Lorsch gate hall

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West side of the gate hall, 2009
East side of the gate hall, 2007

The gate hall (also king hall ) of the former Lorsch monastery is a late Carolingian building that was built around 900. He is assigned to the era of the Carolingian Renaissance , his earlier function is the subject of various hypotheses. The multi-colored façade of the gate hall is an important example of ancient construction and work technology in the early Middle Ages . The building was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1991 as the last part of the Carolingian monastery complex that was visible above ground, together with the other structural and archaeological remains of the medieval monastery complex .

Architectural description

Composite capital

The gate hall is characterized by a clear floor plan. On the ground floor there is an open hall made up of three semicircular closed arched openings of equal height, on the upper floor there is a pseudo-architecture made of fluted rectangular templates, capitals in the Ionic style with typical Corinthian acanthus leaves ( composite capital ) and triangular gables . The surfaces are made of red and white sandstone , below in squares, above in hexagons and triangles. The fluting of the columns continues upwards, but in the form of painted pilasters up to a jagged pattern that is reminiscent of half-timbered houses that are often found in this area.

history

The construction of the gate hall can be narrowed down to around 900 according to radiocarbon measurements published in 2016.

Interior: the altar niche on the left

While the facade of the hall was hardly changed, the interior underwent several changes, which indicate a change in use of the space. Originally there was an architectural painting on the first floor with a row of columns on a plinth made of different colored blocks. Due to the type of painting, it is assumed that the hall was used secularly at this time. In the 11th or 12th century, the middle window on the east wall was walled up to make room for an altar niche. The east wall received a figurative painting, which indicates a sacred use. Around 1400 the hall was given a steeper Gothic roof to make room for a semicircular wooden barrel, which replaced the presumably flat ceiling of the first floor. The walls of the upper floor were entirely painted with figurative representations.

On the instructions of the Elector of Mainz and Archbishop Lothar Franz von Schönborn , the ground floor ceiling was removed in 1697, the eastern arches were walled up and the western arches were provided with doors. In 1724 the building was given a new roof of the same height, a flat stuccoed ceiling and new plastering in the interior. Demolition was imminent in 1797, as the hall was auctioned off for demolition. The rescue was carried out by Grand Duke Ludwig I of Hesse-Darmstadt , who purchased the hall and saved it from demolition. In 1842, despite efforts to preserve the hall, the northern stair tower collapsed. It was rebuilt during the first restoration of the hall in 1934/35. During this restoration, an attempt was made to restore the hall to its original condition, which is why the baroque ceiling was removed, the arches on the ground floor were opened and a ceiling was installed again on the ground floor. During a later restoration, the Gothic barrel and the painting were reconstructed on the upper floor. In the course of restoration work on the facade between 2012 and 2014, the facade was systematically examined in order to find possibly unknown structural details that could provide conclusions about the original purpose of the hall. Archaeological excavations on the prehistory and early history of the monastery have been taking place since 2010, as part of which the area around the gate hall has been investigated since 2015 and a number of graves were found in the immediate vicinity.

Previous position

The original function of the gate hall is controversial in research. After centuries of oblivion, the unusual building was interpreted in 1812 by Johann Konrad Dahl, the parish priest of Gernsheim , as a gate hall in the monastery wall. But excavations in 1927/28 showed that the building was always vacant. The use as a “King's Hall” with a hall for receptions and jurisdiction , as an “Arch of Honor” and as a library is under discussion . In 1999, Romano Silva brought the most recent suggestion into the discussion. Silva connects the Lorsch gate hall with the Old Testament description of a court arbor in the courtyard of the palace of King Solomon ( 1 Kings 7.7  EU : Et domuncula, in qua sedebatur ad iudicandum, erat in media porticu , domuncula = "small house"). In this sense, Matthias Untermann also interprets the architecture of the gate hall with its two stair towers and the painted architecture of an "open arbor" on the first floor as a place of an "open court". According to this reading, the Lorsch Torhalle would be a representative building in the entrance area of ​​the monastery church, in which the abbots of the imperial abbey or their deputies exercised jurisdiction.

Tourist importance

Comprehensive measures to redesign the world heritage site began at the end of 2012. The aim of these renovation measures is to improve the experience of the former Lorsch Monastery. These measures include the landscaping of the monastery-era buildings, the gate hall, the monastery wall and the remains of the church and the conversion of the tithe barn into a museum that also provides a virtual explanation.

literature

  • Werner Jacobsen: The Lorsch Gate Hall. On the problem of their dating and interpretation. With a catalog of the sculptural fragments as an appendix. In: Yearbook of the Central Institute for Art History. Vol. 1, 1985, pp. 9-75.
  • Katarina Papajanni: Lorsch, gate hall - wall technology. In: Katarina Papajanni, Judith Ley (ed.): Carolingian wall technology in Germany and Switzerland. Schnell and Steiner, Regensburg 2016, pp. 177–186.
  • Kerstin Merkel: The antique reception of the so-called Lorscher Torhalle. In: Art in Hesse and the Middle Rhine. Vol. 32/33, 1992/93, pp. 23-42.
  • Matthias Untermann : The "gate hall". In: Lorsch Monastery. From the imperial monastery of Charlemagne to the world cultural heritage of mankind. Exhibition at the Lorsch Museum Center, May 28, 2011– January 29, 2012. Imhof, Petersberg 2011, pp. 194-214.
  • Thomas Ludwig: The Lorsch gate or king hall. A Carolingian building richly decorated inside and out (= Small Art Guide. Volume 2575). Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 2006, ISBN 978-3-7954-6565-0 .
  • Hans Michael Hangleiter, Stefan Schopf: Investigations of historical surfaces and colors in the Lorscher Torhalle , in: Matthias Exner (Ed.), Wall painting of the early Middle Ages , Munich 1998, ISBN 978-3-87490-663-0 , pp. 17–34 , online .

Web links

Commons : Torhalle Lorsch  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Katarina Papajanni: Lorsch, gate hall - wall technology. In: Katarina Papajanni, Judith Ley (ed.): Carolingian wall technology in Germany and Switzerland. Schnell and Steiner, Regensburg 2016, pp. 177–186, here p. 177.
  2. ^ Lorsch gate hall (Hesse). In: Chair of Building History at the Technical University of Munich (website).
  3. ↑ Dieter Lammers: Archaeological research in the Lorsch monastery. In: Institute for European Art History , University of Heidelberg , February 25, 2016.
  4. ^ Johann Konrad Dahl: Historical-topographical-statistical description of the principality of Lorsch. Stahl, Darmstadt 1812, p. 223f.
  5. ^ Friedrich Behn: The excavations in the Lorsch monastery. In: Journal for Monument Preservation . Vol. 3, 1928, pp. 20-35, here pp. 23f. See Marion Bayer: A history of Germany in 100 buildings. Cologne 2015, p. 29.
  6. ↑ Alois Fuchs: The King's Hall of the Lorsch Monastery. In: Ders .: The Carolingian Westworks and other questions of Carolingian architecture. Paderborn 1929, pp. 73–90, here pp. 83–90.
  7. ↑ Werner Jacobsen: The Lorsch gate hall. On the problem of their dating and interpretation. With a catalog of the sculptural fragments as an appendix. In: Yearbook of the Central Institute for Art History. Vol. 1, 1985, pp. 9-75, here pp. 35f.
  8. ↑ Kerstin Merkel: The antique reception of the so-called Lorsch Torhalle. In: Art in Hesse and the Middle Rhine. Vol. 32/33, 1992/93, pp. 23-42, here pp. 33-42.
  9. ^ Romano Silva: "Et domuncula, in qua sedebatur ad iudicandum, erat in media porticu": alcune considerazioni sulla Königshalle di Lorsch. In: Antonio Cadei (ed.): Arte d'Occidente. Studi in onore di Angiola Maria Romanini. Vol. 1, Rome 1999, pp. 41-47.
  10. ^ Matthias Untermann: The "gate hall". In: Lorsch Monastery. From the imperial monastery of Charlemagne to the world cultural heritage of mankind. Exhibition at the Lorsch Museum Center, May 28, 2011– January 29, 2012. Imhof, Petersberg 2011, pp. 194–214, here p. 208, as well as Matthias Untermann: Handbook of medieval architecture. Darmstadt 2009, p. 137.
  11. ^ Eva Bambach: The Carolingian gate hall in Lorsch - visible, tangible, consumable? In: Spektrum.de , SciLogs , November 22, 2013.

Coordinates: 49 ° 39 ′ 14 ″  N , 8 ° 34 ′ 8 ″  E