Statues - Hither & Thither

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Gernsheim
Lkr. Groß-Gerau
Hessen

Im Rosengarten

Pestsäule

Plague Column

1676

Beschreibung / Description

Sandstone column surmounted by a statue of St. Mary with Child after the model of the "Bohemian Madonna" of Maria Einsiedel. On the base the Cüntzer coat of arms and the date 1676.

Beschriftung(en) / Inscription(s)

Filia Æterni Patris
Virgo Mater Filij
Sponso Spiritus Sancti

Informationsschild / Information Sign

pestsäule errichtet 1676
stiftung
johann ludwig cüntzer
mainzer domfaktor
in gernsheim, gest. 1705
renovierung 2000

Anmerkung / Annotation

The statue is a copy made by Hermann Freymadl, the original is in the museum.

Marian, Holy Trinity and Plague Columns (Mariensäule, Dreifaltigkeitssäule, Pestsäule)

Marian and Holy Trinity columns are religious monuments with a statue of Saint Mary or a depiction of the Holy Trinity on top of a column. Around the base of the column are usually various saints. Marian columns were built to thank the Virgin Mary for intervention to quell the pestilence and other scourges. The first of those was erecrted in Vienna in 1667 (Mariensäule) and the second in 1679 also in Vienna at the Graben, the Pestsäule.
The purpose of the Holy Trinity columns was usually simply to celebrate the church and the faith, although the plague motif could play a role.
Erecting religious monuments in the form of a column surmounted by a figure or a Christian symbol was a gesture of public faith that flourished in the Catholic countries of Europe especially in the 17th and 18th centuries (Wikipedia)

Quellen & Informationen / Sources & Information

Echo Online, 23. Juli 2011, Die Pestsäule.

Stichworte / Tags

Lage / Location (N 49°45'1" - E 8°29'4") (Satellite view: Google Maps)

Item Code: dehs102; Photograph: 30 September 2012
Of each statue we made photos from various angles and also detail photos of the various texts.
If you want to use photos, please contact us via the contact form (in Dutch, English or German).
© Website and photos: René & Peter van der Krogt

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