St. Marien mountain church (Schleiz)
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The Bergkirche St. Marien is a Gothic church with baroque furnishings, which is located on the northern outskirts of Schleiz . It served as the burial church of the Reuss Princely House for over 400 years and is one of the most beautiful churches in southeast Thuringia .
history
In the 12th century a church, probably a chapel on the old trade route from Naumburg to Regensburg , was built on a ridge, separated from the city by the Wisenta valley . The oldest surviving part of the mountain church is a sandstone portal from the 2nd half of the 12th century. The first documentary mention of the mountain church comes from 1359, when the Teutonic Order took over the church and had it expanded into the Gothic St. Mary's Church by 1382 . A second construction phase took place between 1484 and 1507, in which the tower and the chancel were completely rebuilt and given their current dimensions. The stair tower , the so-called Wendelstein, and the pulpit date from this time . In 1533, after the Reformation was introduced in Schleiz, the first Protestant service took place here on June 8th. Between 1622 and 1638 Heinrich Posthumus Reuss had the church rebuilt in the baroque style in a third construction phase . In addition to an increase in the walls surrounding the nave and the renewal of the vault, galleries were built in with breakthroughs in the inner pillars and a pulpit clock was installed. The decorations of the gallery parapet and the painting of the church were carried out by the Schleiz painter Paul Keil, one of the most important painters in the East Thuringian-Vogtland region in the 1st half of the 17th century. At this time the current slate roof was erected , as the dating 1622 in the roofing shows. Today's predominantly baroque furnishings were supplemented in 1896 and 1897 by renovations under Prince Heinrich XIV. Reuss younger line . He ordered the demolition of the gallery for the newly built organ and the extension of the organ choir. In addition to the renovation of the floor and the glass windows, many wood carvings were restored. During this time, all the interiors were repainted and the slate roof was renewed at the expense of the church treasury.
In 1917 the bells of the mountain church were removed to be melted down for war purposes. In 1922 the mountain church received a new steel bell from the Schilling & Lattermann company in Apolda . The three bells weigh 620, 1,100 and 2,200 kilograms.
Another restoration and renovation took place between 1979 and 1983, which was largely made possible by the Schleiz parishioners themselves and financed by donations from the partner parish, former Schleizians and funds from the state monument fund. The exposure of Gothic paintings in the choir vault was carried out under the professional guidance of the Institute for the Preservation of Monuments.
In 2001 and 2010, extensive and extensive renovation work was carried out on the roof truss and wall crown. The roof structure is of high carpentry skill and serves as a display and teaching object. A renovation of the princely crypt has been ongoing since 2007, the completion of which prevents the crypt from being completed due to the penetration of groundwater and strata water. In 2011, the preparations for the renovation of the west gable began with the erection of scaffolding, the financing of which was previously promised via urban development funds has not yet been clarified.
organ
The organ was rebuilt from 2004 to 2007 by the master organ builder Bernhard Kutter (Ruhla). The Renaissance prospectus comes from the organ built in 1638 by Jakob Schädlich from Joachimsthal (Bohemia) . The costs were 230,670 euros. The instrument has 23 registers and three effect registers on two manuals and pedal . The playing and stop actions are mechanical.
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- Coupling : II / I, I / P, II / P
Burial place
The St. Marien mountain church has served as the burial place of the Reuss family since 1500 . In the old Burgk crypt, which is located under the tower and is not accessible, twelve members of the Burgk family branch were buried. The Neue Burgksche Gruft from 1639 was in great danger of collapsing and was replaced by an earth burial in 2007/2008, in which the original coffins were reburied in April 2008.
The Princely Crypt, built in 1676 by Count Reuss zu Schleiz , is in dire need of renovation and is therefore currently not accessible either. With the funeral of Prince Heinrich XIV in 1913, the crypt, occupied by 43 Reussians, was closed.
There are also grave sites and tombs in the chancel of the mountain church. Numerous graves were discovered in the nave during the renovation work in 1979/1983. It has not yet been possible to determine who is buried there.
use
The mountain church is used for services of the Evangelical Lutheran parish in Schleiz. In addition to weddings and concerts, it offers a representative setting for Saturday organ music during the summer half-year. The mountain church is open to visitors from May to October during opening hours, with church tours also being offered.
Individual evidence
- ^ Reussische Fürstenstrasse - Schleiz ( memento from March 25, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on February 5, 2016
- ^ The mountain church of St. Marien zu Schleiz - The Bells , accessed on October 14, 2011
- ↑ The Bergkirche St. Marien zu Schleiz - Current work on the church , accessed on October 14, 2011
- ↑ Information sheet of the Bergkirche Schleiz , accessed on June 17, 2018
- ↑ More information about the organ
literature
- Frank Weiß: The mountain church in Schleiz. The Christian Monument , Vol. 124, Berlin 1985.
- Frank Weiß: The mountain church in Schleiz, Thuringia . Schnell & Steiner Art Guide No. 2265, Regensburg 2008; ISBN 978-3-7954-6016-7 .
Web links
- Page of the Ev.-Luth. Parish - The mountain church St. Marien zu Schleiz
- Interview of the Ost-Thüringische Landeszeitung with organ builder Kutter from December 24th, 2004
Coordinates: 50 ° 35 ′ 2 ″ N , 11 ° 48 ′ 13 ″ E