Christ Church (Rumbach)
 Christ Church in Rumbach |
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| Basic data | |
| Denomination | evangelical |
| place | Rumbach, Germany |
| Building history | |
| start of building | 14th Century |
| Building description | |
| Architectural style | Romanesque |
| Construction type | Hall construction |
| 49 ° 5 '45 " N , 7 ° 47' 1.1" E | |
The Christ Church Rumbach is a Protestant church in the local community of Rumbach in the Rhineland-Palatinate district of Südwestpfalz . It is located in the middle of the historic center of the village.
history
The foundation walls of two Romanesque round apses that open into the walls of today's north and south walls of the nave date from the 11th century . The early Gothic tower with a wall thickness of 1.80 m was built in the 13th century over the old apses. In the 14th century the Romanesque nave was extended to the west and a Gothic portal was added.
After the church was partially destroyed in the Thirty Years War , renovation work was carried out from 1720 to 1731. Baroque windows on the south side and a new entrance area originated from this time. The nave was raised by one meter for the construction of a gallery. The upper part of the church tower received baroque windows and a tower dome.
During the renovation in 1957/58, the west portal was rediscovered after 250 years. The entrance area of the church is still there today. Medieval frescoes were uncovered on the north wall, in the choir arch , on the east wall of the nave and in the choir. Presumably as a result of a fire in the church, these frescoes were covered with soot and painted over, so that the soot has preserved the frescoes.
Two graves were discovered in the floor under the choir arch. A knight was buried in one, and a baroness from neighboring Schönau (Palatinate) in the other . The tombstones of these people are now in the former entrance area on the outside of the south wall. The tomb of the knight only shows the outline of a coat of arms, that of the baron is legible.
In the 1960s an organ from Emanuel Kemper Orgelbau , Lübeck, was installed.
Surname
The former pilgrimage church was dedicated to St. Gangolf . As part of the Reformation , the church in the Duchy of Pfalz-Zweibrücken was Lutheran - later reformed - and renamed Christ Church at the end of the 1950s because of the Christ frescoes on the north wall of the choir.
Medieval wall paintings
The paintings in the choir presumably date back to the first half to the middle of the 14th century. The prophets in the choir arch, as well as the apostles on the west wall in the choir, probably belong to this time. Only the picture with the birds seems to be older. The fragments on the north wall of the nave were originally higher up and were only moved under the gallery during the renovation. The left picture shows a crucifix and underneath three weeping women. These are fragments of different images that have been put together. A tree with seven birds is painted on another mural, also about a square meter. The primitive representation gave rise to various interpretations. One suspected, for example, the parable of the mustard seed . However, it is most likely a tree of life . It is noticeable that six of the birds are painted dark and one bird is white.
Church Stories
Allegedly the remains of a bird, possibly with an apotropaic function , are in a cavity in the wall of the choir arch .
