Basilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpers

The Basilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpers (German: Basilika Vierzehnheiligen) is a church located near the town of Bad Staffelstein near Bamberg, in Bavaria, southern Germany. The late Baroque-Rococo basilica, designed by Balthasar Neumann, was constructed between 1743 and 1772. It is dedicated to the Fourteen Holy Helpers, a group of saints venerated together in the Catholic Church, especially in Germany at the time of the Black Death.

Basilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpers
Basilika Vierzehnheiligen
The Basilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpers
Basilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpers
LocationBad Staffelstein
CountryGermany
DenominationRoman Catholic
Architecture
Architect(s)Balthasar Neumann
Stylelate Baroque-Rococo
Years built1743-72

Location
Basilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpers

The Basilica overlooks the river Main in Franconia. It sits on a hillside, and on the hillside opposite is Schloss Banz, a former Baroque abbey. Together they are known as the Goldene Pforte or golden portal, an entryway to the historic Franconian towns of Coburg, Kronach, Kulmbach and Bayreuth.

Legend

In the fall of 1445, young shepherd Hermann Leicht saw a crying child in a field near a Cistercian monastery in Langheim. As he bent down to pick up the child, it abruptly disappeared. A short time later, the child reappeared in the same spot along with two floating lights and Hermann reported it to the Cisterians. The next summer, he saw the child a third time. This time, the child bore a red cross on its chest and was accompanied by other figures. The child said they were the fourteen helpers and would help others if a chapel was erected for them. The two lights descended and the vision disappeared, after which the healing miracles began.[1][2]

The altar depicts the Fourteen Holy Helpers.
Diagram showing the geometry of the floor plan: ovals and circles meet rectangles.

The Cistercian brothers to whom the land belonged erected a chapel, which immediately attracted pilgrims. An altar was consecrated as early as 1448. Pilgrimages to the Vierzehnheiligen continue to the present day between May and October.

The mercy altar of the Vierzehnheiligen

The fourteen saints represented in the altar are:

The high altar of Vierzehnheiligen
Illuminated high altar.

The central scene of the unobstructed and towering high altar is a larger-than-life painting showing the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The statues depict her spouse Joseph, her father Joachim, and David and Zachariah.

Pulpit

Free floating white putti bear the pulpit ornamented with the golden reliefs of the Evangelists surrounded by shellwork. The pulpit tester (sound board) is made of rays in a spherical shape.

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See also

References

Citations
  1. Wilson 2016.
  2. Hlaváček 2015, p. 90.
  3. Michelin 1967.

Sources
  • Hlaváček, Petr (2015). Translated by Zdeněk, V. David. "Konrad Konhofer († 1452) as an Opponent of Jan Hus and the Bohemian Reformation" (PDF). The Bohemian Reformation and Religious Practice. Prague: Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. 10 (2): 60–105. ISBN 978-80-7007-446-6.
  • Wilson, Andrew L. (2016). Here I Walk: A Thousand Miles on Foot to Rome with Martin Luther. Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press. p. 240. ISBN 978-1-493-40576-3.
  • Michelin Green Guide to Germany (reprint ed.). The Dickens Press. 1967. p. 264.

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