Dankeskirche (Halbe)

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Dankeskirche in Halbe

The Evangelical Dankeskirche is a listed hall church in the style of late historicism with elements of the local style from the 20th century in Halbe , a community in the Dahme-Spreewald district in Brandenburg . The associated parish belongs to the parish of Märkisch Buchholz-Halbe-Oderin in the parish of Zossen-Fläming of the Evangelical Church of Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia .

Building history

Dial on the east side of the church tower restored in 2015

Halbe was mentioned for the first time on July 22, 1546 in a feudal letter from the Prince-Elector of Landsberg . This aristocratic family from Brandenburg and Lusatia had their seat in a castle in neighboring Teupitz , from which the Christianization of the surrounding area took place. The family supported the Reformation - among other things due to the fact that their church patronage continued. They therefore appointed Simon Sinapius , a student of Philipp Melanchthon, to the parish office in Teupitz, which also included nine surrounding villages, including Halbe from 1543 to 1740, as the first Protestant pastor . The residents supported the pastor by paying a load of firewood each, the kötter paid three pfennigs . 1740 Half was due to a royal cabinet order of 1736 to the Royal Office in Buchholz eingepfarrt ; From 1753 onwards, half believers no longer went to Teupitz for church services, but instead took the Jungfernweg to the neighboring village church in Buchholz . Nevertheless, the population wanted to build their own sacred building.

This construction project is closely linked to the economic boom in the region. In the middle of the 19th century, several brickworks were built in Halbe , which supplied building materials to the rapidly growing Berlin . In addition, there were some wood processing companies that were able to transport their goods from the forests around Halbe on the new Berlin – Görlitz railway line . Within 35 years the population in Halbe tripled: In 1875 only 426 people lived in the place, in 1910 it was 1221. In addition, there were up to 800 seasonal workers, including many Catholics. They achieved that the responsible Archdiocese of Breslau acquired 5,500 m² of building land for a Roman Catholic church. However, the government in Potsdam, together with Superintendent Schumann and District Administrator Ernst von Stubenrauch, prevented the project. The construction of a Protestant church was supported.

On March 22, 1901, a church building association was founded on the initiative of Pastor Schlegedahl , but it was only able to collect 190 marks . Schlegedahl's successor, Pastor Neuhaus , finally managed to raise the budgeted construction cost of 115,000 marks through new collections and donations. The foundation stone was laid on October 7, 1912 under the direction of the Berlin architect Curt Steinberg ; the topping-out ceremony took place on May 28, 1913. Almost a year later, on March 22, 1914 , the community inaugurated the building. She received financial support from Viktoria Margarete von Prussia , wife of Heinrich XXXIII. Reuss to Köstritz . For his efforts, Pastor Neuhaus received the Red Eagle Order 4th Class , Curt Steinberg the Royal Crown Order 4th Class , the parish councilor Drassdo the General Decoration and the Church Elder Hanecke the Red Eagle Order Medal. On December 5, 1928, the Consistory of the Mark Brandenburg decreed the establishment of the Protestant parish Halbe in the parish of Königs Wusterhusen, which was approved eight days later.

In the Second World War the church was damaged in the fighting in the Halbe basin and the spire was completely destroyed. Two years later the parish rebuilt the structure, shortening the tower and not restoring the original condition. The two bells come from the bell foundry in Apolda and were brought back from the bell cemetery in Hamburg in the early 1950s . The originally colorful painting gave way to a simple design with different shades of gray. A representation of Jesus Christ and the Transfiguration of the Lord in the middle of the barrel vault was also painted over . The capitals of the galleries have also been simplified. On the north side of the nave, a memorial niche for those who died in the world wars was created at the level of the choir . The new church consecration took place on April 12, 1953. In 2008 the state of Brandenburg placed the structure under monument protection . At the same time a development association was founded, which has since taken care of the repair of the church. For the 100th anniversary, the bishop of the Evangelical Church Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia , Markus Dröge , held an anniversary service in the church on September 28, 2014. In 2015 the tower of the church was restored with the help of donations.

architecture

View into the nave towards the apse

The hall church was built from bricks in the neo-baroque style and provided with a simple plaster. The nave is provided with four arched windows on both of its long sides, under each of which there is a further, rectangular window. The individual segments are structured with pilaster strips . The choir is semicircular and drawn in. There are three oval windows there. On the opposite side is the west tower, which is also structured with pilaster strips at its corners. A cornice separates each of the three floors from one another. On all four sides there is a church tower clock with a white dial , partly from the construction period and richly decorated with signs of the zodiac , and black pointers. This is followed by the upper floor , which also has four round arched sound arcades . The roof ends with a ball and a cross. The west portal is enlarged by a semicircular colonnade. Above it is the inscription Ps 100,4  LUT : Go / to his gates / with thanks . This psalm also gave the building its name. A rectory with a parish hall connects to the church to the south. The ensemble thus joins the group buildings typical of the time, in which the church forms an assembly with the rectory and other parish rooms. This saved costs and time thanks to the short connection routes.

Furnishing

Altar Bible with a dedication by Margaret of Prussia

In the neo-classical - neo-baroque interior with 450 seats, a wooden barrel vault and a horseshoe gallery decorated with cassettes dominate. Remnants of the original painting have been preserved on the two rear pillars of the organ gallery. They show scenes from the Garden of Eden as well as figures from the Reformation.

The pulpit altar dates from the time the church was built and is designed as an aedicule . Two double columns frame the basket, which is decorated with a cassette. The stained glass windows come from the workshop of the royal purveyor J. Schmidt . So far it is unclear how many pictures were originally used. An article in the Teltower Kreisblatt from 1914 on the occasion of the church consecration speaks of ten different windows, while a report by the Brandenburg Office for Monument Preservation from 2008 reports on a total of eleven works of art. The first four surviving pictures on the right side of the nave show scenes from the Bible , for example Mary and Martha from the Gospel of Luke ; a frequently treated subject in 16th century painting. Further topics are the captain of Capernaum or the interest penny from the Gospel of Matthew in chapter 17, verses 24 to 27. An oval picture shows Christ together with Zacchaeus and is a foundation of the widow of the former chief preacher Wernicke . The terms justice, peace and joy are presented on the left. A picture of the parable of the prodigal son is probably missing , followed by an existing oval that shows Mary Magdalene in penance.

Additional equipment includes an altar Bible with a dedication by Margaret of Prussia and a quote from Paul's 1st letter to the Corinthians (3:11): “No one can lay any other foundation except that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ ". The liturgical utensils include a chalice donated by the community leader Drassdo , as well as a wine jug and a host bowl.

In 1952, a memorial niche was created in the choir area with a larger than life crucifix and two memorial plaques for the people who perished in the vicinity of Halbe at the end of the Second World War.

The Sauer organ was built with pocket shops that were modern for the time , but - as it turned out later - they had a structural flaw. Since the goatskin valve bellows become brittle and tear with increasing age, this design required a high level of maintenance. In 2014 the instrument was only playable with the help of a hand bellows due to a defective main air bellows and must be repaired.

literature

  • Gerhard Vinken et al. (Edit.): Dehio-Handbuch der Deutschen Kunstdenkmäler, Brandenburg. Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich / Berlin 2012, ISBN 978-3-422-03123-4 .
  • Parish council of the Protestant parish Halbe and Friends of the Dankeskirche Halbe eV (Ed.): 100 years of the Dankeskirche Halbe. Festschrift 1914–2014. Halbe 2014, p. 58.

Web links

Commons : Dankeskirche  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Tower is an eye-catcher again Märkische Allgemeine from December 22, 2015

Coordinates: 52 ° 6 '17.4 "  N , 13 ° 42' 10.1"  E