Bergkirche Büchenbronn
The mountain church in Büchenbronn , a district of Pforzheim in Baden-Württemberg , is a Protestant parish church and the original church of the place. It was probably built around 1400, changed several times later and stands as cultural monument under monument protection .
history
A first chapel in Büchenbronn was probably built around 1400 from Brötzingen and first appears in a document in 1442. The tower base of today's church was preserved from this chapel, the old nave was connected to the tower width to the west, the old sacristy to the south. After Büchenbronn was initially a church branch of Brötzingen, the place became its own parish in 1496 . The tombstone of the first Büchenbronn pastor, Johannes Hiller († 1522), has been preserved in the sacristy of the church. The Reformation was introduced in the 16th century . The church was originally consecrated to Our Lady , its current name as a mountain church comes from its exposed landscape.
In 1680, the nearby Huchenfeld was raised to a parish, to which Büchenbronn was assigned as a branch. In 1690 Büchenbronn came back to Brötzingen as a church branch.
The church underwent a significant structural change in 1780, when a new nave, widened on both sides, was built. In 1900/01, the nave was renewed and enlarged according to plans by Heinrich Henz , with the southern part still following the foundation walls of the nave from 1780, but a considerable cross-shaped extension to the north.
In 1899 the evangelical congregation in Büchenbronn became a vicariate, and in 1926 it became a parish again.
During the Second World War , the church suffered minor damage from artillery fire. In addition, bells had to be delivered for armament purposes in both world wars.
From 1946 the mountain church was also used for church services by the Roman Catholic community before the latter could inaugurate their new Holy Cross Church in 1965 . In 1974/75 the church was extensively renovated.
It is unclear where the original burial of the Büchenbronn residents was. In the 15th century they were buried in Brötzingen like the inhabitants of the other parishes of Langenbrand, Waldrennach, Kapfenhardt, Grunbach, Salmbach and Engelsbrand. From the elevation to the parish in 1496, the burial of the Büchenbronn natives probably took place in the churchyard around the mountain church. It stayed that way when Büchenbronn lost its parish again in the 17th century. The cemetery around the church was expanded in the early 19th century, but abandoned in the late 19th century due to the lack of expansion options and replaced by the Reute cemetery , inaugurated in 1895 , which was followed by today's New Cemetery in 1987 .
description
The church in Büchenbronn has a cross-shaped floor plan with the altar area facing north. In the south-eastern corner of the cross is the square church tower, the base of which dates from the early 15th century, while the nave was built in 1900/01. A sacristy has moved into the northwest corner of the cross . A tower-like vestibule is built onto the southern gable end.
The interior of the church is spanned by an open wooden barrel ceiling and has a colored design from the construction period with echoes of rural folk art. In the tower base, which once served as a choir tower , remains of late Gothic wall paintings with scenes from the life of Christ have been preserved. The linden wood crucifix on the east wall of the church dates from the 16th century.
literature
- Günter Heinz: Berggemeinde Büchenbronn. Pforzheim 1975, pp. 129-148.
- Hermann Diruff and Christoph Timm: Art and cultural monuments in Pforzheim and in the Enzkreis. Theiss, Stuttgart 1991, ISBN 978-3-8062-0824-5 , pp. 109-110.
Coordinates: 48 ° 51 ′ 18.5 " N , 8 ° 39 ′ 45.8" E
