Wilten Abbey

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wilten Abbey

Wilten is a 1138 by Bishop Reginbert of Brixen reasoned convent of Prämonstratenser in Wilten , one at the foot of Bergisels neighborhood in Innsbruck , the capital of Tyrol, Austria.

Wilten Abbey can be reached with the Innsbruck tram lines 1 and 6 ( Innsbruck Mittelgebirgsbahn ) and the Stubaitalbahn .

history

Monastery complex from above

The monastery buildings stand on the ruins of the Roman settlement Veldidena . Numerous Roman bricks, coins and remains of walls were discovered there in the 16th century and mentioned by Matthias Burglechner in his description of the Tyrolean eagle from 1619. According to legend, the monastery was founded by the giant Haymon around 880.

“The dreaded giant Haymon defeated his opponent, the giant Thyrsus , due to the better armament in a duel. A monk converted Haymon to Christianity . Feeling remorseful for what he had done, he stopped building his castle and began building the monastery. The devil was angry about this and ordered a dragon to prevent further construction of the monastery. Haymon killed the animal and cut out its tongue. After the monastery was completed, Haymon became the monastery’s brother. He was also buried in it. "

Two statues at the entrance and another Haymon statue in the entrance area, which holds the dragon's cut-off tongue, remind of this legend in the pen. In fact, the monastery was founded as an episcopal own monastery by Bishop Reginbert von Brixen before 1138 , at whose request Premonstratensians from the Upper Swabian monastery Rot an der Rot replaced an older collegiate monastery of world priests; On April 30, 1138, Pope Innocent II confirmed to the Wilten Order of Canons under his first provost named Marquard the Augustine rule in its premonstratensic form, the property, the free electoral and burial rights and the privileges of the Brixen diocesan bishop. The pen experienced its heyday in the 17th and 18th centuries.

In the course of history, the pen has come under pressure on various occasions. 1807-1816 the monastery was dissolved by an order of the Kingdom of Bavaria. During the Nazi era , the monastery was forced to sell the monastery to the Reichsgau Tirol-Vorarlberg , so that a new beginning was necessary in 1946 after the bombing and Nazi rule . This development phase was only completed in 1988 on the 850th anniversary of the establishment.

  • Riese Haymon and Wilten (still with the Gothic church, publ. 1700)

  • Parish church and monastery Wiltau, 19th century

  • Jakob Alt, 1844 (against the Martinswand )

  • Location in the middle of the city (21st century)

coat of arms

Depiction of the monastery coat of arms on a landmark from 1745

The abbey coat of arms, which has been documented since the 17th century, shows a green, slightly curved tip covered with a silver bar , on the right a silver rust, on the left three silver stones. The silver bar is considered the coat of arms of the giant Haymon, the rust as an attribute of St. Laurentius and the stones as an attribute of St. Stephanus stand for the two cartridges of the pen.

Like most Tyrolean monasteries, Wilten began to keep a coat of arms late. The oldest representations from the late 15th century show the symbols of torture of the two pen cartridges in a coat of arms each. The Tyrolean historiographer Matthias Burglechner constructed a coat of arms for the legendary founder on older bases in the 17th century, which showed a silver central bar in a green shield. This bar is often interpreted as a symbol for the Sill , which is however unlikely, since a (inclined) wave bar would have been chosen for it. Abbot Andreas Mayr (1621–1650) finally combined the two shields of the pen cartridge and that of the giant Haymon in a coat of arms, as it has been in use since then.

Collegiate church

Wilten Collegiate Church
Interior of the collegiate church

Building history

Abbot Heinrich Schuler (1922–1949) was a tireless researcher, especially when it came to the age and history of the collegiate church. He discovered that the first church in Wilten was probably just a small wooden structure, surrounded by simple huts - the first monastery buildings. The church and monastery are mentioned in a document in 1138 when the Bishop of Brixen Reginbert was appointed. The collegiate church patrons St. Laurentius and St.  Stephanus , which are depicted in the monastery  coat of arms, point to the first Roman settlement ( Veldidena ).

A Gothic panel painting of the former Ursula Altar shows a late medieval view of the church and monastery. The three-aisled pillar basilica with a raised central nave is likely to have had the same dimensions as early as the Romanesque period. In the east, a raised choir closed in three apses; beneath it was a crypt , burial place of abbots and noble donors. The church was rebuilt around 1300 in the early Gothic style under Abbot Wernher, who was venerated as blessed.

Under Abbot Dominikus Löhr (1651–1687) the foundation stone of the baroque church building was laid after the collapsing tower had completely destroyed the Gothic building under the predecessor Abbot Andreas Mayr.

The actual consecration of the church and the high altar was carried out on October 18, 1665 by the Brixen prince-bishop Sigmund Alfons Graf Thun . Emperor Leopold I was personally present. The north tower was completed in 1667, but the south tower was only built up to half the height of the church roof, as the court architect Christoph Gumpp had died in 1672. Changes and additions made later ( pulpit , dining grill , tabernacle on the cross altar etc.) as well as the reconstruction after the bombings of 1943 and 1944 cannot obscure the impression of a closed early baroque complex.

description

The portal leads to the church's vestibule. Immediately noticeable here is the five-meter high colossal statue of the giant Haymon from around 1470, which was once lying in the old tower chapel on the north side of the choir. The splendid wrought iron grille of the Wilten master locksmith Adam Neyer (1707) is one of the most important works of baroque wrought iron art in Tyrol, along with the "rose grille" in the Stams collegiate church.

The vestibule grille leads the visitor into the interior of the church, which is impressive because of its uniformly strict composition. The Wilten collegiate church is a single-nave, elongated, rectangular room, entirely in keeping with the type of the south German wall pillar churches of the 17th century. Belt arches and stitch caps structure the vault. The frescoes ( Kaspar Waldmann ) and stucco work were created between 1702 and 1707. Acanthus leaves, fruit garlands, eagles and angelic figures form an unmistakable and yet very strictly structured abundance of ornaments. The Northern Italian master Bernardo Pasquale and 31 assistants are responsible for this excellent work of the "late early baroque ".

In addition to the high altar, the nave and side chapel frescoes and the pulpit, the cross altar is of particular importance. According to the old Premonstratensian tradition, it stood in the middle of the nave, below the choir arch. The late Gothic crucifix with real hair (around 1510) was intact when the church collapsed in 1644, which is why it was widely worshiped. The altar panel behind the cross shows Mount Golgotha and the city of Jerusalem . The donor coat of arms on the entablature is an alliance coat of arms of the Counts Ferrari-Occhieppo and the Fenner von Fennberg.

Another special feature is the altarpiece of the side altar dedicated to St. John, which the South Tyrolean Nazarene Michael Andersag created from 1826 based on the model of Raphael's Madonna of Foligno .

  • Forecourt of the pen

  • Entrance area

  • Statue of the giant Haymon

  • On the choir altar: angels by Joseph Stapf, Pfronten, 1767

Organs

The collegiate church is also famous for its three organs . The oldest organ, built by Daniel Herz in 1675, stands on a gallery on the left side of the presbytery . It was professionally restored in 2002/2003 by organ builder Jürgen Ahrend from East Frisia.

In the course of the general renovation, the collegiate church received two new organs in 2008. The choir organ with 14 registers was built by Orgelmakerij Reil ( Heerde / NL), the large festive organ with 53 registers by Orgelbouw Verschueren ( Heythuysen / NL). The concert organ has 53 registers and a secondary register on three manuals and pedal .

I Rückpositiv C – g 3
1. Prestant 8th'
2. Holpijp 8th'
3. Octaaf 4 ′
4th Roerfluit 4 ′
5. Nasard 3 ′
6th Fluit 2 ′
7th Super octaaf 2 ′
8th. Terts 1 3 ⁄ 5  ′
9. Sesquialter II
10. Mixture IV
11. Dulciaan 16 ′
12. Trumpet 8th'
13. Cromhoorn 8th'
Tremulant
II Hauptwerk C – g 3
14th Prestant 16 ′
15th Prestant 8th'
16. Roerfluit 8th'
17th Viola di gamba 8th'
18th Octaaf 4 ′
19th Cornet V
20th Fluit 4 ′
21st Quint 3 ′
22nd Super octaaf 2 ′
23. Mixture V
24. Cymbel III
25th Bassoon 16 ′
26th Trumpet 8th'
27. Trumpet 4 ′
nightingale
III Oberwerk C – g 3
28. Bourdon 16 ′
29 Prestant 8th'
30th Holpijp 8th'
31. Quintads 8th'
32. Unda maris 8th'
33. Fluit travers 4 ′
34. Octaaf 4 ′
35. Nasard 3 ′
36. Fluit 2 ′
37. Terts 1 3 ⁄ 5  ′
38. Flageolet 1'
39. Mixture III
40. Hautbois 8th'
41. Vox humana 8th'
Tremulant
Pedals C – f 1
42. Prestant 16 ′
43. Quint 12 ′
44. Octaaf 8th'
45. Subbas 16 ′
46. Bourdon 8th'
47. Quint 6 ′
48. Octaaf 4 ′
49. Mixture V
50. Bazuin 16 ′
51. Bassoon 16 ′
52. Trumpet 8th'
53. Trumpet 4 ′
  • Coupling : I / II, III / II, I / P, II / P, III / P
Bell tower

Bells

The bells were repeatedly destroyed by fires. This happened in the years 1288 and 1432. The tower collapse of 1644 also destroyed the bell.

Furthermore tell the deeds of the pin Archives of various Läutebräuchen, for example, the weather ringing in 1702, but which was already banned on 26 November 1783 in the wake of the Enlightenment by a decree again, or the Angelus at noon, which in 1423 in the diocese Brixen was introduced.

In 1763 the big bell jumped and was finally re-cast on October 13 of the same year by Stefan Zach in the Höttinger casting house.

After the long years of rebuilding the monastery, bells could be thought of again in the summer of 1975. A bell committee was formed. The Grassmayr company was entrusted with the investigation of the tower and with the preparation of appropriate solutions. The ringing was designed for six bells and this time a very large bell was planned. Due to the size of the bells, the existing wooden bell chair could no longer be used and was therefore replaced by a steel bell chair.

Already on September 23, 1976, the confreres and the bell committee were invited to the ceremonial act of casting five bells in the Grassmayr bell foundry.

The consecration took place on October 17, 1976. The largest bell was finally added in 1980 and consecrated on Christmas King Sunday. In 1994 it became more and more obvious that both the Mary Bell and the Resurrection Bell had been damaged. Therefore, the two bells had to be re-cast in 1995.

In order to avoid difficulties with the tower statics and to be able to ring the big bell at all due to lack of space, steel yokes in deep cranked construction were made for the two big bells. A new technology of special inner bobbin catchers with a complex electronic mechanism was also used for these two bells. After 24 years of operation, it became clear in 1999 that this system could not withstand the loads and that the bells could not be rung gently.

So it was set out to initiate an extensive renovation of the entire mechanical system. Forged round bale clappers were built into the two large bells, the engines were overhauled, and all the clapper catchers , flywheels and chains were replaced. Since the tower clock had been damaged by a lightning strike, it was decided to renew this system as well and buy a bell computer with a clock. It was now possible to add a melody to the striking mechanism. After consultation with the pastor of the Wilten basilica , the so-called “Sunday ringing in” was introduced every Saturday at 12:00 noon. Since the Vespers of the Canons is open to the public at 6:00 p.m. from Easter to All Saints Day, the bell is rung for this service.

In 2001 the renovation measures continued. The floors could be renewed and the stairs and stairs repaired. There were serious safety deficiencies in the area of ​​the bell chamber and the spire. For musical reasons it was decided to install sound shutters in the tower windows.

In 2002 the bell could be added. The Nikolausglocke and Michaelsglocke were consecrated on October 20th.

A month later the bells were raised and the Trinity Bell consecrated. With this addition to the bell, the bells were retrofitted with wooden yokes.

In 2002 the council decided that a wooden belfry should be installed again during the general renovation of the collegiate church. When the general renovation of the collegiate church began in July 2005, the time had come. As part of the planning work for the 13 meter high belfry, a scale model was made and given to the pen.

Finally, the steel chair from 1976 had to be dismantled and the smaller bells stored in the monastery garden.

So in autumn 2005 the new wooden bell chair could be firmly and conscientiously anchored and set up.

The wooden yokes, built in 2002, were designed in such a way that they could be adapted to the new wooden chair at any time. In addition, all tower stairs were rebuilt and the stairways repaired.

The wooden chair itself is made in the larch wood construction that has been common in Tyrol for centuries, in which the old bell chair from 1668 was built. The still existing basic beams in the lower part of the tower testify to this old construction in an impressive way.

The four large bells have a clapper .

No. Surname Nominal Weight
(kg) 		Diameter
(cm) 		Casting year Caster
1 Resurrection bell as 0 4168 189 1995 Grassmayr
2 Marienbell c 1 2150 149
3 Norbertiglocke it 1 1241 125 1976
4th Augustine bell f 1 887 112
5 Trinity Bell g 1 626 102 2002
6th Laurentius St. Stephen's Bell as 1 524 94 1976
7th Nicholas bell b 1 376 86 2012
8th Barbara's Bell c 2 263 74 1976
9 Michael's Bell it 2 156 64 2002
10 Holy Cross Bell f 2 101 55
11 Christ bell as 2 114 55 2005
Bell in the turret of the tower:
12 Choir bell approx as 2 about 100 56 1444 unknown

Other facilities

Right next to Wilten Abbey, and looked after by the Wilten Premonstratensians, is the Wilten Basilica , which serves as the parish church of the Wilten parish .

Wilten Abbey is also home to the Wilten Boys' Choir . They are among the oldest and most traditional boys' choirs in Europe. As early as the 13th century there were “singing boys” at the school of the Premonstratensian Canons of Wilten. The Wilten Boys 'Choir is more than 250 years older than the Vienna Boys' Choir . In 1946 they were re-established in their current form and are today among the most renowned and best boys' choirs in the world. Her motto is to sing "for the glory of God and for the joy of men".

On the nearby Bergisel are the Kaiserjägermuseum and the Bergiselschanze , from which you have a good view of the monastery, the Wilten basilica opposite and the large Wilten cemetery in front of it . The large community cemetery is under the administration of Wilten Abbey and contains many interesting monuments of well-known Innsbruck families. The sculptors Dominikus Trenkwalder and Hans Vonmetz , the lawyer Friedrich Maassen and the librarian Josef Hofinger are among the important personalities who have found their final resting place here . The Wilten cemetery should not be confused with the much smaller parish cemetery located directly around the basilica, which is under the administration of the Wilten parish and is separated from the Wilten cemetery by Pastorstrasse.

The elementary school of the Pedagogical Academy in Tyrol and the Innsbruck Tourism College are located in the buildings of Wilten Abbey .

Abbots

Marquard (1128 / 38–1142)
Franz Sales Blaas (1877-1888)
Raimund Schreier (since 1992)

The abbots of the monastery were:

  • 1. Marquard von Pruntrut (today Canton Jura) († May 6, 1142), student of St. Norbert , the founder of the Premonstrate Order
  • 2. Heinrich I.
  • 3. Theodoric († 1178)
  • 4. Henry II († September 19, 1190); He handed over the monastery grounds at the right Innufer where growing up in the wake of Innsbruck, and received by Count Berthold of Andechs and his son Duke Berthold of Merano goods to Ambras , various exemptions and share in Innsbruck inches
  • 5. Theodorich (Dietrich) († January 24, 1200)
  • 6. Sigfried († January 18, 1207)
  • 7. Ulrich I († 1230)
  • 8. Henry III.
  • 9. Ulrich II.
  • 10. Ludwig
  • 11. Gottschalk
  • 12. Witmar
  • 13. Conrad I.
  • 14. Wernher
  • 15. Conrad II.
  • 16. John I.
  • 17. Conrad III. Friedberg Speiser
  • 18. Friedrich
  • 19. Jacob I.
  • 20. Henry IV.
  • 21. Jobst (1401-1413)
  • 22. Heinrich V (1413–1428), brother of the later Bishop Ulrich II of Brixen
  • 23. John II (1428-1452)
  • 24. Erhard (1452-1458)
  • 25. Ingenuin Mösl (1458–1464)
  • 26. John III. Lösch (1464–1469)
  • 27. Oswald Peisser (1469-1470)
  • 28. Alexius Stoll (1470–1492)
  • 29. Jacob II. Schmölzer (1492–1498)
  • 30. Leonhard Klinger (1498–1530)
  • 31. Georg Trener (1531–1536)
  • 32. Johannes Brunner (1536–1576)
  • 33. Ulrich III. Krendl (1576–1585)
  • 34. Johannes V. Saurwein (1585–1594)
  • 35. Christoph Lercher (1594–1601)
  • 36. Markus Kniepasser (1601–1605)
  • 37. Simon Kammerlander (1605–1621)
  • 38. Andreas Mayr (1621–1650)
  • 39. Dominikus Löhr (1651–1687)
  • 40. Johannes VII. Mayr von Freising (1687–1693)
  • 41. Gregor von Stremer (1693–1719)
  • 42. Martin von Stickler (1719–1747)
  • 43. Norbert I. Bußjäger (1747–1765), son of Matthias Pussjäger
  • 44. Josef von Lizzi (1765–1778)
  • 45. Norbert II von Spergs (1778–1782)
  • 46. ​​Mark II Egle (1784–1820)
  • 47. Alois I. Röggl (1820-1851)
  • 48. John VIII. Freninger (1851–1876)
  • 49. Franz Sales Blaas (1877–1888)
  • 50. Lorenz Müller (1888–1906)
  • 51. Adrian Andreas Zacher (1907–1922)
  • 52. Henry VI. Schuler (1922-1949)
  • 53. Hieronymus Triendl (1949–1955)
  • 54. Alois II. Stöger (1957–1992)
  • 55. Raimund Schreier (1992–)

literature

  • Wilten Monastery (ed.): 850 years of the Praemonstratensian Canon Monastery of Wilten. Book publisher Tiroler Tageszeitung, 2nd edition, Innsbruck 1989, ISBN 3-85301-001-6
  • Max Stebich : Alpine legends. 1958.
  • Gustav Heider (Hrsg.): Yearbook of the Imperial-Royal Central Commission for the research and preservation of the architectural monuments. Volume 4. Vienna 1860, pp. 27-28.
  • Astrid von Schlachta : The Premonstratensian Monastery Wilten. In: Hannes Obermair et al .: Cathedral and collegiate pens in the region Tyrol-South Tyrol-Trentino in the Middle Ages and modern times: Collegialità ecclesiastica nella regione trentino-tirolese dal medioevo all'età moderna. (= Schlern writings 329). Innsbruck: Wagner 2006. ISBN 3-7030-0403-7 , pp. 239-251.

Web links

Commons : Wilten Abbey  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Martin Bitschnau , Hannes Obermair : Tiroler Urkundenbuch, II. Department: The documents on the history of the Inn, Eisack and Pustertal valleys. Vol. 1: Up to the year 1140 . Universitätsverlag Wagner, Innsbruck 2009, ISBN 978-3-7030-0469-8 , p. 298-301 no. 357 .
  2. ^ Franz-Heinz Hye : The coat of arms of Wilten Abbey and its history. In: 850 Years of Prämonstrastenser Canon Monastery Wilten, pp. 375–380
  3. ↑ More information on the concert organ
  4. ↑ Josef Gelmi: The Brixner Bishops in the History of Tyrol , Bozen 1984, p. 96, and Victor Schaller: Ulrich II. Putsch Bishop of Brixen and his diary 1427–1437 , in: Zeitschrift des Ferdinandeums. III. Episode. Issue 86, pp. 231f.
  5. ↑ Tyrolean portraits.
  6. ↑ Death picture
  7. ↑ Death picture

Coordinates: 47 ° 15 ′ 13.3 "  N , 11 ° 24 ′ 1.8"  E