regensburg provenance file
  20. ^ Franz Xaver Schwäbl: Send letter from Bishop Franz Xaver of Regensburg to his diocese clergy, about the charitable works of the Catholic clergy, and about the needs of clerical education , Regensburg 1836, p. 145
  21. ^ Report on the Requiem for Walter Siegert
  22. Kurz, Johann B. in the DNB catalog
  23. ^ Biography of Thomas Wiser
  24. ^ Franz Xaver Schwäbl: Send letter from Bishop Franz Xaver of Regensburg to his diocese clergy, about the charitable works of the Catholic clergy, and about the needs of clerical education , Regensburg 1836, p. 145

Coordinates: 49 ° 1 ′ 6 ″  N , 12 ° 6 ′ 0 ″  E