Miersdorf village church
The Miersdorf village church is a hall church from the 14th century in the district of the same name in the municipality of Zeuthen in the Dahme-Spreewald district . It is one of the few sacred buildings in Teltow that was built from irregular, barely hewn field stones.
history
Exact information about the construction date is not available. In 1375 Miersdorf was already a parish village , so it had its own church with a pastor in the village. Historians assume that a previous building consisted of half-timbered or wood. Presumably in the 14th or 15th century, the parish built a simple hall church with a rectangular floor plan on the village green . The unordered layering of the field stones, which are neither sorted nor cut, speaks for the early date of their construction. This type of construction is assigned to the early Gothic . On the other hand, the gable was much steeper at an earlier point in time, which suggests that it was built in the late Gothic period .
In 1617, the patron Georg von Enderlein donated a stone altar and a wooden altar desk; ten years later a wooden pulpit . His successor, Hans Dietrich von Enderlein and Andreas Koeppen donated in 1645 and 1666 two bells of bronze . On October 2, 1678, the parish erected a wooden fifth , which was decorated with the von Enderlein coat of arms on the structure for the baptismal bowl. In 1708, Johannes Dietrich von Enderlein, the last of his family, was buried in a crypt that was filled in in 1832.
In 1710 the building was extensively repaired, which gave the church its current appearance. Among other things, the windows were enlarged in the shape of a basket arch and the tower was renewed. The west gallery was built inside and the walls raised outside. The church portal at the enclosure was completed in 1760, the south gate walled up in 1832. Further repairs were carried out in 1835, 1913, 1950 and 1984. The last major renovation took place between 1991 and 2000. In 1860 the cemetery, where the dead from Miersdorf, Zeuthen and Rauchfangswerder had been buried, was closed. Seven years later, the interior was given side galleries and the choir windows were extended downwards. In 1912 the parish bought a Schuke organ , which was placed on the west gallery. The church tower was raised by two meters in 1921. Because the church was damaged in World War II , it was gradually repaired until 1951. During the GDR era, the congregation had the sanctuary redesigned and a double-bar cross erected, which is still there in the 21st century. After the fall of the Wall , 1990–1993, the church roof could be re-covered and the churchyard redesigned.
The parish belongs to the Eichwalde / Zeuthen-Miersdorf / Berlin-Schmöckwitz parish in the Neukölln parish of the Evangelical Church of Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia .
architecture
The building has a rectangular floor plan with the dimensions 17.65 m × 9.62 m. It is almost exactly easted and only shows a deviation of around 8 ° towards the northeast. The field stones are noticeably unsorted and vary in size, ranging from a few centimeters to a few stones that are just under a meter in size. They were hardly layered either, but apparently installed at random. The same applies to the corner stones of the church. Above about 1.5 meters, the walls were made of bricks in the format 25 cm × 12 cm × 6.5 cm. Remnants of plaster can be seen on the entire building .
A striking detail is a walled-in Slavic millstone with a diameter of approx. 41 cm, which is located on the right under the entrance gate on the west tower. It could have served as a burial urn for a relic in the time before the Reformation . It was deliberately integrated into the base of the church to symbolize the victory of Christianity over paganism . To the right of the millstone is a tombstone, which probably consists of Rüdersdorfer shell limestone .
The north side of the church has a round window below the tower in the western area of the nave, which was embedded in field stone. The straight finish leads to the assumption that this was the original height of the wall. Further to the east there is an enlarged, arched window, followed by a significantly smaller, arched window. In the direction of the choir, a window closed with stone can be seen. On the choir itself there are two wicker-arched windows of the same size, interrupted by a walled-up, slightly pointed arched opening. The south side is built symmetrically to the north side: a round window, followed by an enlarged and a smaller, arched window. The walled-up priest gate can also be seen here. The west tower rests on the gable made of field stones. It has a square floor plan and is clad in dark wood. There is a rectangular sound arcade on each side and a clock above it. The roof is designed as a tent roof , while the nave has a gable roof .
Interior
The floor is laid out with simple, red and black stones. The walls are unadorned and covered with white plaster. A flat, gray-painted beam ceiling lies on top. The three galleries, which were designed with brown and white decorations, are similarly simple.
The most striking piece is the figure of Mary , Maria von Miersdorf , who stands below the cross. It probably comes from a Marian altar from the 14th century. It is made in the soft style and can therefore be attributed to the late Gothic. Atypical for such figures, she does not look at the baby Jesus , but looks at the viewer. On the north inner side of the choir there are also two further wooden sculptures. The Barbara of Nicomedia , recognizable by the three tower openings, probably dates from the second half of the 15th century. It was painted over several times; likewise the head was replaced by a plaster work at an earlier time. During the last restoration, the head was re-carved from wood based on a model of a Barbara figure in a church in Prenzlau , but the missing hand was not reproduced. To her left is James the Elder . This figure was created in the 15th century. Why it was set up here has not yet been clarified.
The font from the 17th century was initially lost after the Second World War and was rediscovered during excavations in 1949. It shows John the Baptist as a child. At his feet sits a lamb without ears. The child carries the octagonal baptismal bowl, under which the coat of arms of the church patronage can be seen. In his right hand he is holding a Bible from which he is reading.
literature
- S. Behrend: Village church in Miersdorf . Flyer, display in the church, p. 4 .
Web links
- Entry in the monument database of the State of Brandenburg
- Miersdorf village church , website by Theo Engeser and Konstanze Stehr; accessed on November 1, 2014
- Miersdorf Church , website of the municipality of Zeuthen, accessed on November 1, 2014.
- Website of the parish on the Neukölln church district website
Coordinates: 52 ° 20 ′ 26.9 ″ N , 13 ° 36 ′ 51 ″ E