Marienkapelle
Built by merchants in the 14th and 15th centuries, this red-and-white church on Marktplatz is dedicated to the city’s patron saint. Interestingly, a synagogue stood here until 1349, when plague decimated the city and the blame fell on members of the sizeable Jewish community, who were killed or expelled.
From the beginning the church that replaced it was a statement of rebellion, built by merchants for citizens, without the backing of the city’s powerful prince-bishops and Rome. Instead, the church supported itself by the little shops huddled against its walls; structures like these are known in Germany as “swallow shops,” as they resemble swallows’ nests tucked against the side of a house. You’ll get an idea of the merchants’ attitude toward church hierarchy and aristocrats in a carving of the Last Judgment over the West Portal, where finely robed clergy and their elite supporters are among those condemned to hell. Flanking the south portal are touchingly humane sculptures of Adam and Eve, by Würzburg sculptor Tilman Riemenschneider. Note that these are replicas, as are the sculptor’s loving depictions of the 12 apostles in the interior; the originals are in the Mainfränkisches Museum in the Marienberg Fortress. An exuberant, glittering silver statue of “Madonna in Her Glory” is on the wall that once enclosed the chimney of the mikvah, the ritual baths beneath the long-gone synagogue.
Marktplatz.
Built by merchants in the 14th and 15th centuries, this red-and-white church on Marktplatz is dedicated to the city’s patron saint. Interestingly, a synagogue stood here until 1349, when plague decimated the city and the blame fell on members of the sizeable Jewish community, who were killed or expelled.
From the beginning the church that replaced it was a statement of rebellion, built by merchants for citizens, without the backing of the city’s powerful prince-bishops and Rome. Instead, the church supported itself by the little shops huddled against its walls; structures like these are known in Germany as “swallow shops,” as they resemble swallows’ nests tucked against the side of a house. You’ll get an idea of the merchants’ attitude toward church hierarchy and aristocrats in a carving of the Last Judgment over the West Portal, where finely robed clergy and their elite supporters are among those condemned to hell. Flanking the south portal are touchingly humane sculptures of Adam and Eve, by Würzburg sculptor Tilman Riemenschneider. Note that these are replicas, as are the sculptor’s loving depictions of the 12 apostles in the interior; the originals are in the Mainfränkisches Museum in the Marienberg Fortress. An exuberant, glittering silver statue of “Madonna in Her Glory” is on the wall that once enclosed the chimney of the mikvah, the ritual baths beneath the long-gone synagogue.
Marktplatz.
Details
Bookstore
Available as paperback
and as e-book.
