Pilgrimage Church of St. Willibald (Jesenwang)
The Catholic pilgrimage church of St. Willibald is located in the remote area of Sankt Willibald , about 500 meters east of Jesenwang in the Fürstenfeldbruck district in Upper Bavaria. The late Gothic sacred building was extensively renovated from 1979 onwards.
history
The church stands directly on the embankment of the old Roman road from Augsburg to Salzburg . Some traces of the terrain have been preserved about 700 meters to the southeast, a floor profile has been preserved in a showcase in front of the church.
A first pilgrimage church was built as early as 1414 under the Fürstenfeld abbot Johann II von Bibrach. The brick foundation is still preserved under today's floor (exposed 1979). The north side of this church was used again in the new building under Abbot Jodok from 1478 (building inscription on the wall). Why did the Cistercians von Fürstenfeld build a church in honor of St. Willibald erected is unclear. The Cistercian promoted otherwise rather the veneration of St. Leonhard. St. Willibald was probably venerated at this point before.
The high altar was placed in the presbytery in 1617 . The side altars from the mid-19th century were later removed. One is stored in parts, the other is now in the parish church in Purk near Moorenweis .
In 1910, the late Gothic wooden ceiling was freed from its white overpainting.
In 1978/79 a comprehensive general renovation of the entire complex began, through which one of the most important late medieval sacred spaces in Upper Bavaria could be saved from deterioration. For this purpose, a support association was founded in 1978. The renovation measures were largely carried out by the people of Jesenwang themselves.
The "Willibald ride", which has been held annually since 1712, is unique in Europe. Saint Willibald is the patron saint of animals. On the occasion of a horse epidemic, the farmers in the area “got engaged” to St. Willibald. Allegedly not a single horse should be sick afterwards . So that the animals can receive the blessing, one rides with them through the church, which therefore has two high entrances opposite. Currently over three hundred horses and a few teams take part in the procession, which is followed by thousands of spectators.
As one of the few late medieval country churches in Upper Bavaria that has remained almost unchanged, St. Willibald is also very popular as a wedding church today.
In July 1983 director Wolfgang Büld shot the video for their single Eisgekühlter Bommerlunder for the band Die Toten Hosen in the church . The filming, which took place over a weekend and was described as "quite turbulent", caused excitement and indignation among the residents of Jesenwang and the pastor rededicated the church a little later.
description
St. Willibald is a single-aisled hall building with a retracted choir that moves slightly to the south. The exterior is largely undivided. A small sacristan's house was added to the west (new building in 1981). A small roof turret with an onion hood has been sitting on the west gable since the Baroque period .
The nave still has its original late Gothic beam ceiling and a simultaneous gallery parapet. In addition to 561 star motifs, 594 different flowers are depicted on the ceiling, and 191 flowers are added to the gallery. The picture fields are framed by carved tracery friezes . Also remarkable are the esoteric symbols of the twelve medallions in the center of the three-part wooden ceiling, the most important of its kind in old Bavaria. The gallery , decorated in the same way, is supported in the middle by a single wooden column.
The presbytery is spanned by a richly figured net vault with keystones. The vault caps are painted with tendril motifs that were exposed during the general renovation.
Furnishing
The high altar is stylistically at the transition from the late Renaissance to the early Baroque (1617). The sculpture of the reading Saint Willibald in the center is from the late Gothic period and is flanked by two angels. In the extract (upper part) is the figure of the Mother of God.
The painted stations of the cross were created in the early 19th century and originally come from the church in Schöngeising (purchased in 1861). The original building inscription of the first pilgrimage church (1414) has been preserved on the north wall in Gothic minuscule letters.
The north wall of the apse bears the only remains of the fresco in the church. A monk stands in front of a landscape with a large castle complex .
St. Willibald only holds a few of the votive tablets that were once numerous. The large representation of St. Willibald is a foundation of the Jesenwang community from 1714.
The formerly richer furnishings were reduced by a few thefts after the Second World War.
literature
- Volker Liedke, Peter Weinzierl: District Fürstenfeldbruck (= Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation [Hrsg.]: Monuments in Bavaria . Volume I.12 ). Karl M. Lipp Verlag, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-87490-574-8 .
- Klaus Rasmus, Karl Steininger: St. Willibald Jesenwang . Jesenwang 1981 (without ISBN)
Individual evidence
- ↑ 30 years ago: Re-consecration after a scandal shoot merkur-online.de
Web links
Coordinates: 48 ° 10 ′ 4.3 ″ N , 11 ° 8 ′ 37.9 ″ E