Vasmer Cross

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Vasmer cross, replica on original base

The Vasmer Cross is an atonement cross in the Bremen district of Mitte , Ostertor, on the street Beim Steinernen Kreuz No. 10. It was erected in 1435 as an atonement for the execution of Bremen's mayor Johann Vasmer . The property has been a listed building since 1973 as part of the ensemble at the stone cross . It is the oldest monument in Bremen after the Roland .

history

Vasmer was accused of high treason by the Bremen City Council in a dubious trial, sentenced to death on June 20, 1430 and beheaded the same day in front of the Easter Gate near the Paulskloster . In the summer of 1435, by means of a mandate from Emperor Sigismund, his son Heinrich Vasmer forced the city council to rehabilitate his father, to make extensive compensation and atonement payments and to obtain permission to erect an atonement cross at the place of execution, which the city must keep permanently.

Original on a replica base in the Focke Museum

monument

The monument is a shaft cross made of Obernkirchen sandstone on a hexagonal sandstone base. The visible surface of the cross bears a bas-relief with a colored background. The actual bar cross shows the crucified and evangelist symbols. Johann Vasmer praying and his coat of arms with a crest is depicted on the wider shaft.

The base plate bears a two-line, encircling inscription in Gothic minuscule: “In deme iare unsers heren mcccc on deme xxx iare des dinxedaghes before iohanis baptiste, johan vasmer borghermester hir was ghedodet. biddet got vor de sele. ”The floor around the monument is paved with stone slabs. On the occasion of Vasmer's 500th anniversary of his death, a stone plaque with the inscription “Mayor Vasmer executed June 20, 1430” was inserted.

In 1902, the Historical Society suggested to the building commission of the Senate that the monument and its surroundings be repaired. In the process of work, it was discovered that the inaccessible back of the cross is shaped like the front. The monument was cleaned in 1964 and the colored background renewed. In 1977 the cross was replaced by a replica on the original base. The old cross stands on a replica of the base in the Focke Museum .

It is uncertain whether the present monument location is also the original one (see below, sources ). Old pictures show that at least the environment has changed significantly several times. During the Second World War, the cross was temporarily stored in the cathedral to protect it.

Sources

The Vasmer Cross was created in the late Middle Ages and some of the events were passed down in the style of a narrative rather than a factual chronicle. Changed spellings are to be taken into account and the consequences of the calendar reform to be correctly classified. The sources for some details are therefore contradictory:

  • Execution of Vasmer on June 20, 21 or 30
  • Place of execution on the Paulsberg, Mühlenberg or in / at Fedellisten (Vedelhör)
  • Erection of the cross
    • 1435 or 1436
    • through town or the Vasmer family
  • The cross still stands in its original location or it was moved because of the demolition of the Mühlenberg or in the course of the development of the Ostertorviertel.
  • First name of the son Heinrich, Hinrich, or Hinerk

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Monument database of the LfD Bremen
  2. ↑ a b Friedrich Prüser : Forty Years of the Historical Society 1922–1962 . In: Bremisches Jahrbuch . tape  48 . Bremen 1962, p. 9 ( uni-bremen.de [accessed on July 6, 2019]).
  3. ^ Alfred Kühtmann : A new assessment of the Vassmer process (1430) . In: Bremisches Jahrbuch . tape  18 . Bremen 1896, p. 116–150 ( uni-bremen.de [accessed July 4, 2019]).
  4. ^ Johann Renner : Chronicle of the city of Bremen . Part 1, transcription by Lieselotte Klink. University of Bremen, Bremen 1995, p.  395–398 ( uni-bremen.de [accessed July 5, 2019]).
  5. ^ Wilhelm von Bippen : History of the city of Bremen . tape  1 . C. Ed. Müller's publishing house, Bremen 1894, p. 319–322 ( uni-bremen.de [accessed July 4, 2019]).
  6. ↑ a b k: art in public space bremen
  7. ↑ The Stone Cross. bellgart-stadtfuehrungen.de, accessed on July 7, 2019 : "On the hexagonal base it says, translated into today's German:" In the year of our Lord 1430 on the Tuesday before Johannes' baptism [= 30.6.], Mr. Johann Vasmer, Mayor, killed here. Pray from God for his soul. ”“ Instead of John's baptism , it must be called John the Baptist (= June 24th).
  8. ^ Herbert Black Forest : The Great Bremen Lexicon . 2nd Edition. Edition Temmen , Bremen 2003, ISBN 3-86108-693-X , p.  915-916 .
  9. ^ Alwin Lonke : The historical society as a trustee of Bremen antiquities . In: Bremisches Jahrbuch . tape  37 . Bremen 1937, p. 14 ( uni-bremen.de [accessed on July 10, 2019]).
  10. ^ Herbert Black Forest: History of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen . 2nd Edition. tape I . Edition Temmen, Bremen 1995, ISBN 3-86108-283-7 , p. 111, 115, 116 .
  11. ^ Herbert Black Forest: History of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen . 2nd Edition. tape IV . Edition Temmen, Bremen 1995, ISBN 3-86108-283-7 , p. 572 .
  12. ↑ see individual references and web links
  13. ^ Adam Storck : Views of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen and its surroundings . Friedrich Wilmans, Frankfurt M. 1822, p.  69–72, 590 ( uni-bremen.de [accessed July 8, 2019]). Correction to Fedel Listening: page 590
  14. ↑ Renner, p. 395: "[...] togen mit ohme wech na sunte Pawel jegen den berch dar de windemole up steit, by der Vedelhorne, dar huwen se ohme den kopp af [...]"

Coordinates: 53 ° 4 ′ 25.8 ″  N , 8 ° 49 ′ 14.4 ″  E