Evangelical chapel in Rachelshausen

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Church from the north

The Evangelical Lutheran Chapel in Rachelshausen is a listed half-timbered church in Rachelshausen , a district of Gladenbach in the Marburg-Biedenkopf district ( Hesse ). The two-storey baroque church with an octagonal Spitzhelm- roof turret was probably built 1626/1627. The rich ornamental forms in the parapet area are unusual for the Hessian hinterland and show Franconian influence.

history

Rich ornamental jewelry from the baroque on the upper floor

No details are known about the previous building, which was probably also made of wood, only that it was a little further north (Klingelhöfer property). From an ecclesiastical perspective, in the Middle Ages, Rachelshausen belonged to the Send District and Diaconate of Gladenbach and thus to the Archdeaconate of St. Stephan in the Archdiocese of Mainz . In 1577 a chapel can be found for the first time in Rachelshausen, which was a branch of Gladenbach. It was not until 1810 that Rachelshausen received the right to be buried. Until then, according to the Salbuch of the Diaconate Gladenbach from 1737, only children who had died under the age of five were allowed to be buried in Rachelshausen.

The older research does not agree on the date of construction. A building inscription above the door is said to have pointed to the construction of the church possibly as early as 1617, which was removed and lost in the course of the renovation in 1939/1940. A collection in Betziesdorf for the Rachelhauser building points to 1626/1627 . Others date the building to around 1680 due to architectural comparisons. It was assumed that the upper floor could have been increased in the Baroque style at that time. A dendrochronological examination of wood from all floors in 1997/1998 revealed a felling date in the winter of 1626/1627. Since the freshly felled timber was used directly at the time, an earlier or later construction can be excluded. The church was built accordingly in 1626/1627 and is the oldest Lutheran church building in the Marburg hinterland under the rule of Hesse-Darmstadt , which has ruled since 1624 .

In 1585 there were nine houses in Rachelshausen. The six farmers had 16 horses, in 1630 there were eight farmers with 13 horses, in 1640 there were again six farmers. In 1836 a third of the floor was covered with new sandstone slabs, the rest followed in 1869. Extensive renovation work was completed in 1854, the old canteen of the altar was replaced by a slate slab and the stone plinth and wall cladding were renewed in 1880.

In 1927 the chapel was dilapidated and appeared to be in danger of collapsing the following year, so that demolition plans were drawn up. Ludwig Hofmann advocated demolition in 1931, which the monument preservation authorities approved in 1932. Due to the death of Hofmann and due to the poor financial situation of the community, which supported a new community hall, there was no new building. In 1938, when the preservation authorities spoke out in favor of repairing the chapel and promised a grant, the municipality approved 1,000 Reichsmarks for the renovation. The renovation was delayed by the slow work of the building authorities. Due to the acute danger of collapse, the state building councilor Kurt Müller recommended that the chapel be relocated after an inspection in 1938. This met with approval from the district curator and the community. After the municipality had approved 2000 RM, the renovation work began on September 1, 1939. The costs came to 5000 RM, of which the regional church paid 1000 RM.

Today's exterior and interior appearance of the chapel can largely be traced back to a comprehensive renovation in 1939/1940. The outer walls, which have probably been plastered since around 1800, were uncovered except for the southwest wall, the framework of the framework and roof truss replaced in part, the two dormers removed and the roof turret including the top and the entire slate replaced. The windows were given their current position and size. Inside, the previously open staircase was moved further back and designed as a closed staircase. The pews were placed in a block on wooden floorboards. Before that, they stood on a sandstone floor and left a central aisle free. A narrow front door replaced the two-winged door and a staircase made of local diabase replaced the former sandstone steps .

During an interior renovation in 1963 under the direction of the then state curator Hans Feldtkeller , the inventory items were largely given their current color version in Russian malachite , which was based on the presumed original color. Pulpit and altar and some of the stalls were replaced, bench heating was installed and the bells were electrified.

Since 1966, Rachelshausen, Bellnhausen and Runzhausen have been parishally connected.

During an exterior renovation in 1978, the plaster was renewed in places and the roof structure was stabilized by cross beams. In 1981/1981 the interior was painted and the beams under the gallery and under the ceiling were exposed. The roof was re-shingled in 1991 and damaged half-timbering and other wooden beams were replaced, the sandstone floor in the altar area was replaced by diabase, underfloor heating was installed, the windows were repaired, an electric organ was purchased and the painting was renewed, although the marbling could not be retained everywhere. The last renovation took place in 1997/1998 and also included the dendrochronological examination of the timber used.

architecture

View from the west
Southeast side

The chapel in the south of the town center is not in accordance with the road faces east , but facing north-northeast. On a cramped plot of land, the little church borders the road in the northwest and the neighboring farmstead in the south.

The two-storey Fachwerkkirche in jettying is above a low been established, circulating stone base from grauwacke built on a rectangular plan of 7.10 meters in length and 5.55 meters in width. It is covered by a slated gable roof, on which a small octagonal roof turret is placed in the middle. It houses a bell that was cast on site in 1805 by Bernhardt , a bell caster from Tiefenbach . It bears the inscription: "Raechelshaussen 1805. The Diefenbach brothers gos me, from the fire I flowed. Schultheisz Oszmann, Johann Georg Assmann ". The shaft of the roof ridge, which is completely slated, has several small rectangular sound holes for the bells to the north. The eight-sided pointed helmet is crowned by a brass ball, a tower cross and a gilded weathercock.

While the two northern sides show the splendid half-timbered structure, the south-east side facing away from the street has only simple compartments and floor-to-ceiling struts on the corner posts without decorative shapes. The southwest wall is completely clad. It is unclear whether the framework is decorated as well as the opposite side. The upper and gable storeys protrude. The framework is arranged symmetrically on all sides. The north-western long side has half-timbering on three levels in the basement and on two levels on the upper floor, each of which is provided with stabilizing foot struts on the corner posts, which are either floor-high or have small lugs . The continuous transom bolts in the basement are only interrupted by the rectangular wooden door. In the north-east side, half-timbered houses have two levels each with floor-to-ceiling struts on the corner posts. The compartments in the basement are without decoration. On the other hand, the upper and gable floors are characterized by rich baroque ornamental shapes, which are atypical for the area to this extent and have Franconian influence: on the upper floor and in the gable triangle, curved counter braces on the foot braces with noses, in the middle, fire-goat-like , curved St. Andrew's crosses , on the On the north-west side, there are also two St. Andrew's crosses with four quarter-circle arcs in the corners and the man motif in the northern gable triangle and two differently designed St. Andrew's crosses in the top of the gable. The cross beams between the floors have a profiled block frieze and are richly carved with dew bands , pearl and egg bars. The stems and head clasps have flat carvings highlighted in color. The interior is illuminated on three sides on the upper floor by two small, almost square windows, in the basement by two small, high-rectangular windows in the northeast and another window on the long sides. They are all lead-glazed with small round panes. The south-west side and the gable floors are windowless.

Furnishing

Galleries with square dock and fan rosettes
View of the altar area

A four-sided, wooden gallery is built into the chapel, which, unusually, also runs above the altar area. It corresponds to the two-storey structure and has been designed from the start as the circumferential beam heads show. The gallery is decorated with profiled, blue-green-marbled square docks and in the foot area of ​​the three central supports with carved half-suns. This type of fan-shaped rosette came from the Harz region to Westphalia and Hesse in the 16th century. The gallery is accessible via a staircase on the northwest side and rests on two posts with headbands in the southeast . The flat ceiling is supported by a longitudinal girder, from which cross beams extend and structure the ceiling. A mighty wooden square central column, which is eight-sided in the central area, supports the girder and the roof turret.

The remaining simple, wooden inventory items were made in the 20th century, the church stalls in 1939, the oak altar and the pulpit in 1963. In 1965 Elfriede Bedbur carved the oak altar cross, a crucifix of the four-nail type, from Biedenkopf . Like the gallery docks in 1963, the cheeks of the benches were given their blue-green marble imitation. The floor in the altar area is covered with gray stone slabs made from local diabase , from which an anthracite-colored cross stands out in the floor. The north-western entrance stairs are also made of diabase. An electronic organ is set up on the southwest gallery.

literature

  • 650 years of Rachelshausen. Special edition of the journal of the Heimatverein and Heimatmuseum "Amt Blankenstein" eV Heimatverein und Heimatmuseums "Amt Blankenstein" eV, Gladenbach 1986, pp. 75–83 (online on the parish homepage )
  • Gerald Bamberger, Matthias Kornitzky, Thomas Urban: The building and maintenance history of the half-timbered chapel of Rachelshausen. Ev. Rentamt, Biedenkopf 1998.
  • Dieter Blume, Jürgen Runzheimer: Gladenbach and Blankenstein Castle. From the history and nature of an office in the Hessian hinterland. Hitzeroth, Marburg 1987, ISBN 3-925944-15-X , pp. 280-281.
  • Irmgard Bott et al. (Arrangement): Half-timbered churches in Hessen . Ed .: Förderkreis Alte Kirchen eV, Marburg. 4th edition. Langewiesche, Königstein im Taunus 1987, ISBN 3-7845-2442-7 .
  • Georg Dehio : Handbook of German art monuments , Hessen I. Administrative districts of Giessen and Kassel. Edited by Folkhard Cremer, Tobias Michael Wolf and others. Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich a. a. 2008, ISBN 978-3-422-03092-3 , p. 751.
  • Karl Huth : Gladenbach. A city through the centuries . Ed .: Magistrate of the City of Gladenbach. Magistrate of the City of Gladenbach, Gladenbach 1974, DNB  790637227 .
  • Hans Feldtkeller (arrangement): The architectural and art monuments of the Biedenkopf district. Eduard Roether, Darmstadt 1958, p. 34.
  • Frank W. Rudolph: Evangelical churches in the dean's office Gladenbach . Deutscher Kunstverlag, Berlin / Munich 2010, ISBN 978-3-422-02288-1 , p. 72-73 .

Web links

Commons : Chapel Rachelshausen  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c Bamberger: The history of construction and maintenance of the half-timbered chapel of Rachelshausen. 1998, p. 13.
  2. ^ A b Bott: Half-timbered churches in Hessen. 1987, p. 24.
  3. ↑ Rachelshausen. Historical local dictionary for Hessen. In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS). Hessian State Office for Historical Cultural Studies (HLGL), accessed on September 4, 2016 .
  4. ↑ 650 years of Rachelshausen. 1986, p. 78 ( online on the parish homepage , accessed on September 4, 2016).
  5. ↑ For example, Feldtkeller (arrangement): The architectural and art monuments of the Biedenkopf district. 1958, p. 34, and Huth: Gladenbach. A city through the centuries. 1974, p. 209.
  6. ↑ a b c 650 years of Rachelshausen. 1986, p. 80 ( online on the parish homepage , accessed on September 4, 2016).
  7. ↑ Blume, Runzheimer: Gladenbach and Blankenstein Castle. 1987, p. 280.
  8. ^ Bamberger: The building and maintenance history of the half-timbered chapel of Rachelshausen. 1998, pp. 25-27.
  9. ^ Bamberger: The building and maintenance history of the half-timbered chapel of Rachelshausen. 1998, pp. 34-35.
  10. ^ Bamberger: The building and maintenance history of the half-timbered chapel of Rachelshausen. 1998, pp. 45-46.
  11. ^ Bamberger: The building and maintenance history of the half-timbered chapel of Rachelshausen. 1998, p. 52.
  12. ↑ a b Rudolph: Evangelical Churches in the Deanery Gladenbach. 2010, p. 73.
  13. ↑ 650 years of Rachelshausen. 1986, p. 81 ( online on the parish homepage , accessed on September 4, 2016).
  14. ^ Homepage of the parish , accessed on September 19, 2016.
  15. ^ Bamberger: The building and maintenance history of the half-timbered chapel of Rachelshausen. 1998, p. 3.
  16. ^ Bamberger: The building and maintenance history of the half-timbered chapel of Rachelshausen. 1998, p. 5.
  17. ↑ a b Rudolph: Evangelical Churches in the Deanery Gladenbach. 2010, p. 72.
  18. ^ Bamberger: The building and maintenance history of the half-timbered chapel of Rachelshausen. 1998, p. 8.
  19. ^ Bamberger: The building and maintenance history of the half-timbered chapel of Rachelshausen. 1998, p. 6.
  20. ^ Dehio: Handbuch der Deutschen Kunstdenkmäler, Hessen I. 2008, p. 751.
  21. ^ Bamberger: The building and maintenance history of the half-timbered chapel of Rachelshausen. 1998, p. 7.
  22. ^ Bamberger: The building and maintenance history of the half-timbered chapel of Rachelshausen. 1998, p. 9.
  23. ^ Bott: half-timbered churches in Hessen. 1987, p. 77.

Coordinates: 50 ° 47 '17.32 "  N , 8 ° 31' 51.11"  E