Gatehouse (Münsterschwarzach)

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The gatehouse as the entrance to the abbey

The so-called gatehouse (also Pfortenhaus ) forms the entrance to the monastery of Abbey Münsterschwarzach in the Lower Franconian district of Kitzingen . The gatehouse was built in the 17th century and was equipped with a chapel by the Missionary Benedictines at the beginning of the 20th century .

history

The gatehouse can be considered one of the oldest preserved remains of the old Münsterschwarzach monastery. The older monastery area, which was built in almost the same place in the early Middle Ages , had a gate here. Immediately in front of the previous building of the gatehouse was a crossroads that mediated between the ford near Schwarzenau , the Steigerwald and the road to Volkach . In the late Middle Ages, the so-called crucifixion shrine was built at this intersection , which is still within sight of the gatehouse today.

After the Thirty Years' War , which had devastated the monastery, reconstruction began under Abbot Remigius Winckel . In addition to the monastery mill , parts of the monastery walls were also rebuilt. The old gatehouse was in danger of collapsing and should also be rebuilt. In 1652 the new gate, which was built from scratch with stones, was completed. Remigius Winckel hired the architect Andreas Toniolus as a master builder, who received a total of 600 guilders for his work .

The gatehouse on a photograph from 1914

Shortly after completion, a certificate clarified the interior design of the gatehouse. A doorman's apartment and a boiler room were housed here in which the convent servants could warm up. The upper floor contained a kitchen, another boiler room, two bedrooms and a grain floor. The secretaries' apartment was housed here. Burkard Bausch , the chronicler of the monastery, also described the gatehouse in his monastery chronicle in 1698. There was probably a small bay window above the passage .

After the monastery was dissolved in the course of secularization , the monastery grounds were sold to private individuals. In contrast to the baroque monastery church , the gatehouse remained and at the beginning of the 20th century still formed the entrance area to the monastery area, which has now been converted into a farm . In 1913, the Mission Benedictines of St. Ottilien acquired the site of the former monastery. Since only a few buildings were still habitable, the gatehouse moved into focus.

The monks made their homes in the gatehouse. The Eucharist was celebrated for the first time on August 7, 1913 . A chapel was built in the building by December 21st, which was open to the monks and the people of the area. In the course of the chapel consecration, the house now also received a small roof turret . Today the gatehouse forms the entrance area for the rebuilt abbey. It is classified as an architectural monument by the Bavarian State Office for the Preservation of Monuments , it also forms the boundary of the Münsterschwarzach monastery ground monument.

description

The gatehouse presents itself as a simple hipped roof building with a roof turret on the north side. The gateway was built in the center, above which there is a small balcony , which probably refers to the bay window from earlier times. The passage itself is delimited with rubble stones. The coat of arms of Abbot Remigius Winckel as the client can be found inside the passage. An inscription also names the builder.

literature

  • Franziskus Büll: The Monastery Suuarzaha. A contribution to the history of the Münsterschwarzach women's monastery from 788 (?) To 877 (?) (= Münsterschwarzacher Studien Vol. 42) . Münsterschwarzach 1992.
  • Franziskus Büll, Josef Gerlach: Schwarzach am Main in old views . Zaltbommel NL 1991.
  • Johannes Mahr: Münsterschwarzach. 1200 years of a Franconian abbey (= Münsterschwarzacher Studien, Vol. 49) . Münsterschwarzach 2002.

Web links

Commons : Torhaus (Münsterschwarzach)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Büll, Franziskus: Das Monasterium Suuarzaha . P. 34.
  2. ↑ Mahr, Johannes: Münsterschwarzach. 1200 years of a Franconian abbey . P. 33.
  3. ^ Büll, Franziskus (among others): Schwarzach am Main in old views . Picture 15.
  4. ↑ Mahr, Johannes: Münsterschwarzach. 1200 years of a Franconian abbey . P. 66.

Coordinates: 49 ° 48 '18.2 "  N , 10 ° 13' 48.4"  E