Adress: Pfarrgasse
Eisenstadt Cathedral is a late Gothic church that was constructed in 1460 on a site of older medieval building. This small Roman Catholic church was originally erected as a church that served members of the royal army that were stationed nearby. Presence of a Turkish threat from the East made Austrians aware of possible dangers of unexpected intrusion. So they constructed religious building with a military precision. The steeple of the Eisenstadt Cathedral contains small holes that could be used by defending soldiers inside. Turkish and Muslim threat from Asia was crushed only in 1683 when Turkish armies were defeated near Vienna.
The Cathedral of St. Martin or simply Eisenstadt
Cathedral and also called St. Martin's Cathedral and St. Rupert (in
German: Dom Sankt Martin und Sankt Rupert) is a Catholic cathedral
in Eisenstadt, Burgenland, Austria, dedicated to St. Martin. It has
been the seat of the Bishop of Eisenstadt since the creation of the
diocese in 1960. The first reference to a chapel dedicated to St.
Martin of Tours occurs in 1264, when Eisenstadt received its
original name, in Latin: minor Martin, in German: Kleinmartinsdorf
and in Hungarian: Kismarton.
From this chapel there are still
remains of a Romanesque base in the current choir area. In the 13th
century the chapel was enlarged with the addition of an early Gothic
choir. In the 14th century a chapel was added for the laity. In 1460
the church was rebuilt under the plan of the city captain Johann
Siebenhirter as a fortified or defensive church, as an attack by the
Turks was expected after the fall of Constantinople in 1453.
The Gothic building was completed in 1522. After the great fire of
1589 almost 30 years passed before the reconstruction of the
severely damaged church took place, between 1610 and 1629.
The first documented mention of a chapel dedicated to
Saint Martin was in 1264. At that time, today's Eisenstadt was given its
first name "minor Martin", Kleinmartinsdorf (Hungarian: Kismarton). A
Romanesque foundation of this chapel is still preserved in the area of
today's presbytery. In the 13th century it was expanded to include a
choir in the early Gothic style, and a family chapel was built in the
14th century. In 1460 the church was rebuilt under the governor Johann
Siebenhirter as a fortified church, as an invasion of the Turks after
the fall of Constantinople in 1453 was expected. The Gothic building was
completed in 1522. After the great fire in 1589, almost 30 years passed
before the severely damaged church was rebuilt between 1610 and 1629.
A large altarpiece created by Stephan Dorfmeister was installed in
1777/78, which shows "The Transfiguration of St. Martin". The following
year, the Viennese organ builder Malleck built a church organ according
to the instructions of Joseph Haydn.
After the establishment of
the Eisenstadt diocese, the church of St. Martin was raised to the
status of Domkirche (cathedral) in 1960. Saint Martin of Tours became
diocesan and national patron. The interior and the windows were
redesigned in 1960 under Bishop Stephan László. In 2003, under Bishop
Iby, the cathedral was redesigned, for which the architects
Lichtblau-Wagner designed. The renovation was completed after a year of
construction with the celebration of the cathedral blessing on April 12,
2003 and the consecration of the altar.
In 2013, the cathedral
received a new bell in pitch D2 as an addition to the previously
incomplete musical motif "Salve Regina".
The church is a late-Gothic hall church with three
naves, whereby the west front was planned as a two-tower system, where
the north tower was five-storey and the south tower was only two-storey,
the south tower with the vestibule between the towers are under a common
hipped roof. The two-bay choir in the width of the central nave closes
with a five-eighth note, to the north of the choir is today's family
chapel, which closes like a choir.
Furnishing
The windows of
the presbytery reflect the theme of Christ the King and are by Franz
Deéd. The stained glass windows of the nave show motifs from the Book of
Revelation and are the work of Margret Bilger. Martha
Bolldorf-Reitstätter created the gold mosaic in the choir.
The
stone figure St. Martin on the triumphal arch, the six Gloria angels in
the sanctuary and the session of the canons and priests were created by
the sculptor Jakob Adlhart. In 1980, Thomas Resetarits created a
protective cloak Madonna that was attached to the cathedral portal.
Gilbert Bretterbauer designed the carpet in 2003, which corresponds to
the colors of the glass windows. The altar room design was designed by
Brigitte Kowanz in 2003 and is characterized by the material glass.
Church music
St. Martin's Cathedral is famous for its church
music. The Haydn Festival concerts also take place in the cathedral.
The organ was built in 1778 by the organ builder
Johann Gottfried Malleck from Vienna on the basis of a donation from the
widow Theresia Frigl. The new building was necessary because the
previous organ had been severely damaged during renovation work. Larger
modifications to the organ were carried out in 1944 by the organ
building institute Karl Schuke (Berlin). At that time, the range of
pedals and the range of the first manual were expanded and a register
was added. The last restoration by Schuke took place in 1973. All
additions from the 1940s were removed and reconstructed together with
the pedal windchest (12 tones), the pedal wood register and the
prospectus. The instrument is characterized by the fact that on the one
hand it still has baroque elements, while many things already point to a
sound aesthetic that finally prevailed in the early 19th century.
Bell
The oldest dated bell of the then parish church was from
1590. Other pre-war bells were from 1691, 1713, 1757 and 1868.
The bells of the interwar bells came from the Upper Austrian bell
foundry in St. Florian. The bells were cast in 1925. They had the tones
e', g sharp', b', c sharp'. All the bells were melted down for war
supplies during World War II.
Since 2013, seven bronze bells have
been hanging on the top floor, the belfry of the tower of St. Martin's
Cathedral. Bells 2-6 are the Sunday bells. Bell 1 is the holiday bell.
The bishop's bell is the largest church bell in Burgenland and the
second largest bell in the state. The little bell is the death knell.