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Weilheim: Old Pölten Church is partially closed

2021-05-18T23:00:33.519Z


Because plaster could fall from the ceiling, the old parish church of St. Pölten has been partially closed for a few weeks. However, a decision has yet to be made about the necessary renovation. And there is also a construction site - at least in a figurative sense - in the new church next door.


Because plaster could fall from the ceiling, the old parish church of St. Pölten has been partially closed for a few weeks.

However, a decision has yet to be made about the necessary renovation.

And there is also a construction site - at least in a figurative sense - in the new church next door.

Weilheim - A red cord shows it clearly: The front area of ​​the old church of St. Pölten - through which the main entrance to the new church also leads - is currently not allowed to be entered. The partial closure was ordered by the Augsburg Episcopal Chamber of Finance after a review revealed larger cavities in the plastered ceiling above the altar area. A clearly visible crack has formed in the ceiling fresco there, which shows the "Glory of St. Hippolytus" (the patron saint of the church) and was painted by Johann Sebastian Troger in 1782. The statics are not acutely endangered, "but individual plaster elements could fall," explains church caretaker Jürgen Brüderle - hence the barrier.

Research into the causes is still ongoing.

One theory leads to the 1990s, when a lot of rubble had to be removed from the attic during the extensive drainage and renovation of the old church.

But “maybe it made a certain sense that the rubble was there,” says Brüderle.

Be that as it may: The ceiling is now being sprayed with plaster - for which a large scaffolding has to be built in the church.

The diocese of Augsburg pays for this “immediate measure”.

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The crack that has formed in the ceiling painting above the chancel of the old church of St. Pölten is clearly visible.

© Rudder

The damage in the painting is then painted over. It is still open whether the fresco will be completely renovated. Before a decision can be made, according to Brüderle, the causes must be clarified. And also the financing. Because presumably the parish or the church foundation St. Pölten has to pay for the renovation of the painting itself. Unless the statics are also affected: Then the diocese might also be on board here.

There is also a need for clarification on a second major topic in the Pölten church - and this leads to the new part of the church built in 1968: The organ installed in the new church would soon have to be replaced at great expense or overhauled in order to continue to function well.

Because the "diversions" that were necessary when the console of the instrument was relocated years ago "regularly and increasingly cause problems", as Brüderle explains: the organ, for example, can hardly be tuned for a long time.

But a meaningful basic renovation including rebuilding the gaming table would cost 100,000 to 150,000 euros.

The option of converting to an electronic gaming table would be just as expensive.

Either way: That exceeds the financial possibilities of the church foundation.

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 The organ in the new Pölten church, which is in need of renovation, is currently being intensively discussed.

© Rudder

That is why it is now a question of leaving the pipe organ as it is and foregoing its use in the long term.

Especially since Weilheim's Catholic parish community is known to have a new, concert-ready organ installed in the Mariae Himmelfahrt parish church.

There, too, the existing organ is in need of renovation and is only poorly "patched up" for liturgical use;

the new building, estimated at a total of 1.1 million euros, is scheduled for 2024.

For St. Pölten, however, a completely electronic version instead of the pipe organ is under discussion. At 30,000 to 50,000 euros, this would be significantly cheaper than organ renovation. The sound would then run over the high-quality new loudspeaker system, which was installed in the new Pölten church in 2020. The church caretaker Jürgen Brüderle can certainly appreciate this solution - also because it is more suitable for rhythmic songs and more recent formats, which the parish community is increasingly planning to do in St. Pölten. “An electronic instrument is probably better for youth services, because I don't necessarily need a pipe organ,” says Brüderle. "And the money is surely better invested for it than to get an organ with all your might."

A financial basis for such a conversion is already in place.

However, nothing has been decided yet, as the church caretaker emphasizes.

That should change when, after a months-long Corona break, it is hoped that church board meetings in attendance will soon be possible again - and that the diocese organ expert can also get an idea of ​​the situation on site.

mr

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2021-05-18

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