Wildenbruch village church

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The Protestant village church of Wildenbruch is a stone church from the first half of the 13th century. It is located around 250 meters northeast of the Großer Seddiner See in the village center of Wildenbruchs , a district of the municipality of Michendorf in the Potsdam-Mittelmark district in Brandenburg (Germany). The four-part architectural monument consists of a wide west tower with a later half-timbered tower , a slightly retracted nave , choir and apse .

The field stone church, 2010

history

Strategic function of Wildenbruch in the German East Settlement

Wildenbruch was first mentioned in a document in 1375 in Charles IV's land register as Wildenbruke (= “settlement near a wild, barren swamp” or break ). Most likely the village was already in the late 12th century as part of the Ostsiedlung built after the founding of the Mark Brandenburg through the bear Albrecht began in 1157th The land book records Wildenbruch with a high-turnover jug on a trade route and indicates its equipment with 59  hooves of arable and pasture land. This, as in the neighboring village of Fresdorf, was generously equipped with land and above-average settlement with farmers, which was strategically justified. Because Wildenbruch and Fresdorf were supposed to secure the military and trade route Wittenberg - Spandau (later the post route to Berlin ), which was particularly endangered on the isthmus between the Kähnsdorfer See and the Seddiner See.

Marked as a fortified church

The field stone church, 2010

Against this background and because of its massive broad tower and its one meter thick walls, the church is often referred to as a fortified church in literature and in representations such as the website of the municipality of Michendorf . Current church research rejects this designation. There was a lack of opportunities for active defense, such as loopholes and high defensive walls around the church, as well as spatial options for storing food. No attack could be repelled through the slit windows in the tower; her profile would not have allowed shooting with a crossbow or bow . As far as the farmers were able to escape from the fields to the church, thanks to its massive construction it offered a certain protection as a place of refuge, for example from marauding mercenaries or armed men who could not get involved in a siege. The more recent scientific discussion, such as at the Leipzig village church conference in 2005, came to the conclusion that the term fortified church cannot be applied to any single Brandenburg church. Engeser / Stehr also state:

“The weight of the west towers has often earned the Brandenburg village churches the attribute" fortified churches ". This was a popular interpretation, especially during the Third Reich . Lately the function of the medieval stone churches as "fortified churches" has been weakened somewhat. They are still granted a protective function ("protective church"). At least the attribute "fortified church" must definitely be referred to the realm of the art of mythology for most churches, [...]. "

- Theo Engeser and Konstanze Stehr: Medieval village churches in Brandenburg. 1999/2004.

The 11 cm thick "defensive beam" quoted by Kitschke is not sufficient evidence of the alleged "defensive character" of the Wildenbruch Church. Such transverse beams were often used in the Middle Ages to close the portal doors from the inside, while the more elaborate and expensive locks were usually reserved for the only door that could be locked from the outside.

Church patronage and Reformation

Weather vane from 1737, "AFvR" for the patron saint Adolph Friedrich von Rochow

The land register of 1375 records 2 Hufen Land for the Wildenbruch parish. The church patronage was to 1466 in the Norbertine Monastery of Our Lady on the mountain on the Marienberg to Brandenburg , the Sedes Brietzen several possessions had, including, since 1438, the fishing on the lake Seddiner. In 1466 Dietrich von Rochow acquired the church patronage. The noble family von Rochow belonged to the most influential families in the Zauche in the late Middle Ages . The weather vane bears the inscription "AFvR" above the year 1737 , the abbreviation of the patron saint Adolph Friedrich von Rochow.

The Wildenbruch parish remained assigned to the Brandenburg Cathedral Chapter , even beyond the Reformation introduced by Joachim II in the Mark Brandenburg in 1539 . As in many other places in the Mark, Catholic customs were maintained in Wildenbruch for a long time after the Reformation. For example, an inventory from 1600 explicitly lists a silk casel. The choir skirt was still in use in 1715 and the liturgy was sung until the 19th century.

The church is surrounded by the cemetery . At the beginning of the 18th century, Frederick the Great had a silkworm farm set up in Wildenbruch and in 1722 the first 26 mulberry trees were planted in the churchyard . There were numerous mulberry plantations in the village until the end of the 19th century.

Shape, construction and restoration history

Processing of the field stones and dimensions

The surrounding lower building layer with the noticeably smaller cuboids shows that the construction of the Wildenbruch village church was initially started on a complete floor plan.

During the construction of the church, which is assigned to the early 13th century, the Cistercian monks of the Lehnin monastery are said to have advised. In addition, the almost cube-shaped field stones from which the west tower - probably the oldest component - is layered, are said to have been delivered from the Lehnin monastery. According to Andreas Kitschke, only trained specialists were able to process the extremely brittle and hard granite chunks that were used, which the Ice Age had transported from Scandinavia to Brandenburg. Due to the fact that it matches the tower stones of the Havelberg Cathedral , which was begun in 1138, Kitschke also believes it is possible that craftsmen who had previously worked in Havelberg and then came to the Zauche were active in the Wildenbruch building. According to Engeser / Stehr, however, the Wildenbrucher can best be compared with the field stone church of Linthe . Here, too, Engeser / Stehr are right, who have already rejected the term "fortified church". For the churches in Brandenburg there is no evidence of the participation of the Cistercians. Their importance for building is generally overestimated; it goes back above all to the historical picture after Fontane's wanderings ; see also Problematic local history ideas about the (Berlin) village churches .

The lowest layer area is noticeable (up to about 1.50 m). These are much smaller cuboids that surround the entire building, so that it has been proven that the church construction started on a complete floor plan, but continued in separate construction phases after a construction interruption (recognizable by the construction seam to the tower).

The outer edges and walls of the openings on the nave, apse and choir are also neatly executed with smoothly hewn field stones, while the field stones of the wall surfaces no longer have the same processing quality. The tower has a length of 5.85 meters and a width of 11.55 meters. It exceeds the width of the nave , which is 10.50 m (length 11.20 m). A narrow choir (width 8.25 m, length 5.85 m) and an equally narrow apse adjoin the nave .

Baroque tower tower from 1737 and its repairs

West tower around 1900 with the half-timbered tower from 1737 after its reconstruction in the 19th century
West tower 2010 with the half-timbered tower from 1737 restored in 1992

In 1681/1682 the broad tower was repaired for 7  talers and 22  groschen , which at that time was probably closed by a transverse saddle roof . In 1737 the broad tower was given a baroque brick framework. It consists of a bell storey, which is provided on all sides with wooden grate-clad sound openings and to which steep monopitch roofs are attached to the north and south . Above the bell floor, a steep tent roof leads over to the lantern , which closes a dome-like roof hood . A weather vane from 1737 with the inscription "AFvR" from the patron saint crowns the building on the 24 meter high tower pommel . After storm damage, a comprehensive tower repair was carried out in 1793. Damaged again by lightning strikes in 1809 and 1821, the tower and the exterior of the church were repaired in 1832 and restored in 1852. Among other things, the tower top was changed by replacing the half-timbering up to the tent roof with field stones and the two sound openings with one now in the middle. Investigations in the 1990s revealed damage to the wooden structure of the tower. As a result, the half-timbered construction was completely renewed in 1992 by the Potsdam architects Ernestine Leppin and Bernd Redlich, restored in accordance with the listed building standards and returned to the documented original condition of 1737.

Windows and gates

When the tower was repaired in 1793, the three north windows in the nave and the opening in the choir were enlarged. Kitschke assigns the shape of its deep cloaks and basket arches , which are bordered with brick and plastered, to the 18th century. In 1877 the windows on the south side were enlarged , which, in contrast to the north windows, are only set back flat and covered with segmental arches . The ship originally contained four small windows each, which were significantly higher than today's windows. Two of the old Romanesque windows have been preserved and show the former position of the window front. One is on the south side of the ship in front of the tower, one on the north side between the first and second large windows. A subsequently enlarged and a high Romanesque window are embedded in the almost square choir walls. The original three small arched windows are preserved in the semi-cylindrical wall of the apse .

Preserved Romanesque window opening in the south wall of the nave

For the church visitors there was a parish gate in the south wall of the ship. It measured 1.48 m in width and 2.40 m in height up to the top of the arch. The clergyman used the priest's gate at the choir (0.80 × 2.10 m). Both medieval gates were closed with brickwork during the radical redesign in 1877, so that the western arched portal in the tower was the sole entrance. The walling up of the priest's gate was removed again in 1997.

Roof coverings

The nave and choir close up steep monopitch roofs , with a bat dormer built into the nave roof on the north side . The apse is vaulted with a half-cone roof . The medieval roofing consisted of monk and nun tiles . The roof of the apse was very likely renewed around 1600, because dendrological studies of the oak sleepers date the felling of the trees used to 1597. The roofs had been covered with plain tiles since the 17th century . During the extensive renovation in 1992, the heavily damaged flat wooden ceilings had to be completely renewed, but the repair of the roof structures over the nave, choir and apse could be carried out while largely preserving the wood from the 16th and 18th centuries.

Tower clock and bells

The tower clock is located on the north side of the tower tower below the sound openings. During the repairs in 1993 by the Berlin master watchmaker Bischoff, it received a new dial bearing the inscription Anno 1993 . The mechanical movement was manufactured in 1913 by the large clock factory Gebrüder Meister in Berlin.

The Wildenbrucher Feldsteinkirche has two bells . The small bell with a diameter of 71 cm is made of bronze and dates back to the Middle Ages. The inscription "rex gloriae, christe, veni cum pace" (King of Honor, Christ, come in peace) is placed in Gothic minuscule . The large bronze bell from 1925 has a diameter of 84 cm. Its dedication “Sacrificed in faith in 1917, given in love, consecrated to hope in 1925” refers to the previous bell (90 cm in diameter) cast in 1584 , which was to be melted down for the people and the fatherland during the First World War . After being dismantled on June 29, 1917, it was classified as a cultural asset . This recognition came too late, however, as it was irreparably damaged when it was removed from the tower. An original third bell with a diameter of 30 cm has also not existed since 1917. An unknown foundryman had made them for 14 thalers in 1623.

Interiors and furnishings

Rooms and galleries

The simple interiors are clearly structured according to the four-part basic structure. The sanctuary faces east towards the rising sun. It was probably separated under the triumphal arch by a choir screen or a rood screen. A similar arch probably opened up to the tower porch, which is now walled up. The vestibule received light from the small round window above the tower portal, which is still visible from the outside. In 1877 the interior of the church was redesigned and a three-sided gallery was installed on cast-iron supports. In 1962, the baroque pastor's box and the patron's box were removed from the choir . Today the walls are shaped by a white chalk coating. In 1992, the restorer Wilhelm Koch exposed and restored medieval ornamental wall paintings in the apse and the choir arch.

Pulpit, altar, altar devices

Sanctuary
pulpit
Organ loft

The sacrament niche in the south wall of the choir was used to store the consecrated host . The preacher Richter described the former baroque furnishings in a stock book created in 1861 :

“The altar was erected in 1725 by the sculptor Lucas from Treuenbrietzen for 30 Thaler. The pulpit, which used to stand in the nave on the pointed arch on the SE corner, was erected over the altar in 1793. The baptismal font with the baptismal angel made in 1765 for 22 Thaler is no longer available. "

- The stock book of the preacher Richter, created in 1861

In 1962, the central pulpit from 1877 and the wooden altar table in front of it were replaced. In front of the apse, a masonry altar table was erected on a platform made of flat bricks. In 2008 the Berlin Atelier für Paramentik equipped the altar substructure with an antependium made of green picture fabric . The new wooden pulpit with a rounded front stands on the left, the Gospel side of the triumphal arch.

The medieval cup was stolen along with other altar items in the 16th century. The new chalice acquired in 1584 was lost only five years later when the house of the church father Valentin Schröder burned down. In the same year, 1589, the patron saint Hans von Rochow (1550–1622) had the silver goblet with paten , which is still used today, made. The paten bears the inscription: "THE BLUD IHESU CHRIST CLEANSE AND FROM ALL SINS" . The pewter baptismal font dates from 1719 and the baptismal jug from 1760. The octagonal baptismal font made of terracotta with neo-Gothic decor was manufactured in 1895 by the Charlottenburg pottery factory Ernst March . The two brass chandeliers with 12 and 18 candles respectively come from the same year . They were manufactured by the Lüdenscheid company FW Jul. Assmann, founded in 1890 . In addition, the interior is decorated with an icon of Christ from the 1990s, which, according to the explanation below, comes from the painter Valentin Tine from Cluj-Napoca (Klausenburg) in Transylvania / Romania and was painted by Tine on site on an old wooden door. In the explanation Tine describes his icon as follows: The “rays on the eyes and on the forehead symbolize that Jesus is the light of the world. Jesus has the light in himself. But how should that be represented? I symbolize that with these rays. "

organ

The builder of the original organ , which was installed in 1884, has not yet been determined. The Alexander Schuke Potsdam Orgelbau GmbH assumed in a report from 1927 that the organ came from Thuringia and was bought old. Kitschke dates the organ to the last third of the 18th century due to its high-quality carved baroque front , which was integrated into the new case in 1927 by Alexander Schuke . Schuke equipped the new organ with a manual and 7  stops on pneumatic cone chests and received 5  pipes from the old instrument. In the course of the restoration work, the organ was relocated in 1993 and again refurbished in the Schuke workshop with new wind chests and mechanical action . In 1998 the instrument came back to the organ gallery of the Wildenbruch Church, expanded by Matthias Schuke by two to nine registers.

Use and community

The Evangelical Church Community regularly uses the stone building for its church services . In addition, the community offers events such as concerts, exhibitions and theater performances in the church. As an open church , it is also accessible outside of church services on weekends. The community is part of the church district agent Mark Brandenburg in the Sprengel Potsdam (until 31 December 2009 Sprengel Neuruppin ) of the Lutheran Church Evangelical Church Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Oberlausitz (EKBO). In June 2010 the community of Wildenbruch held the District Church Congress. In August 2019, a radio service was held in the church for Theodor Fontane's 200th birthday .

literature

  • Andreas Kitschke: Wildenbruch near Potsdam. Village church. Peda-Kunstführer Nr. 386, Kunstverlag Peda, Passau 1997, ISBN 3-89643-042-4 (24 pages)
  • Wildenbruch - a journey through time . Ed .: Heimatverein Wildenbruch e. V. and Golf and County Club Seddiner See AG, both in Wildenbruch. No year. Brochure, produced in 2009 or 2010 (2009 is included in the text as the most recent year mentioned).

Web links

Commons : Dorfkirche Wildenbruch  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Reinhard E. Fischer : The place names of the states of Brandenburg and Berlin. Volume 13 of the Brandenburg Historical Studies on behalf of the Brandenburg Historical Commission. be.bra Wissenschaft, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-937233-30-X , p. 181, ISSN  1860-2436 .
  2. ↑ a b Municipality-Michendorf: Wildenbruch, a village in the core area of ​​the Mark Brandenburg .
  3. ↑ Christa and Johannes Jankowiak: On the way to Nuthe and Nieplitz. Portrait of a Brandenburg landscape. On old tracks and new paths . Stapp Verlag, Berlin 1995, p. 42f, ISBN 3-87776-061-9 .
  4. ↑ Georg Klünder: Investigation into the history of Wildenbruch. In: Blickpunkt Spezial, 2002, excerpt from Ev. Parish Wildenbruch ( Memento from May 31, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  5. ↑ Michendorf municipality, Wildenbruch district ( Memento from February 19, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  6. ↑ Dirk Höhne, Christine Kratzke (ed.): The medieval village church in the new federal states II. Function, form, meaning. Martin Luther University, Hallesche Contributions to Art History 8, Halle (Saale) 2006, ISBN 3-86010-867-0 .; see in particular chapter by Ernst Badstübner : Function and meaning of the transverse towers from the time of Ascanian rule in the Mark Brandenburg.
  7. ^ Theo Engeser and Konstanze Stehr: Medieval village churches in Brandenburg. 1999/2004.
  8. ↑ Andreas Kitschke: Wildenbruch ... , p. 7.
  9. ↑ a b Andreas Kitschke: Wildenbruch ... , p. 3f.
  10. ^ Dieter Mehlhardt: Märkische Dorfkirchen (155) - Seddin. In: Potsdamer Kirche Nr. 24, 1985. Online at Evangelische Kirche Neuseddin. ( Memento of March 29, 2004 in the Internet Archive )
  11. ^ Germania Sacra. Historical-statistical description of the Church of the Old Kingdom. Old episode. Ed .: Academy of Sciences in Göttingen . Dept. 1: The dioceses of the Church Province of Magdeburg. The Diocese of Brandenburg , Part 1. Edited by Gustav Abb and Gottfried Wentz . Verlag Walter de Gruyter , Berlin 1963 (reprint of the 1929 edition). ISBN 978-3-11-001284-2 . P. 209 in the online edition: online at google-books.
  12. ↑ Wildenbruch - a journey through time . ....
  13. ↑ a b Community Evang. Cistercian heirs in Germany, Wildenbruch village church
  14. ↑ Andreas Kitschke: Wildenbruch ... , pp. 5, 7.
  15. ↑ Andreas Kitschke: Wildenbruch ... , p. 13.
  16. ↑ Theo Engeser and Konstanze Stehr: Linthe (Protestant village church)
  17. ↑ Andreas Kitschke: Wildenbruch ... , pp. 7, 8, 9, 11, 14.
  18. ↑ Andreas Kitschke: Wildenbruch ... , pp. 7, 8, 10, 13f.
  19. ↑ Andreas Kitschke: Wildenbruch ... , pp. 7, 11.
  20. ↑ Andreas Kitschke: Wildenbruch ... , pp. 20, 22.
  21. ↑ Andreas Kitschke: Wildenbruch ... , pp. 14, 16f.
  22. ↑ Quoted from: Andreas Kitschke: Wildenbruch ... , p. 16.
  23. ^ Atelier for paramentics, workshop for artistic textile design. References: Wildenbruch, Michendorf
  24. ^ FW Jul. Assmann, specialist supplier for evangelical church supplies, Lüdenscheid
  25. ↑ Andreas Kitschke: Wildenbruch ... , p. 16ff.
  26. ↑ Catalog raisonné by Alexander Schuke Potsdam Orgelbau GmbH. ( Memento of April 23, 2004 in the Internet Archive ) The Schuke organs were built one year before they were installed, so they are listed here in 1926 and 1997.
  27. ↑ Andreas Kitschke: Wildenbruch ... , p. 18f.
  28. ↑ Kirchengemeinde Lichtenrade, Open Churches 2006
  29. ↑ Evangelical church community Wildenbruch
  30. ↑ https://rundfunk.evangelisch.de/kirche-im-radio/dlf-gottesdienste/glaube-die-welt-10493

Coordinates: 52 ° 16 '59.1 "  N , 13 ° 3' 41.3"  E