St. Peter's Church, Straubing, is a
Romanesque basilica in
Straubing
Straubing (; Central Bavarian: ''Strauwing'') is an independent city in Lower Bavaria, southern Germany. It is seat of the Districts of Germany, district of Straubing-Bogen. Annually in August the Gäubodenvolksfest, the second largest fair in Ba ...
,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. It was built in the second half of the 12th century, and is distinguished by its two sculpted portals. The surrounding graveyard contains a number of funeral chapels, most notably the ''Totenkapelle'', which is decorated with a cycle of paintings depicting the
''Totentanz'' (Dance of the Dead) by the
Rococo
Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...
artist
Felix Hözl.
Location
St. Peter's is located on the southern bank of the
Danube
The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...
river in the ''Altstadt'' of Straubing, approximately one kilometer to the east of the present city center. It sits on top of a small elevation, and the graveyard, church, and chapels are enclosed by a wall.
History
The present church is at least the second to have stood on the site: excavations conducted in 1974 revealed the presence of an earlier
Carolingian
The Carolingian dynasty ( ; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Arnulfing and Pippinid c ...
hall church
A hall church is a Church (building), church with a nave and aisles of approximately equal height. In England, Flanders and the Netherlands, it is covered by parallel roofs, typically, one for each vessel, whereas in Germany there is often one s ...
. The present church was built around 1200, shortly before the removal of Straubing's main market to a site well to the west (the present-day ''Neustadt''). St. Peter's remained, however, the only rectory in Straubing until 1492, when the Church of St. Jakob was built in the ''Neustadt''. The church was redecorated in a
Baroque
The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
style sometime before 1696, and an onion-dome was set atop the south-western tower. The Baroque decoration and onion dome were removed in 1866/67 in the course of a historicizing "purification" of the structure. In 1885 the north-western tower, which had previously been only three storeys high, was raised to the height of the south-western tower. The most recent restoration was undertaken in 1977/78, at which time the nave was provided with a wooden roof.
Structure
St. Peter's is a three-aisled pillar basilica with three apses, and a two-towered western facade. The arcades between the side aisles and the nave rest on rectangular masonry pillars, whose decoration is not original to the building, but was added in the course of the 19th-century restorations.
Two portals provide access to the building, one from the west and one from the south. The
tympanum of the west portal portrays a knight, armed with sword and shield, battling a dragon. The head of a man, whom the dragon has swallowed, is visible between its jaws. The representation may allude to the words of Psalm 35/34:
Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for mine help. Draw out also the spear, and stop the way against them that persecute me: say unto my soul, I am thy salvation.
The scene would therefore have Christological significance, with the words of the Psalm understood
typologically to refer to Christ as a warrior against evil.
The south portal is somewhat more mysterious. It portrays two animals, at left perhaps a
griffin
The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (; Classical Latin: ''gryps'' or ''grypus''; Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk ...
or another dragon, and at right a lion. The two beasts may likewise be engaged in battle. An opposition between good and evil, similar to that on the west portal, is likely intended, perhaps with reference to medieval animal stories such as those found in the
Physiologus
The ''Physiologus'' () is a didactic Christian text written or compiled in Greek by an unknown author in Alexandria. Its composition has been traditionally dated to the 2nd century AD by readers who saw parallels with writings of Clement of Alexa ...
.
Chapels
The graveyard surrounding St. Peter's includes three free-standing chapels: a ''Kapelle Unserer Lieben Frau'' (Chapel of Our Dear Lady), perhaps originally Romanesque, with a 15th-century
ossuary
An ossuary is a chest, box, building, well, or site made to serve as the final resting place of human skeletal remains. They are frequently used where burial space is scarce. A body is first buried in a temporary grave, then after some years th ...
; the
Agnes-Bernauer-Kapelle, the burial place of the like-named secret wife of
Albert III of Bavaria, executed on charges of witchcraft; and the ''Totenkapelle'' (Chapel of the Dead), built in 1486. The latter is perhaps of the greatest artistic significance, on account of its extensive cycle of paintings representing the
''Totentanz'' (Dance of the Dead), created by the
Rococo
Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...
artist
Felix Hözl (died 1774), a resident of Straubing, in 1763. The cycle is of note as an 18th-century treatment of a predominantly medieval theme.
[Huber, ''Totentanz'', ''passim''.]
Notes
Sources
*Alfons Huber: ''Totentanz- oder Seelenkapelle im Friedhof der Pfarrkirche St. Peter, Straubing'' (=Schnell Kunstführer Nr. 529). Regensburg, 2003,
*Hugo Schnell and Hans Utz: ''Pfarrkirche St. Peter, Straubing'' (=Schnell Kunstführer Nr. 1005). Regensburg, 2003,
*Richard Strobel and Markus Weis: ''Romanik in Altbayern''. Würzburg, 1994,
Additional Photos: St. Peter's Graveyard
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{{coord, 48, 53, 10.50, N, 12, 35, 17.93, E, region:DE-BY_type:landmark_source:dewiki, display=title
Churches in Bavaria
Straubing
Buildings and structures in Lower Bavaria