To the Holy Cross (Pless)

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To the Holy Cross in Pless

The Roman Catholic pilgrimage chapel Zum Heiligen Kreuz is located in the Upper Swabian town of Pleß in the Unterallgäu district ( Bavaria ). The chapel is a listed building and is located on the Kreuzkapellenweg, which connects Pleß with Fellheim . In memory of the supposed miracle healing of a blind child, the father vowed to donate a new field cross at this point. Because of the miraculous healing, a pilgrimage developed, which led to the construction of the chapel in 1685.

history

High altar with the miraculous cross

The pilgrimage in Pless goes back to two alleged miraculous healings in the 17th century. The legend reports that in 1661 the four-year-old son of the farming family Sebastian and Sara Baur from Oberdettingen went blind. When the parents left for Niederrieden with the child in order to have it treated by a spa , the son regained his eyesight and saw a damaged field cross . In view of the miraculous healing, the father vowed to put up a new field cross in place of the old one that was damaged. When he had not kept his vow by 1665, another child in the family went blind. Remembering the pledge, he restored the field cross, whereupon his child was cured of the eye disease. After the news of these events had spread quickly, a pilgrimage to the Holy Cross began very soon in Pless. Count Rudolf Fugger decided to build a wooden umbrella hut there. Thanks to numerous donations from the faithful, the chapel could be built from 1685 , which was inaugurated in 1687. The sacristan's house on the western side of the chapel was built in 1739. The pilgrimage was revived from 1973. Since then there have been regular expiatory pilgrimages from Fellheim to the pilgrimage chapel.

Building description

The nave of the chapel has three window axes and a needle cap barrel . Below the double gallery on the west side is the vestibule of the chapel, which is bricked up towards the nave. The slightly drawn-in choir with a 3/8 end is connected to the nave with a round choir arch . The choir consists of one axis and has a barrel vault with stitch caps on Tuscan pilasters . The windows in the nave and in the choir are arched above and below. The outer facade of the chapel is structured by blind arches with pilaster strips and entablature. The entrance portal with a pressed round arch and a triangular gable is located on the south side of the nave, the opposite side has a blind portal in the same shape on the same axis. The church tower is on the south side in the choir corner. The three four-sided lower storeys of the church tower contain corner pilaster strips, cornices and round arch friezes. The two upper floors are octagonal with corner pilasters and blind arches. There is a round window on the top floor. The church tower has a sheet metal onion hood .

Interior

Interior view of the pilgrimage chapel

Altars

The high altar consists of a marbled wooden structure and was created around 1710. He is attributed to Ignaz Waibl . The slightly curved canteen and the rotating niche tabernacle , also made of marbled wood, are more recent and date from 1770/1780. Luminous putti are placed on the volutes of the rotary tabernacle . There is no altarpiece in the high altar . Instead, the field cross is used, which gave rise to the erection of the chapel. The field cross is in a round frame and is flanked by free columns. To the right and left of the high altar are mounted wooden figures of a St. Bishop and St. Catherine . In the extract from the altar there is a high oval picture depicting God the Father . The picture was created around 1687 by Johann Friedrich Sichelbein . It is flanked by free columns and surrounded by cranked beams.

Both side altars are wooden structures framed in black. The wooden structures are decorated with gold-plated foliage. The canteens are both sarcophagus-shaped. The altar leaves are each flanked by free columns and surrounded by cranked entablature with gable legs. The left side altar was made around 1700. The altar panel is a painting depicting the coronation of Mary . In the altar extract is a picture of St. Eustachius . The right side altar is slightly older than the left and was created in 1687. Our Lady of Sorrows is depicted in the altarpiece . Above it in the altar extract a picture of the Holy Family with donor.

pulpit

Pulpit, around 1710 with figures of the evangelists

The pulpit consists of a marbled wooden structure and dates from around 1710. The pulpit was probably made by Ignaz Waibl. Below the polygonal basket is a cartouche of the Fugger-Kirchberg-Weißenhorn / Waldburg-Zeil coat of arms. In the fields divided by free columns there are small figures of the four evangelists . The sound cover of the pulpit is crowned by leaf volutes and angel heads.

Ceiling painting

The frescoes in the chapel were created by Eustachius Gabriel in 1767 . The battle of the Milvian Bridge is shown on the ceiling of the nave . Various emblems are displayed in cartridges. On the choir arch , above the two side altars, there are round frescoes with St. Francis and St. Bruno.

Stalls

The amateur stalls with two rows dates from around 1770. The oak wood pegs are decorated with rocailles. The two confessionals were made around 1720/1730. They are in three parts with twisted pilasters and are made of marbled wood. The railing of the communion bench with twisted bars was created around 1700.

painting

The painting Ecce homo dates from the beginning of the 18th century. The painting of the founding legend of the pilgrimage chapel was painted in 1682 and restored by Blumenthaler in 1834. The location views of Pleß and Boos were updated. The Way of the Cross with 14 stations dates from the 2nd quarter of the 19th century. The Way of the Cross was painted on oval copper panels.

Wooden figures

Several wooden figures are set up in the pilgrimage chapel. The two silver-framed busts of Mary and Jesus are from 1720/1730 and are located above the two confessionals in the choir. The twelve small figures of the apostles date from 1760/1770. The crucifix dates from the first half of the 18th century , as does the figure of Our Lady of Sorrows.

  • Silver-framed bust of Christ, approx. 1720/1730

  • Swivel tabernacle, approx. 1770/1780

  • Left side altar, ca.1700

literature

  • Tilmann Breuer: City and District of Memmingen . Ed .: Heinrich Kreisel and Adam Horn. Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich 1959, p. 217, 218 .
  • Georg Dehio : Handbook of the German art monuments - Bavaria III - Swabia . Deutscher Kunstverlag , Munich / Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3-422-03116-6 , pp. 898 .

Web links

Commons : Kreuzkapelle Pleß  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation: Entry D-7-78-188-14
  2. ^ Hermann Haisch (ed.): Landkreis Unterallgäu . Memminger Zeitung Verlagsdruckerei GmbH, Memmingen 1987, ISBN 3-9800649-2-1 , p. 1205 .
  3. ↑ Flyer pilgrimage to the Heilig-Kreuzkapelle Pleß (Unterallgäu) , Catholic parish Pleß

Coordinates: 48 ° 5 ′ 8 ″  N , 10 ° 9 ′ 20.5 ″  E