Herrieden Abbey Basilica

Front view of the basilica

Choir of the basilica

The collegiate church of St. Vitus and Deocar is one of Pope Benedict XVI. Church in Herrieden , Middle Franconia , Bavaria, which was elevated to a minor basilica on July 14, 2010 . Along with the Franciscan basilica in Ingolstadt and the pilgrimage basilica in Wemding, it is one of the three minor basilicae of the Eichstätt diocese and the only one in Middle Franconia.

Building history

The original church was consecrated in 1071 by Bishop Gundekar II as the collegiate church of the Herrieden collegiate monastery . The closely spaced church towers were probably completed at the end of the 13th / beginning of the 14th century and stylistically belong to the early Gothic . The first choir was built from 1340, the current one dates back to between 1447 and 1461. After a fire in 1490, the church was enlarged between 1502 and 1533 and redesigned in the late Gothic style. The two large chapels of the church also date from the same period: the Peterskapelle on the north side and the Nikolauskapelle. In 1677 and 1683, a painted wooden ceiling was installed in the nave.

The baroque redesign of the church began with the redesign of the Peterskapelle from 1740 to 1748. In the following years the nave was vaulted and the interior was stuccoed . Most of the baroque interior is by Gabriel de Gabrieli . In order to give the faithful an unobstructed view of the choir, the cross altar was removed in 1851 and the choir grille from 1735 was moved under the gallery.

Restoration work took place in 1878/79, 1947/48 (inside), 1968 (outside) and 1999 to 2008 (total renovation).

Spatial effect

In contrast to the simple exterior, the interior is richly baroque. In the choir, the lozenge vaulting and the keystones surrounded by stucco are a reminder of the late Gothic origin. The choir is dominated by four large canvas paintings from the 18th century depicting the birth of Christ, the Last Supper, the resurrection and the sending of the Holy Spirit.

The frescoes in the nave are by Edmund Wiedemann and show the church patrons and diocesan saints. The ceiling paintings show the martyrdom of St. Vitus in the oil kettle, the healing of a son of Emperor Diocletian at the intercession of St. Vitus, the coronation of Mary, the visit of Emperor Charlemagne to St. Deocar and a healing of the sick at his intercession.

Further paintings can be found on the gallery parapet.

Furnishing

High altar

The baroque high altar was made by Hofbaudirektor Jakob Engel in 1695. The altarpiece was created by Johann Caspar Sing .

The Jesuit altar dates from 1773/76 and shows Ignatius von Loyola , Franz Xaver and the Japanese martyrs.

The second side altar (plague / Sebastian altar) is on the opposite side.

Other side altars in the central nave are the Three Kings Altar from 1770, the Willibald Altar from 1726 and the Altar of St. Deocar from the second half of the 18th century.

The baroque pulpit was made by Johannes Bernhard Koch in 1720/30 and has gold-plated ornaments.

The choir stalls date from the second half of the 15th century and are decorated with statues of apostles and prophets.

The Basilius Chapel, built in the early 16th century and redesigned in a neo-Gothic style in 1882, contains the grave of St. Deocars, which itself dates from 1482.

organ

The organ is the work of Georg Martin Gessinger . The instrument was built in 1780. In 1974 the organ was rebuilt and in the course of the last restoration it was equipped with two additional stops . Today the slider chest instrument has 33 stops on three manuals and a pedal .

I Hauptwerk C – g 3 1. Drone 16 ′ 2. Principal 8th' 3. Wooden flute 8th' 4th octave 4 ′ 5. Reed flute 4 ′ 6th octave 2 ′ 7th Mixture V-VI 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′ 8th. Trumpet 8th'

II Swell C – g 3 9. Covered 8th' 10. Salicional 8th' 11. recorder 4 ′ 12. Fifth 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′ 13. Principal 2 ′ 14th third 1 3 ⁄ 5  ′ 15th Sifflet 1' 16. Scharff IV 1' 17th Dulcian 16 ′ 18th oboe 8th' Tremulant

III Crown positive C – g 3 19th Reed flute 8th' 20th Principal 4 ′ 21st Pointed flute 4 ′ 22nd Gemshorn 2 ′ 23. Fifth 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′ 24. Zimbel III 1 ⁄ 2 ′ 25th Vox humana 8th' Tremulant

Pedal C – f 1 26th Principal bass 16 ′ 27. Sub-bass 16 ′ 28. octave 8th' 29 Covered bass 8th' 30th Choral bass II 4 ′ + 2 ′ 31. Backset V 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′ 32. trombone 16 ′ 33. Trumpet 4 ′

• Coupling : II / I, III / I, III / II, I / P, II / P, III / P
• Playing aids : 4000-fold setting system

Web links

Commons : Collegiate Church of St. Vitus and St. Deocar Herrieden  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Basilica on the sides of the city of Herrieden
• Basilica on the website of the Herrieden Parish Association

Individual evidence

1. ↑ More information on the organ ( Memento of the original from March 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 

Coordinates: 49 ° 13 ′ 57.5 ″  N , 10 ° 29 ′ 53.8 ″  E