Freiberg Cathedral
The St. Mary's Cathedral is an Evangelical Lutheran church at sub market in Freiberg, Saxony.
- 3.1 Organs 3.1.1 main organ
- 3.1.2 choir organ
Architectural History
Around 1180 the Romanesque Basilica of Our Lady was built in the still young, by silver discoveries rapidly developing city of Freiberg. The parish church was given to the late Roman triumphal cross group, also called Crucifixion ( 1225 ), and the Golden Gate ( 1230 ) early two very significant, still preserved works of art. In 1480 Pope Sixtus IV raised the parish church collegiate. However, after only 57 years the collegiate was dissolved during the Reformation in Saxony.
The church was almost completely destroyed during a great town fire in 1484. Triumphal Cross Group, Golden Gate and part of the choir remained. At the same place the reconstruction of the Cathedral of St. Mary was a three-aisled late Gothic hall church.
Noteworthy is the presence of two adjacent pulpits in the nave. First, the free-standing, coming from about the year 1505 Tulip Pulpit of the Master HW ( a long time assumed identification with Hans Witten is made more recently into question ) and, secondly, the miner pulpit of 1638th
Architecture and Art History
Golden Gateway
The Golden Gateway in Freiberg Cathedral is a late Romanesque, created around 1230 round-arched sandstone portal on the south side of the cathedral. The material is Grillburger dune sandstone of the Lower Schönaer layers of the Tharandter forest. Sculptures and ornate columns are the jambs set alternately. Originally they had a rich colored version.
To protect the portal from environmental influences a porch by the Dresden architect Schilling & Graebner 1902 /03 built that connected the Gothic form language with the then fashionable Art Nouveau style.
The Freiberger Golden Gateway is the first complete German statue portal. The tympanum shows the enthroned Madonna with the adoring Magi, an angel, and Joseph; the jambs are statues of Old Testament precursors in the Archivolts into four zones shapes to represent redemption and the Last Judgement.
The Golden Gate is one of the major works of German art in the 13th century. A copy of the artwork exists in Boston ( USA, Massachusetts ) and another in the Pushkin Museum in Moscow (Russia).
Tympanum and surrounding Archivolts
Jamb statues in the left part from left: Daniel, Queen of Sheba, Solomon, John the Baptist
Jamb statues in the right part from left: John the Evangelist, David, Bathsheba, Aaron
Pulpit of the cathedral
Noteworthy is the presence of two adjacent pulpits in the nave - a rare exception. First, the free-standing in the room tulips pulpit and on the other that of a conventional pulpit corresponding Bergmann pulpit of 1638th
The Tulip Pulpit
The tulip pulpit is one of the most famous works of art of the cathedral.
It is called a " great, idiosyncratic creation of late Gothic art." This high pulpit or, as they said very soon, this festive pulpit can be attributed to the sculptor Hans Witten of Cologne as the culmination of his work - however this identification is called into question in recent times. You probably made 1505-1510. Tulips pulpit is supported neither by a wall or by pillars and so it seems that this masterpiece from Hilbersdorfer porphyry ( a rhyolitic tuff ) as a calyx with 4 stalks grow from the ground. These stems are bound with ropes twice on the inner shaft. Play Singing Angels Children between the two folding bars. The four Church Fathers Augustine appear at the calyx as a bishop, when Pope Gregory, Ambrose, Archbishop Hieronymus as a cardinal. The dominant figures are an elegant dressed man resting at the foot of the pulpit, surrounded by lions ( it could be Daniel, the patron saint of miners ) and a squire, who bears the burden of the spiral staircase on his shoulders. The squire sitting on a forked branch of a tree trunk below of the staircase. Above the pulpit hangs a wooden sounding board, crowned by a Madonna, playing with her child.
The choir and the Princely Funeral Chapel of the Albertine
The choir functioned since 1541 as a grave lay for nine Saxon princes and their relatives, which ended only with the defection of Augustus the Strong to the Catholic faith. His mother and her sister are buried in the crypt sister, which is located in the All Saints Chapel. Originally this monument created 1703-1712 by the Dresden Baroque sculptor Balthasar Permoser in Lichtenburg to Prettin, but was converted in 1811 to Freiberg. Noteworthy is created by the Lübeck goldsmith Hans Wessel for 2800 Thaler Moritz mighty monument to honor Maurice of Saxony. He won by his services to the Emperor for the Electorate of Saxony. He, too, is buried in the Freiberg Cathedral. In addition, the Wettin coffins that were originally buried in the crypt of the church of St. Sophia Dresden, were also taken to the destruction of the church in 1950 in the royal crypt of the cathedral.
The floor of the choir form numerous, artfully crafted brass grave plates. The grave plate for Duchess Catherine comes from the Freiberg foundry of Wolfgang Hilliger, suspected with other members of this family also Freiberger foundry for the casting of the other brass plates. The wall is adorned with an abundance of Epitaphs and sculptures of the royal house. Impressive is the ceiling design from painting and sculpture in the style of Italian Mannerism.
The transition between wall and ceiling design make 34 angel musicians on the top ledge of the Epitapharchitektur. Investigations in the course of renovation work has shown that there are real instruments of the Renaissance or very good replicas in the " built-up " instruments in the hands of the angels. So far were obtained from this time, no instruments. The " findings " were examined and reconstructed in the Museum of Musical Instruments at the University of Leipzig. The replicas could serve as a template for replicas because of their detail. It is now for the first time possible to experience a full orchestra in a typical for its time sound ..
In the cathedral are buried, among other things:
Equipment
Organs
Main organ
In the years 1710 to 1714, built Gottfried Silbermann organ with 44 registers. It was his first major organ in Germany and remained the greatest work which he created by hand. The organ acceptance took place on 13-14. August 1714 by the Leipzig Thomas Johann Kuhnau cantors and organist Gottfried Ernst Altenburger orders, the inauguration on August 20, 1714. 1738 took the Master minor changes to the disposition of the upper plant before. 1933 Qvintadehn was 8 ' renewed. From 1981 to 1983 restored Jehmlich headed by its restorers Kristian Wegscheider the organ. It has 44 registers ( 2674 pipes ), spread over three manual divisions and pedal. The sound and Registertrakturen are mechanical. The vocal pitch of a1 = 476.3 Hz on the pipe work is a modified meantone than the original detectable, which was weakened since 1985 towards a Wohltemperierung. The instrument is one of the most famous baroque organs and one of the best preserved organs Silbermann.
- Pairing: III / II, I / II (sliding coupling )
- Accessories: check valves
Choir organ
Opposite there is a second, smaller organ of Gottfried Silbermann. The instrument was 1718/1719 built for St. John's, and in 1939 transferred to the cathedral because the dilapidation of the church and set up as a choir organ. Jehmlich led 1996/1997 by a partial restoration of the largely intact organ.
- Couplers: I / P
- Accessories: Tremulant
Bells
The bells of the cathedral consists of six bells, four of which are from the foundry Oswald Hilliger in Freiberg come. The Great Susanne one of the major orchestras of the time in Germany. The second bell was originally a work of this foundry but was recast due to a jump of C. Albert Bierstadt Ling (Dresden) 1896. The smallest bell is the replacement for a previous bell of 1512 ( Oswald Hilliger ), which was delivered in the 2nd World War and never returned from Hamburg bells cemetery. Today's ringing is due to the combination of two base - four Cymbelglocken an ensemble of bells in the Saxon landscape dar.
Community life
The cathedral is still used by the congregation for worship. He can be seen daily in the context of paid guides. Since the 1960s, the Cathedral parish Freiberg maintains partnership relations with the Cathedral parish in Verden / Aller.