Witterschneekreuz

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Witterschneekreuz: in the foreground the old pilgrimage chapel, behind it the newer one

The Witterschneekreuz is a place of pilgrimage near Löffingen .

Foundation, endowment

The hilltop on which the church stands was first called "Itirsne" (Celtic for small trickle ), later "Witarsne" , since the 11th century ; from this the name “Witterschnee” developed.

In the winter of 1735 or 1740, a pilgrim got caught in a snow storm on this hilltop. He vowed to erect a cross on the spot where salvation would come. In the area of ​​today's pilgrimage church, he lost his strength and sank down exhausted. Then he heard a bell from Löffingen; Woodcutters returning home found him and took him into town. He kept his word and erected a field cross, which is now attributed to the sculptor Jakob Rappenegger (1683–1743) from Schönenbach near Furtwangen.

Over time, more and more pilgrims came to the Witterschneekreuz. In 1792 an open thief's hut was built above it, which contained six prayer chairs and was open.

Wooden chapel

The interior of the chapel

In 1846/47 a wooden chapel was built. It was attached to the hut and is now called the "old" chapel. It was replaced at the end of the 19th century, but transported to its current location on wooden rollers before the new building. It contains a large number of votive offerings and images.

Stone chapel

Front of the newer chapel
Look at the choir

For the new building, Otto Belzer (1852–1919), head of the Archbishop's Building Authority in Constance, presented the first neo-Gothic plan sketches in early 1893 . Like the Archbishop's Building Office in Constance, the Archbishop's Building Office in Freiburg was also commissioned in the spring of 1892. Its building director, Max Meckel (1847–1910), delivered a neo-Romanesque design at the end of April 1893 , which was accepted. The Löffingen pastor Stephan Wehrle (1821–1898) played a key role in this decision. After the foundation stone was laid on July 15, 1894, completion lasted until 1896. Instead of the planned 60,000 Reichsmarks , the construction without the equipment cost 71,979 Reichsmarks. Without the involvement of the Archbishop's Building Authority, the church was painted by Franz Josef Simmler from Offenburg , who also designed the altars, and by August von Wörndle , who painted the ceiling of the nave based on the model of Michaeliskirche in Hildesheim . The art glazing comes from the Freiburg glass painters Helmle & Merzweiler .

On October 16, 1898 the benediction was carried out, followed by the consecration on August 29, 1901 . before the artistic design could be carried out. The church has 280 seats.

Every year on the first Sunday in May, the Catholic pastoral care unit in Donaueschingen goes on a pilgrimage on foot, by bike or by train from Donaueschingen to Löffingen to the Witterschneekreuz.

At the end of September 2019, six paintings were forcibly broken out of the high altar and stolen.

literature

  • O.V .: A brief outline of the history, origin and development of the pilgrimage to the Snow Cross near Witterschnee in Löffingen in the Black Forest in Baden , Bonndorf
  • Hermann Brommer : Pilgrimages in the Archdiocese of Freiburg , Schnell & Steiner, Munich and Zurich 1990, ISBN 3795408504 , p. 126f.
  • Maria Ida Fink: The pilgrimage church to the Witterschneekreuz in Löffingen / Black Forest , Freiburg 1991 (unpublished master's thesis)
  • Manfred Hermann : Pilgrimage Church to the Witterschneekreuz Löffingen / Black Forest , Schnell Art Guide No. 1226, Munich 1980

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Emil Ketterer: Löffingen in the Black Forest, Pilgrimage Church of the Holy Cross ("zum Witterschneekreuz")  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.erzbistum-freiburg.de   , erzbistum-freiburg.de, accessed on November 16, 2012
  2. ↑ Sabine Bruss: The work of the architect Ludwig Maier (1848-1915): a Baden master builder of the late 19th and early 20th centuries , Ludwig, Kiel 1911, p. 30, preview in the Google book search
  3. ↑ a b c Werner Wolf-Holzäpfel: The architect Max Meckel 1847-1910. Studies on the architecture and church building of historicism in Germany . Josef Fink, Lindenberg 2000, ISBN 3-933784-62-X , p. 353 f .
  4. ↑ BZ editorial team: Unknown steal six paintings from the pilgrimage church near Löffingen. Badische Zeitung, September 29, 2019, accessed on September 29, 2019 .

Web links

Commons : Wallfahrtskirche Witterschnee  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files
Commons : Alte Wallfahrtskapelle Witterschnee  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 47 ° 53 ′ 36 ″  N , 8 ° 20 ′ 10 ″  E