Zwettler Altar
The Zwettler Altar is an altar in the church of St. Barbara in Adamov north of Brno . It was part of the Gothic high altar of the Zwettl Abbey (Lower Austria), which existed until the 18th century, and was declared a national cultural monument of the Czech Republic in 2010 as an outstanding testimony to late Gothic wood carving .
history
After the Zwettl Monastery was largely destroyed in the course of the Hussite Wars in the Battle of Zwettl in 1427, a new altar was necessary for the rebuilt collegiate church. In the years 1516 to 1525, a new high altar in the late Gothic style was purchased under Abbot Erasmus von Leisser. The contractor was probably the workshop of the Budweiser artist Andreas Morgenstern , the authorship of Stefan Kriechbaum is also discussed .
When the altar no longer corresponded to contemporary tastes in 1730, it was dismantled and replaced by a baroque altar, parts of which were reused in a side chapel.
In 1857 Prince Alois II of Liechtenstein acquired the preserved parts of the altar, had them restored and donated them to the newly built Church of St. Barbara in Adamsthal. The Zwettler abbot Stephan Rössler tried to get the altar back for his pen in 1891, but was unsuccessful with the request from Prince Alois II.
For fear of bomb damage, the altar was dismantled in 1944, temporarily stored in the crypt of the early Baroque pilgrimage church of the Birth of Mary in Vranov near Brno, then returned to Adamov in 1947.
Two statues stolen from the altar frame in 1970 were seized at an art auction in Munich and returned to their place.
Restorations had to be carried out again and again, the wood substance is sensitive to mold and woodworm infestation. The last time this took place in the years 2006 to 2007, the work of art was exhibited in the Mikulov Castle (German Castle Nikolsburg).
In 2010 the altar was declared a Czech National Cultural Monument.
description
The Zwettler Altar in its current form is only a fragment of the original, around 17 meter high altar. The late Gothic carving of the retable with a height of around 6.5 meters has been preserved.
It shows Mary's acceptance into heaven , where she is received by God the Father and Christ, who hold the crown ready for them. The apostles, who gesticulate violently and witness this event, are executed with great attention to detail. The topic is framed by branches that refer to the founding legend of Zwettl Abbey.
The figures are executed as high relief , to clarify the three-dimensional effects, gilding and economical paint applications are used.
The remaining parts of today's altar are neo-Gothic additions.
Web links
- Website of the Roman Catholic Parish Adamov
- Lecture by Fabiánová Bohdana on the restoration of the Zwettler Altarpiece in 2008 (Charles University in Prague) (Czech)
Individual evidence
- ↑ kostel sv. Barbory ÚSKP 27171 / 7-340 in the monument catalog pamatkovykatalog.cz (Czech).
- ^ Upper Austrian State Museum / article by Lothar Schultes
- ^ History of the Zwettler Altar on the side of the Roman Catholic Parish Office Adamov
Coordinates: 49 ° 18 ′ 2.9 ″ N , 16 ° 39 ′ 16.9 ″ E