Sign (architecture)

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Sign of the cemetery chapel to the fourteen emergency helpers in Welden , Augsburg district: a simple, closed vestibule on the front facade (right side of the picture)

Vorzeichen is a seldom used term for a porch on the facade of a church or chapel . A portal connects the porch with the interior of the church.

Such a porch can be an architectural structural element and serve as weather protection ( vestibule ). It also indicates the entrance visually (hence the name). In addition, there is the symbolic significance of a graduated preparation for entering the church building. However, a sign is not mandatory in church construction.

Narrow, single-storey vestibules at the main entrance of early Christian and Byzantine churches are also called narthexes . Synagogue vestibules are called Pallisch .

Shapes and equipment

Wooden sign at the Bangs Chapel in Vorarlberg
Sign of the Church of St. Blasius in Kaufbeuren : an open vestibule with a pent roof on the south side
Our women in Memmingen : multi-story sign on the south side. On the north side there is also a one-story sign with side structures.

The sign can consist of a vestibule closed all around by side walls with or without its own door, just a canopy, or an intermediate form (for example an arched hall). A sign can be found either on all entrances or only on the front facade or only on side entrances. It can have been planned from the outset during construction or added at a later time.

There are often pictorial or figurative representations on the interior walls and ceilings. Their type and richness vary depending on the style phase, religious orientation, but also according to the financial possibilities and the representativeness of the builder. In the portents of some southern German baroque churches one can find the often quite drastic sculptural representation of a scourged savior or “ dungeon savior ” in a wall niche .

Commemorative plaques commemorating deceased local personalities or the members of the community who died in wars or who went missing can sometimes be seen there. Occasionally you can still see poor soul boards , they are usually attached to the frame of the church door. Sometimes there is also the possibility of donating a memorial candle. Such arrangements of the omens refer to the religious aspect: When the everyday world enters the house of God, the salvation of the soul of the deceased should be remembered.

See also

Web links

Commons : sign  - collection of images, videos, and audio files