York Minster

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York Minster
York Minster , west facade

York Minster ( Münster ), officially: Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Metropolitical in York is the largest medieval church in England and seat of the Archbishop of York . After a construction period of 250 years, it was completed in 1472. To this day it attracts hundreds of tourists from all over the world every day and is the main attraction of the city of York , along with the narrow streets, the university and some museums . Particularly impressive on this in the Gothic style built Cathedral is the size. For example, a window wall is as big as the length of a tennis court. The two towers on the west facade and the mighty, square crossing tower that rises above the center of the cathedral are also impressive .

Building history

prehistory

In Roman times, the headquarters of the Roman legionary fort Eboracum was located on the site of today's minister , the remains of which can be seen in the exhibition under the church.

The current church had at least three previous buildings. There is no archaeological evidence of the first church mentioned by Beda Venerabilis , in which King Edwin was baptized by Paulinus in 627 . It was probably made of wood. A stone building, completed about ten years later, was extended by Bishop Wilfrid at the end of the 7th century . It burned down in 741 and was replaced by a stately new building. This church was badly damaged in 1069 when the Anglo-Saxon revolt against the Norman William the Conqueror was suppressed and finally destroyed in a Viking invasion in 1075.

In 1080, the first Norman Archbishop, Thomas of Bayeux, began building a Norman church modeled on the Bayeux Cathedral . This survived the city fire in 1137 and was enlarged by additions in the following decades. Walter de Gray , who became Archbishop of York in 1216, began building what is now the Gothic church. The Romanesque church was partially replaced by the new building. The stumps of the previous building are accessible in the exhibition under the church. There is also the grave of St. Paulinus.

Today's construction

Choir facing the nave

The new Gothic building began with the south transept 1230–41, followed by the north transept 1241–60 with the window group of the five sisters . The nave was built from 1291 to 1324, its large west window was inserted in 1338. The Chapter House was completed in 1342, followed by the eastern choir ( Retrochoir ) in 1361-1370 and the western part of the choir in 1380-1400. The north tower of the west facade was built in 1470–74, the south tower in 1433–77. The church was consecrated in 1472.

Chapter House

Because of the long construction time, the different areas of the church date from different Gothic eras . In the 13th century the transepts were built in the Early English style , in the 14th century the main nave and chapter house in the decorated style and in the 14th / 15th century. The choir and the towers in the Perpendicular style .

Nave looking towards the choir

Main and transepts as well as the choir have three aisles . The church is 175 m long, the main nave is 35 m wide and 32 m high. The crossing tower and the west towers reach a height of 65 m.

The nave was built from 1291 to 1324. The pillars have presented services of various strengths, whereby for the first time the strong vaulted service, accompanied by two slim ancillary services, rises from the ground without interruption and the five-part triforium is included in the window structure. Characteristic is the clear clarity of the room, the emphasis on the vertical, the grid-like loosening of the room boundaries. For the design of the nave, a decisive influence by the Cologne Cathedral could be determined down to the details of the design . While the side aisles are ribbed, a wooden vault was built over the central nave, which was renewed in 1890.

Late Gothic net rib vault over the crossing of York Minster

The interior design of the crossing tower took place in 1400-23. The central nave is 30 meters high and 15 meters wide.

Towards the choir, the nave is closed off by the rood screen. The stone carving from ~ 1420 contains the life-size figures of 15 English kings. The last fifteenth figure was Henry VI. added afterwards after his father suddenly died during the construction period in 1422. The rood screen is therefore asymmetrical. The figure of Henry VI. was removed after his murder and replaced several times by other kings. It was not until 1810 that the current figure was created, which was again Henry VI. represents. Originally the rood screen was designed in color, as only the vault of the passage to the choir is today.

Most of the other inventory from the pre-Reformation period fell victim to the turmoil of the Reformation period.

Fires and renovations

Parts of the minster were badly damaged by fires four times: in 1753 a fire broke out in the south transept. In 1829 a religious fanatic set a fire in the room of the choir, which destroyed the medieval choir stalls and the choir vault. On May 20, 1840, a craftsman forgot a candle. As a result, the roof of the nave and the wooden vault burned down. The vault has been faithfully restored. In 1984 lightning struck the south aisle. The rose window was badly damaged. In the process of restoring the collapsed wooden vault, the BBC's children's program held a competition to design new keystones . In 1988 the new vault was completed.

In 1967 it turned out that the central tower was in danger of collapsing. When the foundations were renewed, it turned out that the crossing and the south transept had been built across the remains of the Roman headquarters. Remains of the Norman church have also been found.

In 1989/90 the stone work of the west window, the so-called Heart of Yorkshire , was so eroded by air pollution that it had to be completely replaced. In 1998, the artist Rory Young redesigned the stone carvings on the arch of the main portal with a representation from Genesis .

window

overview

West Window Heart of Yorkshire
Rose window
Five Sisters

York Minster is famous for its windows; they are the largest collection of medieval windows in England.

  • The west window (1338) is also called the Heart of Yorkshire because of the heart-shaped tracery in the upper part .
  • Jesse Window (ca.1310)
  • Bell founder window (14th century)
  • The Five Sisters window (approx. 1260) closes off the north transept.
  • St. William Window (1422)
  • St. Cuthbert's Window (ca.1435)
  • The rose window (approx. 1500) is the end of the south transept. It commemorates the end of the Wars of the Roses .

The five sisters

The Five Sisters Window ( Five Sisters window ) consists of five lancet windows that are wide each nearly 17 feet high and five feet. This makes them the largest church windows in England. The middle window shows Daniel in the lions' den in the lowest field . This piece is one of the few holdovers from the Norman Church. In his novel Nicholas Nickleby , Charles Dickens used the ornament, which is reminiscent of handicrafts, to create a story of five sisters, whose embroidery served as a template for the windows.

organ

Munster organ

The first organ probably existed as early as the 12th century.

Today's organ is in the historical organ case of an organ by the organ builder Elliott & Hill from 1832.

The organ itself goes back to an instrument that was built in 1863 by the organ builders Hill & Sons with 69 registers (85 rows of pipes) on four manuals and pedal, using existing pipe material. In 1901 the instrument was (technically) reorganized by the organ building company JW Walker & Sons and received a new wind system; in the course of this, the organ case was also revised by lowering the swell; In addition, the console was moved from the east to the south side so that the organist could better accompany services in the choir as well as in the nave; the disposition was extended by a register. In the first half of the 20th century, the instrument was revised and expanded several times. a. by the organ builders Harrison & Harrison; The aim was in particular to give the organ more sound volume in the room, in particular through a new high-pressure register Tuba Mirabilis, new registers in the main work (Great), expansion of the mixture, and increasing the wind pressure of some other reed stops. In 1931 a new console was built and the action was applied electro-pneumatically. In the years 1960 to 1961 the organ was reorganized once more by the organ builder JW Walker & Sons (London) and expanded to 78 registers.

The instrument was last restored in 1992–1993 by the organ builder G. Coffin and the disposition was revised again. Today the instrument has 84 registers (106 rows of pipes) on four manual works and a pedal . The actions are electric.

The organ pipes are painted on the front.

I Great Organ C – a 3
1. Double Open Diapason 16 ′
2. Covered 16 ′
3. Open Diapason I 8th'
4th Open Diapason II 8th'
5. Open Diapason III 8th'
6th Salicional 8th'
7th Forest flood 8th'
8th. Stopped diapason 8th'
9. Octave 4 ′
10. Principal 4 ′
11. Harmonic flute 4 ′
12. Octave Quint 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
13. Great Octave 2 ′
14th Block flute 2 ′
15th Larigot 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
16. Sesquialtera II
17th Mixture III
18th Furniture IV
19th Cymbel IV
20th Cornet V
21st Contra trumpet 16 ′
22nd trombone 8th'
23. Trumpet 8th'
24. Clarion 4 ′
II Swell Organ C – a 3
25th Bourdon 16 ′
26th Violin diapason 8th'
27. Diapason Celeste 8th'
28. Stopped diapason 8th'
29 Echo gamba 8th'
30th Voix Celeste 8th'
31. Principal 4 ′
32. Open flute 4 ′
33. Fifteenth 2 ′
34. Full Mixture III
35. Sharp Mixture III
36. oboe 8th'
Tremulant
37. Contra fagotto 16 ′
38. Cornopean 8th'
39. horn 8th'
40. Clarion 4 ′
III Solo Organ C – a 3
41. Viole d'Orchester 8th'
42. Viole Celeste 8th'
43. Chimney Flute 8th'
44. Echo Dulciana 8th'
45. Concert flute 4 ′
46. Bassoon 16 ′
47. Crumhorn 8th'
48. Orchestral oboe 8th'
49. Vox humana 8th'
Tremulant
50. Contra tuba 16 ′
51. tuba 8th'
52. Bombard 8th'
53. Tuba mirabilis 8th'
IV Choir Organ C – a 3
54. Lovely bourdon 16 ′
55. Open diapason 8th'
56. Lovely covered 8th'
57. Gamba 8th'
58. Gemshorn 4 ′
59. Claribel Flute 4 ′
60. Twelfth 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
61. Fifteenth 2 ′
62. Tierce 1 3 ⁄ 5  ′
63. Mixture III
Tremulant
Pedal Organ C – f 1
64. Double Open Wood 32 ′
65. Double Open Diapason 32 ′
66. Open Wood 16 ′
67. Open diapason 16 ′
68. Violone 16 ′
69. Gamba 16 ′
70. Sub bass 16 ′
71. Principal 8th'
72. violoncello 8th'
73. Flood 8th'
74. Fifteenth 4 ′
75. Choral flute 4 ′
76. recorder 2 ′
77. Mixture IV
78. Sackbut 32 ′
79. Trombones 16 ′
80. Ophicleide 16 ′
81. Fagotto 16 ′
82. Tromba 8th'
83. Trumpet 8th'
84. Shawm 4 ′

Bells

A total of 56 bells hang in the two west towers of the minster. They were cast by Taylor's of Loughborough bell foundry during the 20th century.

In the south west tower hang 14 ringing bells (change ringing) with the chimes b 0 , c 1 , d 1 , es 1 , f 1 , g 1 , as 1 , a 1 , b 1 , c 2 , d 2 , es 2 , f 2 , g 2 . The largest bell, the tenor , weighs about 3 tons. Up to 12 bells are rung at a time; two bells are used to expand the melody options (as 1 and g 2 ). A carillon with 35 bells hangs above the bell.

In the north west tower hang the seven clock bells ( The Queen Mother clock bells ). 6 bells are used to strike the quarter hour; they weigh between 3069 and 679 kg and have the beats b 0 , c 1 , d 1 , es 1 , f 1 and g 1 . The hour bell, the Great Peter, weighs 11 tons.

Chapter house

The octagonal chapter house was built around 1280. It is accessible from the north transept. The 44 seats around the walls are set into small polygonal niches, creating a delicate, undulating movement of space. It is vaulted by a star vault .

Vault

  • Choir

  • Right transept

  • Left transept

  • Chapter House

  • Main nave

Others

In front of the portal of the south transept was the center of the pillared vestibule of the Roman headquarters. Here, in 306, the future emperor Constantine the Great was appointed to succeed his father Constantius Chlorus .

literature

  • Harry Batsford, Charles Fry: The Cathedrals of England. 7th edition, BT Batsford Ltd., London 1948.
  • Werner Schäfke : English cathedrals. A journey through the highlights of English architecture from 1066 to the present day . DuMont, Cologne 1983, p. 186, figs. 58-62; Color plates 24, 25.
  • Alain Erlande-Brandenburg : Gothic Art . Herder, Freiburg / Basel / Vienna 1984, p. 863.
  • Wim Swaan: The great cathedrals . Cologne 1969, p. 208, figs. 238–243.
  • Rolf Toman (ed.): The art of the Romanesque. Architecture - sculpture - painting . Cologne 1996, p. 225.
  • Sarah Brown: York Minster. An architectural history c 1220-1500. English Heritage, Swindon 2003, ISBN 1-873592-68-X ( digitized version ) (not evaluated).

Web links

Commons : York Minster  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Harry Batsford, Charles Fry: The Cathedrals of England , p. 106
  2. ↑ Building history on the minister's homepage
  3. ↑ Building history in the York Minster Guide (Engl.)
  4. ^ Hans J. Böker : York Minster's Nave: The Cologne Connection . In: Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 50, 1991, pp. 167-180.
  5. ↑ York Minster. Guidebook . 2016, p. 24f.
  6. Jump up ↑ York Cathedral - Arson, Lightning and Forgotten Candle Fires
  7. ↑ York Minster. Guidebook . 2016, p. 17
  8. ↑ More information about the organ
  9. ↑ For disposition ( Memento of the original dated May 27, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 48 kB) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.yorkminster.org
  10. ↑ Detailed information about the organ (as of December 4th, 2018)
  11. ↑ More information about the bells on the minister's website (as of December 4, 2018).

Coordinates: 53 ° 57 ′ 43 "  N , 1 ° 4 ′ 55"  W.