A major renovation is planned in the Schongau parish church. The facade, also on the tower, is partly badly weathered and crumbling. New bells are also urgently needed. The first applications are currently being submitted. If everything goes as planned, work on the facade could start in spring 2023.
Schongau - The plans for the renovation of the external facade are only just beginning to take shape. “It's still in its infancy,” reports Harry Behne, who has been the administrative director for the Schongau parish community for two years. Applications are currently being made to the diocese of Augsburg so that the church is included in the list of renovation projects.
“All of this has to be approved first, the registration is in progress.” But there is no doubt that the renovation of the church of the master builder Dominikus Zimmermann is necessary. "Especially when you see the weather side, serious damage to the plaster can already be seen," Behne describes it. Because you want to avoid this from getting worse, you would like to address the issue in good time.
The outer facade of the Assumption of Mary is already very weathered in places and plaster is crumbling.
© Herold
Not only the facade is affected, but also the church tower. Father Stefan Kling, head of the office for church music in the Episcopal Ordinariate in Augsburg, was already there and had seen everything. “He discovered that the bell cage needs to be replaced,” reports Behne.
The steel girders are already badly corroded and urgently need to be replaced, and rust removal would no longer help. Although today people no longer build like that, but instead use a new wooden bell cage. In contrast to the renovation of the facade, which would be subsidized up to 60 percent, there is no funding from the diocese.
Bells were hung in 1949
The bells themselves are apparently in extremely poor condition, which is why they will have to be replaced in the coming years. The cast iron bells are from the post-war years and were hung in 1949. As in many localities, the original bells were melted down on the orders of the National Socialists.
Of the five bells in different sizes, only one made of bronze remained, and there is also a death bell made of bronze. "Four would have to be replaced in any case," the head of administration said. Because the rust gnaws at these impressive sound bodies incessantly. The big bell in particular was badly affected, “it already has a few holes”.
The aim is to start in 2023
What is the schedule now? As soon as the first applications for the outer facade have been approved by the diocese, you can start looking for an architect in Schongau. A precise idea of the financial framework is of course only available with the cost calculation. "The aim is to start the renovation in 2023," said Behne.
An important building block for the preservation of the parish church Mariae Himmelfahrt is the support association. Corona has thrown the club far back in its plans, reports Helmut Hunger, who is chairman.
The first big concert in the spring for the benefit of the church could not take place, he also estimates that the donation concert for Christmas cannot take place in the usual framework. Nonetheless, he hopes that the next project, the restoration of the crucifixion group on the outer facade, can be kicked off in September.
Four of the six bells need to be replaced, the bell cage is ailing, says Harry Behne.
© Herold
"The Friends' Association is campaigning for the renovation on the east side," reports Hunger, an appointment with the area officer Thomas Hermann from the State Office for Monument Preservation is planned.
Donated by a mother of three
On the one hand, it is about the cross with the figure of Christ, which formerly hung freely at the height of the altar steps. This has been outside on the east side since the 1940s. The Madonna is also in poor condition, also on the east side of the church.
As Hunger tells, it was donated by a mother of three. Born in 1898, her husband died in 1927, then she became seriously ill - the youngest child was just two years old at the time. Then the Schongauerin made a vow.
In fact, she recovered and donated a Madonna, which found its place around 1950 on the east side of the parish church, as the chairman of the friends' association remembers. "Now it needs to be overhauled," says Hunger. He estimates that the renovation of the crucifixion group will cost a five-figure sum.
Also read:
New projects should make Schongau more attractive.
An excursion tip from the region.
