Franziskus-Marterl
 St. Francis Chapel / Cross of Wackersdorf | |
| Location | Bavaria, Germany |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 49°18′47.4″N 12°14′40.6″E / 49.313167°N 12.244611°E |
| Designer | Berndt Trepesch, ... |
| Type | WAA-Protest-Memorials |
| Opening date | 1984 |
The Franziskus-Marterl is a chapel-shrine in the southeast of the unfinished Wackersdorf reprocessing plant (WAA) "Im Blaubeerwald" in Altenschwand (Bodenwöhr, Schwandorf (district), Bavaria). The WAA resistance marterl is dedicated to Francis of Assisi and is surrounded by several other protest monuments. The "Franziskus-Marterl" is a stone reminder of the fight against the reprocessing plant.[1]
History
[edit]The chapel was built in 1984 on Michael Meier (activist)'s property. A building permit was not required for the small structure. On September 30, 1984, the wayside shrine chapel was consecrated by Catholic priest Richard Salzl together with Protestant pastor Matthias Kietz.[2]
At the shrine in the mid-1980s, WAA opponents met every Sunday at 14:00 for an ecumenical prayer and then moved into the area or to the hoarding. This is the same place where today the "Marterlgemeinde" meet four times a year to a prayer: at the Chernobyl disaster[3] and Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in memory of the shrine's saint Francis of Assisi on 3 October and on Christmas Eve.
Monument ensemble
[edit]The Franziskus-Marterl includes several monuments:
- St. Francis Chapel, 1984; artist Berndt Trepesch
- Stolen Cross of Wackersdorf, 1985; Stefan Preisl
- Cross of Wackersdorf[4] 1986; artist Stefan Preisl
- The torn Man (Der zerrissene Mensch); 1987, artist Michael Graßl
- Stations of the Cross Memorial Cross Wackersdorf-Gorleben 1988
- God's bow to protect the earth 1989; artist Valerie Schwandner (Schwarzenfeld)
- further memorial plaques and resistance trees
Films, podcasts, and eyewitness accounts
[edit]- 1996: Wackersdorf – Ein Mythos (Wackersdorf – a myth?) What became of the WAA fighters of yesteryear?[5]
- 2006: Schreckgespenst WAA – Widerstand in Wackersdorf (The WAA Reprocessing Plant Swarm Response – Resistance in Wackersdorf)[6]
- 2014: Andreas Schlagenhaufer (Catholic priest) reports on the Sunday walks as a form of protest against the WAA in Wackersdorf and the associated clashes with the police.[7]
- 2015: Stolen Cross of Wackersdorf: Stefan Preisl (wood sculptor) reports on the erection of the wooden cross with the Christ figure he carved in the Wackersdorf hut village and its removal by the police during the eviction.[8]
- 2015: Cross of Wackersdorf: Stefan Preisl reports on the creation and erection of the second wooden Christ figure, which can still be seen at the wayside cross in Wackersdorf today.[9]
- 2015: Claus Bößenecker (legal officer) reports on the erection of the wayside cross near the construction fence and the importance of religion in the resistance against the WAA Wackersdorf.[10]
- 2018: Students in the 12th grade and their teacher, Leonhard Riedmeier, from the Oskar-von-Miller Vocational School Center in Schwandorf, Neunburg vorm Wald branch, restored the Franziskus-Marterl and other objects in its vicinity.[11]
- 2024: Franziskus-Marterl digital[12]
- 2024: Franziskus-Marterl in Wackersdorf: Christian Resistance against Nuclear Power with Leo Feichtmeier, Hans Schuierer, Andreas Schlagenhaufer, Wolfgang Nowak (activist)[13]
- 2026: Interview with Wolfgang Nowak[14]
- 2026: 40 years ago: Environmental protests in Wackersdorf - The role of churches in the Wackersdorf protests[15]
- 2026: 40 years after the Easter Monday demonstration: Hans Schuierer at the Franziskus-Marterl from BUND Naturschutz honored[16]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ Gedenken an den WAA- Baustopp - (de:Onetz, 31 May 2014)
- ↑ Trauer um WAA-Pfarrer Richard Salzl – 30 Jahre wirkte er in Penting und Seebarn. (Mourning for WAA pastor Richard Salzl – he served in Penting and Seebarn for 30 years.), Mittelbayerische Zeitung, 14 September 2023
- ↑ Gedenken an die Atom-Katastrophe – Für die Mitglieder der Marterlgemeinde ist der Widerstand gegen Kernenergie heute so aktuell wie vor 25 Jahren. Archived 2014-11-06 at the Wayback Machine archive – (Mittelbayerische Zeitung vom 25. April 2011)
- ↑ Das Kreuz von Wackersdorf (The corss of Wackersdorf), Chrismon-magazine, August 2011
- ↑ Wackersdorf – Ein Mythos (Wackersdorf – a myth?), Medienwerkstatt Franken 1996, 24 min
- ↑ Schreckgespenst WAA – Widerstand in Wackersdorf, Medienwerkstatt Franken 2006, vimeo 25 min
- ↑ Andreas Schlagenhaufer: Sonntagsspaziergänge als Protestform und Auseinandersetzungen mit der Polizei, contemporary witness report, HdBG 2014, 4 min
- ↑ Stefan Preisl über die Errichtung des ersten Holzkreuzes, contemporary witness report, HdBG 2015, 4 min
- ↑ Stefan Preisl über die Errichtung des zweiten Holzkreuzes, contemporary witness report, HdBG 2015, 4 min
- ↑ Claus Bößenecker: Errichtung des Marterls und Bedeutung der Religion im WAA-Widerstand, contemporary witness report, HdBG 2015, 4 min
- ↑ Schüler haben Franziskus-Marterl restauriert. (Students have restored the Franzsikus-Marterl), Oberpfalz TV, 18 April 2018, 3 min
- ↑ Mein Landkreis Schwandorf: Franziskusmarterl digital., Oberpfalz TV (OTV), 27 October 2024, 12 Min
- ↑ Franziskus-Marterl in Wackersdorf: Christlicher Widerstand gegen Atomkraft., Deutschlandfunk (DLF), 30 September 2024, 10 min
- ↑ Oberpfälzer Heimat: Widerstand gegen die WAA Wackersdorf am Franziskusmarterl (also at YouTube), interview with Wolfgang Nowak (activist), Oberpfalz TV, 24 October 2026, 7 min
- ↑ Vor 40 Jahren: Umweltproteste in Wackersdorf (40 years ago: Environmental protests in Wackersdorf with Andreas Schlagenhaufer and Wolfgang Nowak (activist)), BR24, 1 April 2026, YouTube, 3 min
- ↑ 40 Jahre nach Ostermontags-Demonstration: Hans Schuierer vom BUND Naturschutz am ausgezeichnet, Oberpfalz TV, 31 March 2026, YouTube, 3 Min
External links
[edit]
Media related to Franziskus-Marterl at Wikimedia Commons- Christian resistance - The Franziskus-Marterl is being built, Uli Otto: Kultur gegen die WAA, 2023)
- Atom-Aus: Andenken und Party bis zum Abschalten, Oberpfalz TV, 17 April 2023
