Sternberg town church
The town church of St. Maria and St. Nikolaus was built from 1309 to 1322 in Sternberg , Mecklenburg . Since then it has been the main church in Sternberg, a small town between Schwerin and Güstrow in what is now Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania . It is the church of the parish of Sternberg, which belongs to the Sternberg church region in the Wismar provost in the Mecklenburg parish of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany .
An early Gothic predecessor church was first mentioned in a document in 1232. Today's town church owes its size - which is considerable for a small town like Sternberg - to Prince Heinrich II of Mecklenburg . After a town fire in 1309, he began the systematic development of the town and the construction of the representative church. He then chose Sternberg as his main residence in 1310 .
The brick building has the shape of a five-bay hall church . Due to a major renovation in 1895/1896, the building now also has neo-Gothic elements.
Historical meaning
In the town church of St. Maria and St. Nikolaus , the Mecklenburg state parliaments were opened every two years until 1913 (alternating with Malchin ). In 1931, the Oberkirchenrat of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Mecklenburg-Schwerin gave the town church the honorary name “Reformation Memorial Church” in memory of the extraordinary state parliament of June 20, 1549 near Sternberg, where the Reformation was introduced in Mecklenburg .
After the Sternberg host-molester trial of 1492 and the subsequent pogrom of the Jews , St. Maria and St. Nicholas as a pilgrimage church was the destination of numerous pilgrims . To store the allegedly from Mecklenburg Jews desecrated hosts and worship of "Holy Blood" which was Chapel of the Holy Blood added to the church. Since 2007 a memorial commemorates the events.
Today the Sternberg town church is a listed building and is entered in the monuments list of the Sternberger Seenlandschaft office .
Building history
The church is an early Gothic brick church. It is a so-called Westphalian five-bay hall church with an ideally square floor plan without a choir with three naves , which are evenly closed in the east by a straight wall.
The construction of the current church began in 1309 and ended with completion in 1322. The church was mentioned in a document on March 31, 1328 when Prince Heinrich II donated the village of Loiz to it.
The two side aisles date from the Middle Ages. The vault of the central nave was rebuilt five years later after the devastating city fire in 1741. The cornices , the mansard roof as well as the altar and pulpit in the Baroque style were also built after 1741 and were in place until 1896. The two-storey north sacristy dates from the 14th century. In the years 1494–96, the Winter Church and the Chapel of the Holy Blood were built due to the increased importance as a pilgrimage church.
During the major renovations in 1895/96 under the direction of Gotthilf Ludwig Möckel , the church, especially the interior, was redesigned in a neo-Gothic style. The west gallery was created and all windows were renewed, the chairs, the pulpit and the altar were replaced. Some portals were bricked up and the main entrance was moved from the vestibule to the tower hall. This received a cross vault and was equipped with pictures. A partition was added between the Winter Church and the Chapel of the Holy Blood.
The church was renovated in sections beginning in the 1990s; a comprehensive restoration of the interior and exterior was carried out between 2010 and 2012.
construction
Main church
The church building is a rectangular building with the additions of the winter church, sacristy and tower. The entire church building is 51 meters long in the east-west axis and the main building is 25 meters wide. In the east it has a straight end without a choir niche. It has a central nave and two side aisles of equal length, not much shorter. The church vaults are supported by eight pillars and four pilasters arranged in two rows. The pillars are octagonal with square bases. They have bases and capitals and slender half-columns on the four narrow sides. The columns are brightly painted with different patterns. For example, with black, yellow and red stepped rafters with green leaf tendrils on the edges. All columns are decorated with coats of arms.
All three naves have cross vaulted vaults with legs of almost the same height.
The Gothic windows of the church are divided into three parts by narrow stone pillars. The window behind the altar is divided into four parts and is of more recent origin, as the altar gable collapsed in the two great fires. The two other windows in the altar wall and the two windows, abbreviated below, above the two main doors on the south side have three small round windows or roses above their vaults.
The window panes of the altar wall represent the church festivals of Pentecost, Easter and Christmas. On the south side you will find the so-called Reformation window. It shows Martin Luther and the then Mecklenburg sovereigns Johann Albrecht I and Heinrich V. All four window panes date from 1895 and were restored during GDR times using private donations.
The two main gates are sloping and adorned with ribs or columns with small capitals. At the southern gate under the tower, the wall niches are made with pointed gables and black glazed decorations. It is the current main entrance to the church. Next to the gate is a walled-in granite block with two footprints on the left. According to a legend, these are the footprints of Eleazar's wife, who sank into the stone when she tried to sink the hosts in the brook. Chisel marks can be seen in the footprints, so the actual origin is not known. The Chapel of the Holy Blood was added to the western corner of the south aisle. It protrudes over the side wall of the church.
At the altar is the former altar plate, marked with the five consecration crosses . It bears the (secondary) inscription Ein Divack was Burgemeister zu Sternberg in 1572 .
Chapel of the Holy Blood
The Chapel of the Holy Blood , later also called the baptistery, was built for the pilgrims who came to Sternberg to worship the " Holy Blood " after the Sternberg host-molester trial (1492) . It is a simple brick building with a vestibule and side corridor. The chapel is on the southwest side of the church. A small staircase leads from the vestibule of the south portal to the baptistery. The chapel was affected by the town fire in 1741, the altar by Erhard Altdorfer from 1516, commissioned by the dukes Heinrich V and Albrecht VII , was destroyed in the fire in 1741. The base area of the chapel is painted with a stylized flower carpet up to a height of about one meter. In front of the access to the chapel there is a medieval tabletop as a relic from the time of the host desecration trial. In the center of the chapel there is currently a body with cruciform stamps hanging over a white carpet with a crossprint.
It is the sculpture "Stigma" by the Crivitz sculptor Wieland Schmiedel . It is supposed to remind of the dark chapter of the process of abusing the host.
In the chapel, a relief depicting the innocently executed, perhaps a former altar, was shown beforehand. There is also a neo-Gothic fifth created by the court sculptor Rusch from Wismar in 1895 . The lid comes from the Doberan sculptor Kasch. The poor box can also be seen here. In this, the donations for the poorer children of Sternberg were collected in order to enable them to attend school. These items are currently in the main church. A Christ fresco is located three meters above the transition to the winter church . The chapel is also connected to the winter church by a narrow arched corridor on the south side. This was probably created for processions and pilgrims.
Winter church
The winter church was built around 1500. It served and still serves as a community room for the winter, when the large church interior is too cold for church services. It is located on the southwest corner between the Chapel of the Holy Blood and the church tower. The altar and pulpit of the St. Jürgen chapel, which was demolished in 1904, were installed in the winter chapel. The St. George altar from around 1500 is a carved triptych by a Mecklenburg master.
The altar shows Saint George killing the dragon, but also ten other saints. Georg is flanked by an Anna selbdritt group and a third figure (presumably Elisabeth ). In the left wing of the altar, James the Elder , Ursula , an unknown figure and Paul are depicted. In the right wing of the altar one can see Katharina , Mauritius , Sebastian and Nikolaus . The outsides show the preaching of the Lord by the Archangel Gabriel .
The pulpit shows the evangelists Mark, Luke and Matthew.
Since the church was redesigned in 1895, there are several old tombstones here. The epitaph for Theodor (Diedrich) von Plessen can be seen here. It is the work of the Dutch sculptor Philipp Brandin .
tower
The square, twelve by twelve meter west tower in the width of the central nave was finished in 1322. The upper part of the tower was rebuilt after the city fires of 1659 and 1741. The year of completion 1750 is visible from afar on the tower. The baroque lantern with a helmet was renewed in 1816. The tower burned again in a lightning strike in 1894 and was given its current neo-Gothic appearance in 1895. The 66 meter high tower is accessible to visitors and offers a panoramic view of the town of Sternberg and its surroundings from a platform under the lantern .
The tower hall is located in the lower part of the tower. The historicizing fresco above the passage to the church is striking here. It represents the introduction of the Reformation in Mecklenburg and the associated state parliament at the Sagsdorfer Bridge near Sternberg. This is where the rulers of Mecklenburg and the Mecklenburg state estates met since 1275. On June 20, 1549, they decided against the Augsburg interim of the Roman-German Emperor Charles V , which should put a stop to Protestantism. The picture was painted by Fritz Greve in 1896 .
Below the fresco are two historical tombstones, the late medieval stone of Johannes Sommer and the tombstone of Kathrina Fanter, who died in 1583. On the north side of the tower hall there is a marble memorial plaque for the fallen of the First World War.
Furnishing
The entire interior of the church was redesigned in the neo-Gothic style in 1895/96 under the direction of Gotthilf Ludwig Möckel from Doberan. In addition to uncovering the paintings from the 14th century hidden under the lime paint, the altar, pulpit and choir stalls were redesigned.
The altar was created by the Doberan sculptor Albert Kasch . It shows reliefs of Melchizedek , Abel , Isaac and Aaron . Christ crucified is depicted above them. Ears and grapes can be seen between Abel and Isaac. They are reminiscent of the bread and wine of the Lord's Supper.
The pulpit also comes from the workshop of the master Albert Kasch and shows the four evangelists Matthew , Markus , Lukas and Johannes as a carving .
The former furnishings include a baroque altar that is now in Eldena , and a pulpit that is stored in the sacristy. Both date from 1747.
Painting
The church, which was originally colored in the 14th century, was whitewashed after the Reformation. After the renovation in 1895, this original color came to light again. All pillars are provided with coats of arms, vine tendrils and carpet-like patterns. The stylized reddish brown vine tendrils with green leaves and reddish brown grapes extend up to the goblet capital . The carpet-like paintings go halfway up and are completed with the coat of arms. Further paintings can also be found in the vault and in the tower hall.
During the renovation work in 1895, two frescoes from around 1350 were discovered on the altar wall. The fresco in the north aisle shows Christ as judge of the world in the mandorla in front of a star-studded background, surrounded by the symbols of the four evangelists and the representations of Mary and John the Baptist as intercessors of the people. On both sides there are pictures of two apostles in arcades. The southern fresco shows the crucifixion of Jesus, with the assistants Mary and John, Jesus' favorite disciple. The name of the artist is unknown.
In the north aisle there is a fresco above the entrance to the sacristy , which was donated by Duchess Elisabeth von Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach, the wife of Duke Johann Albrechts zu Mecklenburg , in 1899. It shows Moses, David and Abraham and above them John the Baptist and commemorates the 350th anniversary of the introduction of the Reformation in Mecklenburg by the Landtag zu Sternberg in 1549. Here, too, there is no artist name.
coat of arms
In the Sternberg Church, 40 coats of arms were attached to the main pillars, 33 of which have been preserved. The coats of arms were arranged in pairs on the pillars. Most of them only painted one pair, two of f , g and o and three of i . Six coats of arms were covered by the construction of the organ loft (coats of arms o , o , i and m ) and the new pulpit (coats of arms f and h ). A coat of arms f (position †) disappeared by being painted over with the representation of the "Annunciation". For the coats of arms 1-6 and † only a presumed arrangement is entered on the sketch, since the coats of arms are no longer present due to the above-mentioned modifications. These medieval images were uncovered when the church was renovated in the 19th century.
The coats of arms represent the following groups of coats of arms:
- a: In silver (white), two transverse, turned, four-pronged black stag poles on top of each other
- b: Divided by silver (white) over black and covered with a stretched red crossbow, placed at an angle to the right
- c: Divided by silver (white) over red
- d: square; Field 1 silver (white), field 2 black, field 3 red, field 4 green
- e: In silver (white) a stepped black gable
- f: In silver (white) half a rising red buck
- g: In red above an upright blue ploughshare, a silver (white) zigzag rafter, accompanied at the top by two blue ploughshares leaning towards each other
- h: In a red field with a continuous silver (white) cross there is a silver (white) inclined cross; both crosses covered with green leaf tendrils
- i: A seven-pointed silver (white) star in black
- k: In silver (white) over two erect red forging tongs, a third placed diagonally to the right
- l: A silver (white) sloping bar in black, covered with a black tendril
- m: In silver (white) four black cockfeather bushes extending from the center, placed diagonally cross-shaped
- n: Divided diagonally from silver (white) and black by a vine
- o: In silver (white) an upright red griffin, turned to the left on the northern column, turned to the right on the southern column, so that they appear to be turned away in the paired arrangement
- p: In red a silver (white) half flight
The exact meaning of these coats of arms is unknown. The most likely variant is that it is the coat of arms of the Sternberg foundation families. There are similar things in other churches like in the collegiate church Bützow and the Schwerin Cathedral .
organ
The organ in the Sternberg church is a copy made by the Eberhard Friedrich Walcker company from Ludwigsburg. It was built in 1895 on the newly built gallery. The organ was one of the company's first three high pressure voice organs and has 21 stops . A similar organ made by the company can be found in a chapel in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome . The organ was a foundation of the Sternberg-based musical instrument dealer Julius Heinrich Zimmermann from St. Petersburg. In 1990/1991 the organ was extensively restored by the organ workshop Christian Scheffler from Frankfurt / Oder, but not technically changed. The organ was consecrated again on Pentecost Sunday, May 19, 1991.
Today's organ has the following disposition :
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- Coupling : II / I, II / P, I / P, super octave coupling for stentor flute.
- Playing aids : Triggers for tutti and paddling, collective kicks (forte, piano).
It has an extra drawer C – f 4 , for stentor flute 8 ′, playable either from manual I or II.
Bells
The bell room is located halfway up the church tower. There are currently two bells hanging here . After the great city fire in 1741, three bells were originally installed. These were cast between 1750 and 1767. Nothing is known of the bells that existed before the town fire. Two of the bells from the years 1750–1767 suffered the same fate as many other bells; they were dismantled and melted down during the First World War . Only the brackets and the iron clapper are left of them. The older bell that still exists bears the inscription Soli deo Gloria. OGM in Rostock Ao 1750 . It was cast by the bell founder Otto Gerhard Meyer in Rostock. The larger bell that still exists dates back to 1971 and bears the inscription + ET IN TERRA PAX STERNBERG AD 1971 . The tower clock is on the level above the bells. It is not freely visible, but was enclosed to protect against pigeons. The clock was installed in 1984 and is connected to the three dials via axes. In addition, the clock operates two bells located on the edge of the viewing platform. These were cast in Hildesheim in 1889. The death knell that used to be located here was also melted down during the First World War.
Pastors
Names and years indicate the verifiable mention as pastor.
- 1572-1581 Simon Gutzmer, chaplain from 1568, first pastor in 1572
- 1621-1638 his son Michael Gutzmer, from 1628 rector in Sternberg
- 2019– Ludwig Hecker, from October 1, 2019 also in Witzin and Dabel.
Today's church
The Sternberg parish includes the villages of Sternberger Burg, Sagsdorf, Groß Görnow, Klein Görnow, Sülten, Weitendorf, Kobrow and Stieten. Church services, confirmations, funerals, weddings and concerts take place in the Sternberg town church.
literature
- Friedrich Schlie : Art and history monuments of the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Volume 4: The district court districts Schwaan, Bützow, Sternberg, Güstrow, Krakow, Goldberg, Parchim, Lübz and Plau. Schwerin 1896, p. 134 ff. (Digitized version)
- Georg Dehio : Handbook of the German art monuments. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Revision. Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich / Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-422-03081-6 , p. 572f.
- Evangelical Lutheran Church of Mecklenburg (Hrsg.): The town church of St. Maria and St. Nikolaus in Sternberg. Mecklenburg's Reformation Memorial Church. Schelfbuch Verlag, Schwerin 2012, ISBN 978-3-941689-14-5 .
swell
Printed sources
- Mecklenburg record book (MUB)
- Mecklenburg Yearbooks (MJB)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Information on the community
- ^ Georg Christian Friedrich Lisch: History of the main events in the older history of the city of Sternberg. (Article 9, Volume 12), Schwerin 1847, p. 193.
- ^ Georg Christian Friedrich Lisch: Sternberg. In: Meklenburg in pictures. Rostock 1845, pp. 2–5 (accessed online from Lexus on June 13, 2012)
- ↑ a b Evelyn Bubber-Menzel: Signs against forgetting. (accessed on June 13, 2012)
- ↑ List of monuments at Sternberger Seenlandschaft, PDF file ( memento of the original from July 19, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Zerniner employment Initiative (ZEBI) and START eV eV (ed.): Villages and towns in churches Kirchenkreis Wismar-Schwerin. Edition Temmen, Bremen / Rostock 2001, ISBN 3-86108-753-7 .
- ↑ Mecklenburgisches Urkundenbuch (MUB) Volume VII, Schwerin 1872, No. 4363, 4912
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Friedrich Schlie : Art and history monuments of the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Volume 4: The district court districts Schwaan, Bützow, Sternberg, Güstrow, Krakow, Goldberg, Parchim, Lübz and Plau. Schwerin 1896, p. 134 ff. (Digitized version) .
- ↑ a b c d Georg Dehio : Handbook of German art monuments. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Revision. Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich / Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-422-03081-6 , p. 572f.
- ^ A b c Georg Christian Friedrich Lisch: History of the city of Sternberg. (Article 9, Volume 12), Schwerin 1870, p. 192.
- ^ Wilhelm Schmidt: Altdorfer, Erhard . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 1, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1875, p. 358 f.
- ^ Commission for the Preservation of Monuments (ed.): The art and history monuments of the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Volume IV, Schwerin i. M. 1901, pp. 139-147.
- ^ Friedrich Crull: The coat of arms in the church to Sternberg (article 9, volume 12), Schwerin 1870, pp. 18-22.
- ↑ The organ disposition. Retrieved February 25, 2009 .
- ↑ Gustav Willgeroth : The Mecklenburg-Schwerin Parishes since the Thirty Years' War. Volume III. Wismar 1925.
Web links
- Literature about the town church Sternberg in the state bibliography MV
- Sternberg (writings on the sacrilege of the host) in the complete catalog of cradle prints (GW number STERNBE)
Coordinates: 53 ° 42 ′ 42.9 ″ N , 11 ° 49 ′ 49 ″ E