Nörten Abbey Crypt

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South-eastern area of ​​the exposed crypt with free-standing column and smashed altar on the left

The Nörten Abbey Crypt was discovered in 2014 during church archaeological excavations on Stiftsplatz in Nörten-Hardenberg next to St. Martin's Church , built in 1895 , and parts of it were temporarily exposed. The previously unknown crypt is considered to be of great archaeological importance for the history of the Hildesheim diocese and local history.

location

The 2014 redesigned Stiftsplatz with the St. Martin's Church , built in 1895 , in front of which the crypt is located

The remains of the crypt are at the northern end of the Stiftsplatz immediately south of the St. Martin's Church, built in 1895 on the grounds of the Hildesheim diocese, where it was discovered in 2014 just below the lawn surface. The approximately 20 × 60 meter large Stiftsplatz and its surroundings are considered to be the nucleus of the village of Nörten , whose beginnings go back to the 10th century. It was known that there have been several church buildings in this place over time. Like the town of Nörten, they were probably destroyed by city ​​fires (in 1599 and 1616) and by war events (1447, 1626).

Building history

The crypt was built around 1130 as a Romanesque vault under the church of St. Peter's Monastery in Nörten, founded in 1055 . It was later redesigned in the Gothic style. The end for the church and crypt came during the Thirty Years' War , when troops of the Protestant Duke Christian of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel , known as "the great Christian", plundered the place in 1626 and set it on fire. Then the crypt was filled with rubble from the destroyed church. In the period that followed, a new church was built over the crypt and various modifications and additions were made. A pavement laid in the 17th century covered the crypt. In 1893 the old church was torn down and replaced by a new building slightly offset to the north.

Discovery and excavation

In 2014 the municipality of Nörten had the monastery square redesigned. Since the discovery of historical soil relics was expected, an excavation company was commissioned to carry out archaeological investigations. They were carried out as early as 2013, including using georadar , which enabled massive building structures to be identified in some places in the underground of the square. In a search cut carried out in 2013, archaeologists discovered the foundations of a church tower 35 centimeters under the asphalt.

In the spring and summer of 2014, archaeological investigations accompanying the construction revealed remains of paved paths and a sewer in the southern area of ​​the Abbey Square. In the northern area, various foundations of church buildings and their additions from the 17th and 18th centuries were exposed. The archaeologists also found human bones from burials in the vicinity of St. Martin's Church.

The excavation site seen from the west

During further earthworks in front of St. Martin's Church in September 2014, remains of medieval wall and sandstone slabs were discovered under the lawn , which the diocese of Hildesheim had excavated by an excavation company. The panels were the floor of an earlier church, which, according to a traditional invoice, could be dated from 1691. During the excavation, this date served to classify the discovered walking horizons . In the course of further archaeological investigations, the remains of a rubble-filled crypt came to light, about half of which was exposed. The original plan was to finish the excavation after a short time. In view of the good state of preservation and the scientific importance of the site, the excavation of the crypt was continued. It led to the exposure of the east and south walls and their western end. Its north wall could not be excavated without endangering today's St. Martins Church. Hundreds of items were found in the excavation; including coins, a lead pistol and a hexagonal iron candlestick .

Backfilling

The remains of the crypt covered with tarpaulin in November 2014 before backfilling

After several weeks of excavation of the chosen spots Norten-Hardenberg and the diocese of Hildesheim in October 2014 to fill the excavation site again because the cost of a permanent presentation and accessibility of the crypt had moved in six-figure euro range. For reasons of conservation, the Lower Saxony state archaeologist Henning Haßmann advocated backfilling the site as soon as possible in order to protect the site. Securing is necessary before winter, since moisture that has penetrated the masonry would burst the stones due to frost. The exposed sandstones are also at risk of drying out. Before the filling, an electronic measurement and photographic documentation of the building remains were carried out for a later 3D reconstruction. The backfill took place in early December 2014 with fine gravel and topsoil . The masonry was previously protected by foils and fleece . Later, when funding and a concept for dealing with the site are available, the pit can be reopened for further excavations at any time. The local parish had previously campaigned for the crypt to be permanently visible and collected signatures for it.

description

The crypt, around 16 meters long, was excavated along its entire length inside. Its width is estimated to be around 7 meters, which results from a reflection from the recognized central axis onto the unexposed part. The excavation could not be carried out across the entire width, as this would have impaired the structural engineering of the adjacent church building. According to the archaeologists, the good state of preservation of the crypt, which was ascertained during the excavation, is due to the use of high-quality building materials at the time.

Base cornice on the east wall of the exposed crypt, behind it on the left the long south wall

The masonry of the crypt was built in red sandstone, in which there are individual white and greenish sandstones as well as travertine . The double-shell wall is carefully worked on the outside and inside, while the space in between is filled with rubble stones. On the inner walls, plaster residues have been preserved in individual places of the masonry, which have a white lime coat and small residues of a coat of paint. Inside the crypt there were blackish discolorations that may have come from a fire when the church above was destroyed in 1626 during the Thirty Years War. The floor of the crypt consisted of a lime screed floor, which was largely damaged by the fire and falling debris. After the destruction of the church, the crypt entrance on the west side, which led into a nave as a staircase, was walled up.

The north wall of the crypt lies in the area of ​​today's church building and could not be exposed without impairing its statics. It seems possible that it will serve as a foundation for the church built in 1895.

The long south wall is divided by several structural elements. These include pilasters as trailers for the vault of the crypt. A protruding pillar is particularly solid, which suggests a crossing pillar of the church above at the intersection of the main and transepts . In the middle of the south wall there is a small window framed in sandstone, the light opening of which has the shape of a quatrefoil .

There were three window openings in the east wall, which can be attributed to the Romanesque construction phase of the crypt. In the later Gothic period they were reworked and given sandstone window sills. In the eastern area is the altar area, the floor level of which is slightly raised. The stone altar is attached to the east wall. One corner has damage that appears to have been caused by hitting it. The cafeteria is next to it as a covering stone slab on the floor. In a single stone of the altar there is a recess that probably served as a sepulcrum to hold a vessel with a relic . This finding reflects the historical situation of 1626 during the Thirty Years War, when the relic was secured or stolen when the church burned.

In the south-east corner of the crypt there are remains of a stone sacrament house on the wall , in which objects presumably used for worship were kept. Here, too, two stone slabs have been torn out and chipped off.

The crypt had 2 rows of columns with 6 columns each  , which supported the groin vault above . One column is well preserved and another had a Romanesque cube capital . So far, the clearest indications of the time when the crypt was built are the bases of the columns. Based on their execution, they can be assigned to the first quarter of the 12th century.

In the area of ​​the crypt or in the immediate vicinity the location of an even older wooden church is assumed to be the predecessor building from the 8th century, because according to written sources the parish church of St. Martin was founded between 741 and 768. During the excavations, however, no building findings were found Wooden church to be noted. They would have been destroyed when the crypt was built around 1130, as this building goes down like a cellar.

During the excavations, the foundation of the square church tower, which was demolished in 1893, was exposed to the west of the crypt. The execution suggested a tower hall vaulted with an arch , which represented the entrance to the church. Based on the wall technology and the mortar used, it could be seen that the tower and the crypt were built at different times.

  • South wall with a small window
  • Opened altar with a small recess, probably for a relic
  • Sacraments
  • Foundation of a presumed crossing pillar

rating

The crypt is viewed as the underground church space of a predecessor building of the St. Martin's Church on Stiftsplatz, which was demolished in 1893. Historically, the founding of the Petersstift Nörten in 1055 is known, at which time an already existing church is presumed. However, the finds indicate that the crypt was only built around 1130. Archaeologists see the end of the crypt in the Thirty Years' War , when troops of the “ mad Christian ” looted the place and set it on fire in April 1626 , including the church. The altar of the crypt, which was uncovered during the excavation, could also have been opened in order to access a relic walled in it . After the attack, the crypt was filled with rubble from the church above and was forgotten. It is possible that the walls of the crypt served as the foundation for the church, which was rebuilt between 1636 and 1651. It was only demolished in 1893 because it was in disrepair, to make way for the new building of today's church, which was completed in 1895.

Due to the quality of its execution and its size, the crypt is of great importance for the diocese of Hildesheim in terms of both architecture and church history. The monument preservation of the diocese rates the discovery as an archaeological sensation of European importance. Experts such as the building researcher Cord Meckseper and Uwe Lobbedey, former chief curator of the Westphalian Museum of Archeology , rate the discovery as outstanding.

literature

Web links

Commons : Stiftskrypta Nörten  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ute Lawrenz: Continuation of the excavation on Nörtener Stiftsplatz promised by the Göttinger Tageblatt of September 24, 2014
  2. ↑ Hans-Joachim Oschmann: Nörtener Stiftsplatz hides a secret with Hessische / Niedersächsische Allgemeine (HNA) from March 5, 2013
  3. ↑ Ute Lawrenz: Archaeologists accompany the construction site in Nörten-Hardenberg at the Göttinger Tageblatt of April 25, 2014
  4. ↑ Frank Wedekind: First results of the archaeological investigation in Kirchstrasse and on Stiftsplatz (southern area) from May 28, 2014
  5. ↑ Ute Lawrenz: New finds on the Stiftsplatz in Nörten-Hardenberg in the Göttinger Tageblatt of July 16, 2014
  6. ↑ Archaeologists find bones and a crypt in Nörten-Hardenberg at Hessische / Niedersächsische Allgemeine (HNA) .de from September 22, 2014
  7. ↑ Ute Lawrenz: Excavation and finds on the Stiftsplatz in Nörten-Hardenberg at the Göttinger Tageblatt from September 19, 2014
  8. ↑ Nörtener can visit the excavation site at HNA.de from September 19, 2014
  9. ↑ archaeologists hope to "blockbuster Fund" at NDR .com from 21 September 2014
  10. ^ A b c d Rüdiger Wala: Archaeological excavation in Nörten-Hardenberg. “A sensational find” in: Church newspaper from October 8, 2014
  11. ↑ a b c Anna Lischper: Krypta-Fund: Experts are still looking for clues at HNA: de of October 16, 2014 for a week
  12. ↑ a b Hans-Joachim Oschmann: The crypt in front of the Catholic Church in Nörten-Hardenberg is filled in at HNA.de on October 15, 2014
  13. ↑ a b Crypt excavations are to be filled in ( memento from October 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) at NDR.de from October 14, 2014
  14. ↑ The crypt in Nörten-Hardenberg is filled in by the Göttinger Tageblatt on October 14, 2014
  15. ↑ Hans-Joachim Oschmann: Crypt in Nörten-Hardenberg: Security is the top priority at HNA.de from October 17, 2014
  16. ↑ a b c d Ute Lawrenz: The historic crypt in Nörten-Hardenberg remains open for the time being at the Göttinger Tageblatt of October 8, 2014
  17. ↑ The crypt in Nörten-Hardenberg is filled in ( memento from December 25, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) at ndr.de from December 9, 2014
  18. ↑ A sensational find in Nörten-Hardenberg is backfilled for protection at Göttinger Tageblatt of December 9, 2014
  19. ↑ Ute Lawrenz: 1000 year old crypt in Nörten-Hardenberg is buried in: Göttinger Tageblatt of October 23, 2014
  20. ↑ Ute Lawrenz: Signatures for the preservation of the crypt in Nörten-Hardenberg in: Göttinger Tageblatt of October 26, 2014
  21. ↑ Researcher: Remains of the oldest church in Lower Saxony in Nörten-Hardenberg at HNA.de from March 12, 2013
  22. ↑ Nörten history at Nörten history association
  23. ↑ Nörten-Hardenberg: The exposed crypt is considered a sensational find at HNA.de on October 9, 2014
  24. ↑ Reports on the preservation of monuments 2014/4

Coordinates: 51 ° 38 '3.4 "  N , 9 ° 56" 12.5 "  E