To the Scourged Savior (Bärnau)

The listed Roman Catholic pilgrimage church of the Scourged Savior , also known as the Steinberg Church, is located northeast of the Upper Palatinate town of Bärnau am Steinberg on the Golden Road to Bohemia .

history

In 1756 the blacksmith Ulrich Kräftiger had a wooden chapel built here with a picture in honor of the scourged Savior ("Christi Flagellati"). Soon enough money was sacrificed for the church that in 1768 the diocese of Regensburg was able to advocate the construction of a “beautiful church with a solid, permanent wall 60 feet in length and 30 feet in width”. The parish priest Jakob Anton Weinig received the power of attorney to inaugurate the church built by master builder Thomas Mühlmayer on March 1, 1774 at the Walpurgis Festival . In 1818/19 the slope that bordered the church on the side of the high altar was removed by 10 m and the front part of the church was expanded.

A painting in the church shows a procession leading from the Bärnau city gate to the Steinberg. The pilgrims depicted on it look to the left and see the following inscription: “This pilgrimage church was founded by the craftsmen of Wagner and Schmid. June 10th, 1772. In the year 1860 Anton Schmidmeister had this picture renewed. ”Next to the scourged Savior you can see guild signs and the founder and three other guild members sitting at a table. At the top of the mountain there is still the customs house, which has since been abandoned.

In 1787, the parish priest Weinig requested the ordinariate in Regensburg to move the pilgrimage of saints (today Světce 1) near Tachau to the closer Steinberg. The background was that after the town fire of 1685, the citizens of Bärnau had praised every year on the feast of St. John the Baptist (June 24th) to undertake a pilgrimage to the fourteen helpers in need in the Paulan monastery in Heiligen bei Tachau. But now Emperor Joseph II had caused the Paulan monastery in Heiligen to be closed. There was also a ban on pilgrimages outside the country and overnight stays abroad. The ordinariate accepted the request and the tradition of pilgrimages to the Steinberg began at that time.

In 1820 the first Steinberg Festival was celebrated with a complete indulgence . Pastor Johann Michael Zeidler had the Episcopal Ordinariate (with a request to forward to Rome) by a plenary indulgence, and a defective multiple quad Ragenen applied for. A complete indulgence was granted “ad tempora perpetua”. The approval bull comes from Pope Pius VIII on March 31, 1820. The approval for publication by the Episcopal Ordinariate followed on June 14, 1820. The estimate was 8 fl 45 kr. However, this led to a dispute with the Tirschenreuth district court, which was of the opinion that pilgrimages can only be allowed by the government. The royal government of the Obermainkreis allowed the granting of indulgences, but prohibited the public procession to the Steinberg. In 1822, however, a solemn procession to the church took place. In 1823 the festival was linked to the Queen's birthday, "albeit earlier than usual". The result was a reprimand by the royal government of the Obermainkreis to the rectory and the city magistrate with the note that "all celebrations are to be restricted to the interior of the Steinberg Church and that all celebrations outside the church are to be omitted". Today the Steinbergfest and corresponding corridor processions take place annually. It is not known whether a full indulgence will still be granted.

Appearance

The church is a largely plastered solid structure, only on the side of the protruding west portal, labeled "1765", is it designed in exposed brickwork. It is a hall church with a three-sided retracted choir with two yokes, a hipped roof and a turret in the west gable. The nave consists of three bays and a segment connection to the choir. The sacristy from 1818/19 is north of the choir.

A mighty avenue of trees leads to the pilgrimage church with a way of the cross with 14 stations, these are granite steles with sheet metal reliefs. The Way of the Cross dates from 1768.

Furnishing

The ceiling paintings (1794) are by Jakob Hörl . The high altar from the Rococo period is finished in white and gold. It is supported by four pillars. The miraculous image of Christ on the scourge column from 1750 was painted after an Austrian model. The side figures from 1790 are St. Florian and St. Wendelin . A large crucifix with the Mater Dolorosa (around 1790) hangs above the cafeteria . The church has no side altars; figural niches are decorated with Maria Immaculata and St. Joseph . A Infant Jesus from Prague was placed at the altar in 1990 .

Above the organ with its baroque organ case is the inscription, "Johann Fischer von Naab had the church painted in 1794". He had donated 60 fl to the painting with the fourteen helpers in need, which are depicted in simple rococo frames.

literature

Christine Brunner-Hastreiter: Bärnau - a home book . Verlag der Stadt Bärnau, Bärnau 1972, pp. 212–215.

Web links

49.80934 12.45122Coordinates: 49 ° 48 '33.6 " N , 12 ° 27' 4.4" E