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. The interior has been nicknamed "God's Ballroom".

Basilica of the Fourteen Saints
Basilika Vierzehnheiligen
The Basilica of the Fourteen Saints
Basilica of the Fourteen Saints
Location	Bad Staffelstein
Country	Germany
Denomination	Roman Catholic
History
Dedication	Fourteen Holy Helpers
Architecture
Architect(s)	Balthasar Neumann
Style	late Baroque-Rococo
Years built	1743-72

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

On 24 September 1445, a 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 candles and Hermann reported it to the Cistercians. 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 fourteen other figures. The child said they were the fourteen helpers and would help others if a chapel was erected for them. The two candles descended and the vision disappeared, after which the healing miracles began.

18 days after the third apparition, a fatally ill maid from Langheim was cured after she invoked the help of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. Langheim abbey, which had been previously skeptical concerning the apparitions, recognized them and a pilgrimage was soon begun.

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.

Construction

The present church was built from 1743 to 1772. Its unique interior, in the style of Rococo, is due to an irregularity in the construction. Langheim Abbey wished for the costs of construction to be lowered and thus changed the architectural plans, despite the foundational stone already being laid. When this was discovered by Neumann, the architect, the walls of the three apses had already been erected. The Altar of Grace (which being the site of the apparitions could not be moved) would no longer be located in the center of the crossing as originally intended but in the nave. Neumann thus split the room into three ovals and placed the Altar back in the center by making it the center of the largest oval rotund in the middle, surrounded by four columns on each side.

The Mercy Altar of the Vierzehnheiligen

The Mercy Altar, also known as the Gnadenaltar, marks the site where the apparition of the Fourteen Holy Helpers occurred. The fourteen statues adorning the altar are:

The Mercy Altar (Gnadenaltar)

• On the balustrade:
  • Blaise (also Blase and Blasius) (February 3), bishop and martyr, invoked against illness of the throat
  • Cyriacus (Cyriac) (August 8), deacon and martyr, invoked against temptation on the death-bed
  • Denis (Dionysius) (October 9), bishop and martyr, invoked against headache
  • Erasmus (Elmo) (June 2), bishop and martyr, invoked against intestinal ailments

• 
  St Blaise with a mitre and crozier, holding crossed candles
• 
  St Cyriacus holding the palm of martyrdom
• 
  St Denis beheaded
• 
  St Erasmus with a mitre and crozier

• In the altar niches:
  • Barbara (December 4), virgin and martyr, invoked against fever and sudden death
  • Catherine of Alexandria (November 25), virgin and martyr, invoked against sudden death

• 
  St Barbara holding the Host and Chalice
• 
  St Catherine holding a sword and the palm of martyrdom

• On the buttresses:
  • Agathius (or Acacius) (May 8), martyr, invoked against headache
  • Christopher (Christophorus) (July 25), martyr, invoked against bubonic plague
  • Eustachius (Eustace, Eustathius) (September 20), martyr, invoked against family discord
  • Giles (Aegidius) (September 1), hermit and abbot, invoked against plague, for a good confession

• 
  St Agathius in centurion armour holding a cross
• 
  St Christopher carrying a stick and the Christ Child
• 
  St Eustace holding a stag with a crucifix between its antlers
• 
  St Giles holding a crozier and comforting his arrow-shot doe

• On top of the baldachin:
  • George (April 23), soldier-martyr, for the health of domestic animals
  • Margaret of Antioch (July 20), virgin and martyr, invoked in childbirth
  • Pantaleon (July 27), bishop and martyr, for physicians
  • Vitus (June 15), martyr, invoked against epilepsy

• 
  St George dressed in crusader plate armour and holding a lance
• 
  St Margaret wearing a crown and holding a cross and dragon
• 
  St Pantaleon

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 which are surrounded by shellwork. The pulpit tester (sound board) is made of rays in a spherical shape.

Gallery

• 
  Northern tower of the Basilica
• 
  Close up of spire from the northern tower
• 
  Overhead view of the Basilica
• 
  Main entrance
• 
  Ceiling of interior
• 
  Nave of the Basilica
• 
  Fresco adorning the ceiling above High Altar
• 
  Closeup of the Mercy Altar
• 
  Statue of the Child from the apparitions
• 
  Main fresco
• 
  Pipe organ
• 
  Pulpit of Basilica
• 
  Ceiling of Basilica
• 
  Crucifix on the High Altar
• 
  Altar of St Anthony
• 
  Gate behind the Mercy Altar
• 
  High Altar
• 
  Confessional booth

See also

• History of early modern period domes

References

Sources

• Hlaváček, Petr (2015). "Konrad Konhofer († 1452) as an Opponent of Jan Hus and the Bohemian Reformation" (PDF). The Bohemian Reformation and Religious Practice. 10 (2). Translated by Zdeněk, V. David. Prague: Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic: 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.

External links

• (in German) The Basilica's official website
• A web page on the Basilica from College of the Holy Cross