Evangelical Church (Röthges)

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Church from the southwest
Interior facing south

The Evangelical Church in Röthges , a district of Laubach in the district of Gießen ( Hesse ), is a hall church in the pointed arch style from the years 1878/1879. It was built according to plans by the district architect Carl Wilhelm Christian Dieffenbach. The Hessian cultural monument with its three-story west tower characterizes the townscape.

history

The previous building dates back to the pre-Reformation period and was a subsidiary of Wetterfeld . With the introduction of the Reformation , the parish changed to the Protestant creed. It remained in the parish of Wetterfeld in 1535. Disputes arose because Wetterfeld belonged to Solms-Lich , while Röthes belonged to Solms-Braunfels .

In the second quarter of the 19th century, the branch church fell into disrepair and was demolished in 1846 due to the risk of collapse. Until the completion of the new church, the school hall served as a worship meeting room for more than 30 years. During this time, the bell was placed in a roof turret attached to the “prayer and school house” . Today's church was built in 1878/1879 according to plans by building officer Dieffenbach (1820–1903) from Grünberg, who was based on the model specifications of the senior consistory and the senior building management from 1851. Dieffenbach had previously built the church in Weitershain . The inauguration of the church in Röthges took place on September 14, 1879. The construction costs amounted to 22,852.32 marks. Much of the work was done in-house.

The top of the tower was destroyed by lightning on June 11, 1892, again in October 1901 and a third time in 1976. From 1967 to 1970 an exterior and interior renovation was carried out, which included a new heating system, an electric bell system and a new tower clock. During the renovation in 1997, the church roof was completely renewed, the tower slated in and a new spire was put on. Because of a downpour in the open roof structure, an interior renovation was necessary. The total renovation costs were over DM 200,000.

Since April 1, 2014, the four so-called WORM congregations, which previously had two pastors, have been connected to the parish and are looked after by a pastor's office. WORM is an acronym from Wetterfeld, Ober-Bessingen , Röthges and Münster .

architecture

South portal

The white plastered hall church is built on a rectangular floor plan on the northeastern edge of the village at the highest point of the village. It is oriented from south to north and stands at the gable with the south tower facing the street. The neo-Gothic pointed arch style is strictly based on the specifications of 1851. The church has a recessed 5/8 choir on the north side, which is illuminated by three pointed arch windows and closed off by a saddle roof. The interior is illuminated on the long sides by three pointed arch windows that simulate tracery . A high, flat-pointed triumphal arch opens the choir, which has been raised by two steps, to the nave. The south side has a small pointed arched window and a pointed arched frieze on both sides of the tower . A small sacristy has been added to the northwest .

The slender tower on a square floor plan is integrated into the south side of the nave. It is divided into three storeys by strong cornices , each of which jumps back upwards. The inscription in the ogival tympanum of the west portal reads: "GOD CONSECUTED SEPTEMBER 14, 1879 BY THE COMMUNITY RÖTHGES". While the east and west side are windowless, the second floor on the south side has a six-part wheel window and on the third floor a two-lane tracery window with the clock face of the tower in the pointed arch. The octagonal stone lantern with ogival sound holes merges into a pointed stone pyramid helmet, which is crowned by a spherical cross. The original shape of the tip was not restored in 1997.

Furnishing

pulpit
Interior facing northwest

The interior is closed off by a flat slab that rests on two longitudinal beams . The three-sided gallery in blue frame is supported by octagonal wooden posts. The fillings of the gallery parapets have a pointed arch frieze. The five southern panels and the two adjacent on the long sides have parapet paintings of different sizes. A gallery running around the choir is connected to the church gallery. Above the western passage, a building inscription reminds of the builder and the year of construction: “The builder of this church was Dr. Carl W Chr Dieffenbach Gr Baurath in Grüningen in 1878–1879 ”. The floor is covered with red sandstone slabs.

The block altar rests one step higher on a platform made of sandstone. The polygonal, wooden pulpit is attached to the west side in front of the choir arch. Like the gallery parapets, the pulpit fields are designed with panels and a pointed arch frieze. The mighty, octagonal sound cover has got gothic shapes.

Next to the pulpit hangs a picture of Martin Luther . Under the choir gallery there are pictures with the risen Christ, the Lord's Supper and Christ on the Mount of Olives.

organ

Voigt organ

Heinrich Voigt from Wiesbaden-Igstadt built an organ after 1881 . After the instrument showed heating damage, it was shut down. In 1972 the community purchased an electronic organ that was built into the console . The loudspeakers found their place in the organ case. The experts Hans Martin Balz and Peter Albrecht recommended the restoration of the organ in 1984, which was decided in 1986. The restoration by Förster & Nicolaus in 1987/1988 cost 45,000 DM. Four pilasters , which end in pointed turrets with finials , structure the prospectus, which is characterized by three pointed pipe fields. The central field has a triangular gable with a frieze, the flanking side fields have a straight end with a frieze and small battlements. The lateral work has mechanical sliders and eight registers that are distributed on a manual and pedal. The disposition is as follows:

I Manual C – f 3
Principal 8th'
Dumped 8th'
Viola di gamba 8th'
octave 4 ′
Hollow flute 4 ′
octave 2 ′
Cornet III-IV B / D
Pedal C – d 1
Sub-bass 16 ′

Peal

The previous church housed two bells, which were housed in a roof turret on the school building at Burgstrasse 1 before the new church was completed. The bell from 1653 came from Johann Henschel from Gießen, the one from 1702 from Dilman Schmid from Asslar. For the new church building, three new bells in the major triad (b 1 –d 2 –f 2 ) were cast by Andreas Hamm from Frankenthal in 1879 and the two old ones were traded in . The two big bells had to be handed in in 1917 for armament purposes. Hamm cast three new bells to replace them. The large bell (0.84 meters in diameter, around 300 kg in weight) bore the inscription: “Consecrated to the fatherland in difficult times. 1914–1918 Newly created 1925 / The mayor: W. Metzger / The pastor: Scriba / The teacher: Gonder / Local board: Georg Metzger, Georg Hausmann, Wilhelm Meckel II., Heinrich Emrich VIII., Wilhelm Nau, Wilhelm Möll III., Otto Gontrum ”, the middle bell (0.66 meters, around 150 kg) the inscription:“ I call the people, invite them to prayer, that they praise God on earth so that they may once be heavenly transfigured ”. The little bell was preserved. On the back of the three bells it could be read: "Gemeinde Röthges 1925". During World War II, the two big ones were melted down. The community bought two steel bells in their place in 1951.

No.
 		 Casting year
 		 Foundry, casting location
 		 Diameter
(mm)		 Mass
(kg)		 Percussive
( HT - 1 / 16 )		 inscription
 
1 1951 371 h 1 “ In difficult times, consecrated to the fatherland. 1939–1945 Newly born in 1951. Röthges community "
2 1951 245 d 2 " Municipality of Röthges "
3 1925 Andreas Hamm, Frankenthal 560 89 f 2 " Peace in the country, happiness and blessings for every state
community Röthges 1925 "

literature

  • Wilhelm Diehl : Construction book for the Protestant parishes of the sovereign lands and the acquired areas of Darmstadt. (= Hassia sacra; 8 ). Self-published, Darmstadt 1935, p. 274 f.
  • State Office for the Preservation of Monuments Hesse (ed.); Karlheinz Lang (Red.): Cultural monuments in Hesse. District of Giessen I. Hungen, Laubach, Lich, Reiskirchen. (= Monument topography Federal Republic of Germany ). Theiss, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-8062-2177-0 , p. 336 f.
  • Robert Möll: Röthges. An Upper Hessian village and its history. A village chronicle. Self-published, Laubach-Röthges 2001.
  • Heinrich Walbe : The art monuments of the Gießen district. Vol. 3. Southern part . Hessisches Denkmalarchiv, Darmstadt 1933, p. 358.
  • Peter Weyrauch : The churches of the old district of Giessen. Mittelhessische Druck- und Verlagsgesellschaft, Gießen 1979, p. 160 f.

Web links

Commons : Evangelische Kirche Röthges  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b State Office for the Preservation of Monuments in Hesse (ed.), Lang (ed.): Cultural monuments in Hesse. District of Giessen I. 2008, p. 337.
  2. ^ Diehl: Construction book for the Protestant parishes. 1935, p. 274.
  3. ↑ Röthges. Historical local dictionary for Hessen. In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS). Hessian State Office for Historical Cultural Studies (HLGL), accessed on September 7, 2014 .
  4. ^ Möll: Röthges. 2001, p. 98.
  5. ^ Diehl: Construction book for the Protestant parishes. 1935, p. 275.
  6. ^ A b State Office for the Preservation of Monuments in Hesse (ed.), Lang (ed.): Cultural monuments in Hesse. District of Giessen I. 2008, p. 336.
  7. ^ Möll: Röthges. 2001, p. 103.
  8. ^ Möll: Röthges. 2001, p. 111.
  9. ^ Official Journal of the Evangelical Church in Hesse and Nassau from January 1, 2013, p. 70: Münster, Ober-Bessingen, Röthges and Wetterfeld , accessed on March 26, 2018 (PDF).
  10. ^ Weyrauch: The churches of the old district Gießen. 1979, p. 160.
  11. ^ Weyrauch: The churches of the old district Gießen. 1979, p. 161.
  12. ^ Möll: Röthges. 2001, p. 110.
  13. ^ Franz Bösken , Hermann Fischer : Sources and research on the organ history of the Middle Rhine (=  contributions to the Middle Rhine music history . Volume 29.2 ). tape 3 : Former province of Upper Hesse. Part 2: M-Z . Schott, Mainz 1988, ISBN 3-7957-1331-5 , p. 828 .
  14. ^ Möll: Röthges. 2001, p. 101.
  15. ↑ Walbe: The art monuments of the district of Giessen. 1933, p. 358.
  16. ^ Möll: Röthges. 2001, pp. 106-108.

Coordinates: 50 ° 32 ′ 13 "  N , 8 ° 55 ′ 43.9"  E