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On the journey with Breverl and amulet

2021-12-30T07:10:11.686Z


On the journey with Breverl and amulet Created: 12/30/2021, 8:00 AM From: Susanne Greiner The old fire department ladder from Diessen is also housed in the barn of the district office depot. © ks District - The district has a treasure trove: In the east of Landsberg, a building that resembles a barn with its pent roof hides small and large treasures - and also some curiosities. The district of


On the journey with Breverl and amulet

Created: 12/30/2021, 8:00 AM

From: Susanne Greiner

The old fire department ladder from Diessen is also housed in the barn of the district office depot.

© ks

District - The district has a treasure trove: In the east of Landsberg, a building that resembles a barn with its pent roof hides small and large treasures - and also some curiosities. The district office's depot collects items that reflect the tradition and life of the district. Part of it are the devotional objects: from the flacon with Walburga oil to letters of protection with sip pictures to the "Holy Length", with which it was easy to carry the saint and his protective effect with you in all its size. Carmen Jacobs, employee of the district home maintenance department, knows the little curiosities well. And can tell whole novels about it.

The first thing that greets the visitor in the depot is the old fire brigade ladder from Dießen: a wooden giant that was once again allowed to go outside when the Ammersee-Wehr turned 150. “It was quite an effort,” recalls Jacobs. As a research assistant, the cultural scientist also supports the work of district home nurse Dr. Heather white-haired gill. “What is stored in the depot shows one facet of the district,” says Jacobs. Part of history that needs to be preserved. For example, in the warehouse there are after-work bricks from which conclusions can be drawn about life back then (the KREISBOTE reported). There are carriages behind the fire ladder, countless wooden agricultural implements, spinning wheels, a shelf full of chairs, including a wheelchair, hang on the walls:a wicker chair with attached wooden board for the feet, the whole thing mounted on a stroller-like frame. Whatever goes into the barn: It has to be steamed beforehand. The woodworm is not supposed to nibble on the wheelchair. The existing collections are only being expanded very moderately, even if many district residents offer objects, says Jacobs. “Unfortunately, we are spatially limited here.” In addition to the hall, only two other rooms in the depot building offer space for the memory of the district.“Unfortunately, we are spatially limited here.” In addition to the hall, only two other rooms in the depot building offer space for the memory of the district.“Unfortunately, we are spatially limited here.” In addition to the hall, only two other rooms in the depot building offer space for the memory of the district.


In one of them, Jacobs laid out some of her treasures on a table: amulets, figures of Jesus, devotional objects, rosaries - precious objects that do not reveal their secrets at first glance. Knowledge of cultural studies is required for this. Jacobs got most of the objects from a Landsberg collector. But she also contributed some herself: "My father also collected such devotional objects." And inspired by his father's actions, Jacobs studied the historical background of these objects.


Many of the items are souvenirs from pilgrimages. There is the little travel altar that is reminiscent of a doll's house inventory. Or an amulet in the shape of a heart: “A cholera heart”, informs Carmen Jacobs, “to protect against the epidemic of the 19th century”. Next to it lies a Benedictine penny, which bears blessings in abbreviations on a cross. "The penny thus also had a magical function as the materialization of faith," says Jacobs. Something that the church did not necessarily welcome benevolently, as interfaces with superstition were not far away.


Jacob's favorite devotional objects are the Breverls, letters of protection that you could carry with you - some as small as a memory card for a digital camera.

Some are unopened: They were worn as protection and only opened in the greatest need, "at the most terrible moment," as Jacobs put it.

The closed packages pique the curiosity of the viewer.

Jacobs is holding one of the tiny, closed Breverls in his hand, a beautifully wrapped miniature letter.

A woman gave it to her, who in turn received it from her mother.

She would like to open it to see what is hidden behind the isinglass closure - the surprise egg effect.

What is hidden in this closed Breverl remains a secret.

Often found in Breverln: little sip pictures.

© ks

What could be hidden in it is revealed in the opened Breverln of the collection, most of which date from the 18th and 19th centuries.

In a folded piece of paper there are sip pictures, rectangular images of images of grace at places of pilgrimage, often printed as a whole series on a sheet.

They served as a “spiritual medicine cabinet”, as well as herbs and clay remnants to be found next to the paper pictures.

The latter come from so-called mezzotints: holy figurines made of clay, from which shavings were scraped off in order, like herbs and miraculous images, to avert disaster on the journey in an emergency.

“The pieces of clay were also baked into bread,” says Jacobs.

“The people were deeply anchored in the faith.

But they also rely on magical aspects. " 

Finest handwork


For example, Walburga oil has been said to have magical healing powers. Jacobs shows a tiny screw-top jar made of glass that served as a travel companion. The "oil" is the liquid that escapes from the sarcophagus of St. Walburga in Eichstätt when it is cold, she says. The touch relic, which rests in a small, round amulet with a crucifix, is also tiny, almost invisible in this size. Most of the objects are extremely delicate. They were made by nuns in the monastery, says Jacobs, or they were made at home, whereupon peddlers brought them to the people. There are tiny, labeled paper tapes that are wound over needles to get the ideal curvature. Metal threads in flower arrangements, small cases with the finest gold embossing. In one of these cases there is a long ribbon: a "sacred length", explains Jacobs,which indicates the alleged size of Jesus or Mary. The ribbon in Jacob's hands is just under two meters.

The glass bottle for storing the Walburga oil.

© ks

Of course, Jacobs also has historical advisory books.

One is entitled “All sorts of useful things as advice in many things for house fathers and house mothers”.

In it, for example, the production of an "amulet against cramps", for which the "white rhubarb root" is necessary.

It has to be pulverized and put into "a square bag about three thumbs wide".

The patient wears it around the neck so that it touches the stomach.

The next “household tip” deals with a formidable liqueur or medicine that can be used to cure the dog.


Finally, there is also wax on Jacob's presentation table: consecrated candles with pictures or wax sticks, which are available in both simple and elaborately decorated forms. A wax stick, a kind of wound, thin candle, was used to illuminate the prayer book, but if it was red, it could also be used for a sore throat. Black candles, on the other hand, were mostly weather candles, says Jacobs: When thunder and lightning threatened, they should protect the house and the harvest. Maidservants and servants were given the wax at Candlemas on February 2nd - a fee that was sometimes even contractually agreed.


There are other objects on the shelves of the upper floor that are still waiting to be determined.

Unfortunately, the depot objects can only be seen in the two showcases in the District Office, on the first floor above the registration office.

Jacobs and her colleague Stefanie Irlen regularly equip them with a lot of commitment: The cramped presentation space in particular demands precision.

Nevertheless, the objects lead a shadowy existence.

Hardly anyone comes there.

And whoever is there usually has official matters to attend to.

There is no leisure to contemplate.

More space and more appreciation would be nice.

After all, it is a shimmering piece of the mosaic about the history of the homeland.

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2021-12-30

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