St. Johann Collegiate Church (Regensburg)
The collegiate church of St. Johann in Regensburg , which is located in the immediate vicinity of St. Peter's Cathedral , is the spiritual center of the St. Johann collegiate monastery, founded in 1127 , which houses St. John the Baptist (Memorial Day: June 24) and John the Evangelist ( Remembrance Day: December 27th) is dedicated. The collegiate church has had a checkered history over the centuries. The originally Ottonian building had to be demolished in order to expand the Regensburg Cathedral to the west. So a Gothic building was built on the site of today's church, which underwent a radical Baroque redesign in the 1760s . After a fire in 1887, the church was rebuilt in neo-baroque forms.
history
Previous buildings
The roots of the collegiate church of St. Johann go back to a building that can no longer be precisely located, which served as the baptistery of the old Regensburg cathedral. Therefore, the baptism of fourteen Bohemian princes attested in the Fulda annals on the octave day of the Epiphany in 845 is located here. A memorial plaque on the north outer wall of the church has been commemorating this since 1995.
Excavations in 1859 and 1924/25 found the building, which was built at the beginning of the 11th century at the same time as the west transept attached to the Carolingian cathedral and connected to it by an atrium . The first known St. John's Church stretched across the cathedral and faced south. Their length corresponded roughly to the width of the cathedral. As early as the middle of the 11th century, St. Johann was no longer a baptismal church, as can be seen from a city description, but possibly a cathedral parish church, which, however, has not been clearly proven. The great city fires in Regensburg in 1152 and 1176 are likely to have affected not only the cathedral, but also the collegiate church.
Around 1220 the atrium between Johanneskirche and cathedral was renewed. In the bishop's crypt under the cathedral, laid out in 1984/85, a well-preserved free pillar and several wall pillars can still be seen from this building . In the 13th and 14th centuries, several side chapels were added to the Johanneskirche . For example, there is evidence of a St. Nicholas chapel on the south side of the collegiate church , which was designed as an early Gothic rectangular chapel . Since its foundations were found in 1859 under the south tower of today's cathedral, we know that it was the same width as the collegiate church and was connected to it by a door.
Demolition and rebuilding of the collegiate church in the 14th century
The new building of the cathedral, which began in the middle of the 13th century and the episcopal church was greatly expanded to the west, had to give way to the monastery buildings and the collegiate church. Although the Nikolauskapelle was excluded from the demolition in 1325, it was removed soon afterwards, as the monastery was awarded a compensation payment for it in 1341 . An altar in the collegiate church was consecrated to St. Nicholas as a “replacement” . For several decades, however, the monastery resisted the demolition of the monastery church, also because it had great influence at the time. Bishop Conrad VI. von Regensburg wrote, for example, in 1369 that St. Johann was "the second church in the respect of our diocese". On July 2, 1380, however, the demolition of the old collegiate church was agreed within twelve years against the construction of a new building with five altars .
The new Gothic building of the collegiate church was probably largely completed as early as 1381. This was already at the site of today's church and, like this, faced east. It was a two-aisled hall church , the south aisle of which on the upper floor contained the monastery archive and the chapter house . The choir of this aisle probably served as the Lady Chapel . The single-nave presbytery, over which today's sacristy wing was built, was attached to the north nave . The sacristy at that time was built to the north in the direction of the bishop's court . To the west of it rises the mighty, square tower, which was crowned with a lantern typical of Regensburg in the Baroque period .
Remodeling in the Renaissance and Baroque periods
In 1511 the collegiate church received new figures in a measure that went well beyond the agreement of 1380. In 1538 Friedrich Pfannmüller from Hirschau near Amberg rebuilt the existing organ . In 1628 the tower received a clock with a four-week movement, which is still in use today. In the same year Ulrich Deugner from Regensburg cast two new bells for the collegiate church, since in 1616 two bells had been given due to dissonance . According to the inscription, a new altarpiece was built around 1630 , in which the panel painting of "Beautiful Maria" by Albrecht Altdorfer from around 1520 was inserted. This is now on loan in the Diocesan Museum in the nearby Ulrichskirche . In addition, a crypt was laid out under the choir of that time around 1630, which, however, was never used by the collegiate monastery of St. Johann, but is still under the administration of the bishop's court. At that time, the collegiate church was surrounded by low shop buildings and connected to the north tower of the cathedral by a wall that existed until the 20th century. Repair work on the roof and the altars is recorded for 1737. In 1758 the Regensburg sculptor Simon Sorg delivered a no longer existing holy grave .
From 1766 to 1769 the collegiate church was extensively rebuilt. The Gothic building was laid down to the foundation walls. The two ships were combined into a large, uniform hall with a flat ceiling . The west facade was designed symmetrically , but without the decorative gable . The Gothic choir was separated by a wall and redesigned on two floors with an intermediate floor. The sacristy has since been converted on the lower floor, and the new chapter house has been set up above. The crypt on the west side of the church, rediscovered in 1698, has now been reopened for burials of canons. While no stucco was used, the Bavarian electoral court painter Johann Nepomuk Schöpf and his journeymen created three magnificent ceiling frescoes in 1768 : the beheading of John the Baptist, the founding and construction of the collegiate church of St. Johann and Jacob's dream. In addition, Schöpf's workshop created some wall paintings , which for example represented the personification of virtues . None of these paintings have survived today.
In the course of the total renovation, the equipment was also partially renewed. The altarpiece of the baptism of Jesus for the new high altar , which is still preserved, also comes from Schöpf and was created in 1769. In addition, on October 22, 1769, the Regensburg auxiliary bishop added three side altars in honor of the "Beautiful Maria", Anna herself, and of St. Sebastian consecrated. The ornate choir stalls , which, like various other sculptures, were made by Johann Valentin Dirr from Stadtamhof and Johann Ignaz Andres from Obermünster , also date from this period. In addition, in 1769 Michael Herberger from Stadtamhof spent an organ from around 1730, which probably came from his father-in-law Johann Konrad Brandenstein , on the west gallery of the collegiate church.
Restoration, fire and reconstruction in the 19th century
In 1835 the three side altar leaves were restored. Between 1874 and 1878 the exterior and interior were renovated over several years, during which, among other things, the wall and ceiling paintings by Schöpf were restored to their original condition by the Munich history painter Leopold Weinmayer. In addition, the Regensburg carpenter Johann Kohlhaupt created a new high altar and a cross altar in the neo-renaissance style based on a design by the Landshut sculptor Paul Weiß . The Goß brothers, painters and gilders from Stadtamhof were responsible for setting the new altars . In 1882 the church finally received a new organ from Johann Anton Breil .
On June 24, 1887, a fire broke out in the northern bishop's court, which quickly spread to the collegiate church and largely destroyed the efforts of the church restoration. The tower burned out, the roof structure and the flat ceiling were destroyed and the organ was also damaged. As a result, in connection with other demolition measures on the southern cathedral square , the demolition of the collegiate church was even considered in favor of a clearer view of the cathedral with its new towers, but this was not implemented. Instead, the architect Bruno Specht was commissioned with the reconstruction in 1888 . While the tower was rebuilt in its old state, the church interior was redesigned in the neo-baroque style. A gable was placed on the west facade. The church was consecrated on June 23, 1890 .
20th and 21st centuries
The next renovation measure took place from 1926 to 1931. The exterior and interior were repaired, heating was installed and all six altars were restored. A painting of the vault was also considered, but was not implemented. Another interior renovation took place between 1957 and 1959. Parts of the furnishings, especially the high altar and cross altar, were purified . In addition, the bells from the 14th century, which had become unusable, were given away to the church of St. Anna in the Regensburg district of Großprüfening .
In 1975 the exterior was renovated before conservation work was carried out inside the church in 1976 and 1977 by the Hugo Preis company from Parsberg under the supervision of the Bavarian State Office for the Preservation of Monuments. Some of the forgotten wall frescoes by Schöpf could be exposed again. In addition, a house chapel for the canons was set up on the upper floor of the sacristy, which was equipped with former side altars from the collegiate church. The work was completed on time for the 850th anniversary of the abbey in 1977. In 1992 a carillon with 84 melodies was installed in the lantern of the tower , which has been sounding four times a day since then. In 1996 the last renovation was carried out for the time being. The interior was given a somewhat friendlier appearance thanks to the new color scheme.
architecture
Urban embedding
Located to the northwest of St. Peter's Cathedral, the St. Johann Collegiate Church delimits the cathedral square on the north side and, with its west facade, meets the Krauterermarkt , which stretches north towards the Danube . It stands out in particular due to the yellow-gray color of its facade and its dimensions are matched to the neighboring bishop's court, although since the reconstruction at the end of the 19th century it has stood out in terms of design with neo-baroque style elements. Due to the dense development in the old town of Regensburg, only the south and west sides of the collegiate church are free of additions.
Exterior construction
The west facade, structured by rusticated corner pilasters, can certainly be seen as a show facade . In the center is the stone portal , which is also framed by rusticated pilaster strips and crowned by a curved volute gable. This contains the coat of arms of Pope Urban III, who placed the then Augustinian Canons under his protection in 1186. There is a small oval window on either side of the portal; above each a larger, upright rectangular window, which is closed in the form of an arched arch. The segment-arched ornamental gable, which was added in the 19th century and is framed by two ornamental obelisks, rises above a cornice . In the aedicle-like niche of the segment gable is a statue of the patron saint John the Baptist made of Danube limestone . This was created in 1889 by the sculptor Friedrich Preckel from Stadtamhof.
The south facade, on the other hand, is much simpler. It clearly shows the structure of the church building in five bays and a three-sided choir closure. The yoke is separated by gray-washed pilaster strips. Rectangular arched windows are inserted in the wall panels in between. In the middle yoke there is a south portal, a simpler stone portal, which is framed by two pilasters and crowned by a tail gable. In the latter, the coat of arms of the collegiate monastery St. Johann is painted. On the north side of the end of the choir is the sacristy tract, which housed the choir of the previous Gothic building until 1766. The chapter house and the house chapel of the collegiate canons are now housed on the upper floor.
To the north of the sacristy rises the Gothic tower, which was largely rebuilt after the fire of 1887 in the shape of the 14th century. The mighty tower made of coarse quarry stone masonry rises over an almost square floor plan with an edge length of about seven meters. The upper end is formed by a lantern placed on the truncated pyramid roof in the Baroque period , which is crowned by a tower ball and the image of the "Beautiful Maria" shining in the sun. The latter refers to the precious panel painting by Albrecht Altdorfers, which is in the possession of the collegiate monastery. Between the nave, the tower and the neighboring building there is a small inner courtyard, which allows a view of the still preserved Gothic quarry stone masonry on the north wall of the church.
inner space
Inside, the collegiate church presents itself as a light, single-aisle room in the manner of a congregation hall, just like the citizens' hall in Munich. Since the reconstruction at the end of the 19th century, the hall has been vaulted with a flat barrel with lance caps . This rests on a volute console on flat pilasters . The vault is divided into fields by simple stucco frames, which were probably originally intended for painting. A west gallery with organ and curved parapet has been inserted in the rear nave yoke , which rests on two rectangular columns. Underneath is the entrance to the crypt, which has served as a burial place for the canons since 1769 . This is laid across the nave of the collegiate church.
On the north side of today's sacristy, a few steps lead down to the Gothic sacristy, which was built together with the Gothic collegiate church in the last quarter of the 14th century. The Gothic ribbed vault , which has keystones with four-leaf rosettes and ivy leaves , has largely been preserved in its original form.
Furnishing
Altars
As a result of the purification of 1957/59, today's high altar no longer has any architectural structure and is a conglomerate of several pieces that originally did not belong together: the altar sheet of the Baptism of Christ by Johann Nepomuk Schöpf, newly framed in 1878, from 1769, a Baroque tabernacle from the parish church of St. Laurentius in Alteglofsheim , and two worshiping angels that were previously housed in the chapter house of St. Johann.
Opposite the south portal is the cross altar , which was also created in this combination in 1957/59. The monumental crucifix with a larger than life body is a Romanizing work from the first half of the 17th century, which was previously housed in the sacristy. It is flanked by two late Gothic panel paintings from the environment of the painter Jan Polack , which the canon Michael Helmberger donated in 1899. The pictures probably come from the high altar of the pilgrimage church of St. Wolfgang near Velburg . There are also three silver-plated wooden busts of the evangelist John (center) and the apostles Peter (left) and Paul (right) on the altar hall . A fourth of these busts represents John the Baptist and is currently in storage.
Also on the north wall is the baroque St. Mary's altar , which was donated in 1630 by canon Johann Hardinger. In the center is a high quality rococo figure of Maria Immaculata , which is an early work by the Regensburg sculptor Simon Sorg from around 1750. This statue replaced the Renaissance panel painting of the "Beautiful Maria" by Albrecht Altdorfer, which was removed during the renovation in 1926/31 and can now be seen in the Diocesan Museum of Ortisei. The Immaculata is flanked by figures of the apostles Peter (left) and Paul (right). Opposite on the south side is the Sebastian altar with the depiction of the martyrdom of the eponymous saint. The two late Gothic side figures of Saint Stephen and Nicholas date from around 1480 and refer to the altars of the collegiate church in honor of this patron, which can be traced back to the 14th century but no longer exist today.
Other equipment
On both sides of the high altar there are rococo figures of the two church patrons Johannes Baptist (right) and Johannes Evangelist (left) from around 1730 on consoles. Another figure of St. John Nepomuk (left) also dates from the 18th century. The oak choir stalls with beautifully curved cheeks and seats were created in 1769 based on a design by Georg Christian Garri. Gravestones of canons from the years 1634 to 1761 are placed under the organ gallery. At that time the burials were made in the church, not in the crypt. A neo-baroque marble plaque by Georg Federl reminds of the deceased canons. To the right of the Marian altar is a 65 centimeter high linden wood group of the holy mother Anna with Maria on a console , to the right of the cross altar a Pietà of about the same size . These groups of figures were donated by Canon Michael Helmberger in 1899.
Between the Pietà and the choir stalls there is a photo of the Holy Pope John Paul II (* 1920 † 2005) and underneath, on a pedestal, a reliquary with a blood relic of the saint. This reliquary is a work by the Upper Palatinate artist Engelbert Süss from 2015. The left bronze relief shows the Grotto of Lourdes and the donation's dedication: "Donated by Deutsche Hospitalité Notre Dame de Lourdes" - the right side shows Pope John Paul II and the St. Peter's Basilica. In 2014 the collegiate church of St. Johann was assigned to the Deutsche Hospitalité Notre Dame de Lourdes as the congregational church.
Numerous other pieces of equipment, including former side altars and parts of the valuable church treasure , are located in the part of the church that is not accessible to the public, consisting of the sacristy, chapter house and house chapel.
organ
Today's organ was rebuilt in 2004 by Orgelbau Eisenbarth from Passau in a baroque case , which probably comes from an organ by Johann Konrad Brandenstein. It replaced a work by Eduard Hirnschrodt from 1953. The instrument comprises 25 stops on two manuals and a pedal . The game actions are mechanical, the stop actions mechanical and electrical. The disposition is as follows:
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- Coupling : II / I, I / P, II / P
- Playing aid : double registration with typesetting system
Bells
In the tower there is a historical, three-part bell with the tone sequence a 1 –cis 2 –gis 2 . The large and small bells were cast in 1333 by a Magister Cunrad de Marburch. The middle bell (cis 2 ) is a gift from a church in Middle Franconia and was probably cast around 1480. This makes the bells one of the oldest in the diocese of Regensburg .
literature
- Lothar Altmann: Regensburg - Collegiate Church of St. Johann. (= Little Art Guide No. 1114). Verlag Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 1997, 2nd edition. ISBN 3-7954-4840-9 .
Web links
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Regensburg, St. Johannes Baptist , basic data and history:
Peter Morsbach: St. Johann Baptist - Augustinian canons and canons in the database of monasteries in Bavaria in the House of Bavarian History - Recording of the carillon of the collegiate church St. Johann
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l Altmann, pp. 2–9.
- ↑ a b c d e f Altmann, pp. 9 and 12.
- ↑ a b c d e Altmann, pp. 12-14.
- ↑ Information on the Deutsche Hospitalité and the installation of the relic with images on the website of the Diocese of Regensburg, accessed on February 4, 2017
- ^ New organs in the Diocese of Regensburg - The Eisenbarth organ in St. Johann, Regensburg . Online at www.kirchenmusik-regensburg.de; accessed on January 12, 2017.
- ^ Regensburg, St. Johann . Online at www.orgelbau-eisenbarth.de; accessed on January 12, 2017.
- ^ Regensburg, St. Johann - full bell . Online at www.youtube.com; accessed on January 24, 2017.
Coordinates: 49 ° 1 ′ 11 ″ N , 12 ° 5 ′ 51 ″ E