Evangelical Church (electoral vote)

Evangelical Parish Church Wahlschied

The Evangelical Parish Church Wahlschied immediately below the Göttelborner Höhe was built in 1903 by the Saarbrücken architect Heinrich Christian Güth (1858–1918) and is still a striking landmark today. The steeple protrudes like a needle from the saddle roof of the church tower and is in its architectural style Design unique in the whole of Köllertal .

history

Proven church construction

The church in the small district of Wahlschied in Heusweiler had several previous buildings. The oldest known is already mentioned in Taxa generalis , published in 1330 . At that time it belonged to the knights Boemund, Johannes and Nikolaus von Dagstuhl . This right of collature prompted them on May 14, 1339 to request the archdeacon of Merzig to appoint a pastor for the community after Johannes himself had renounced his past pastoral office in electoral arbitration. In the 14th century the collature changed to the Teutonic Order , namely Count Philip II (reign 1545–1554), to which the village Lummigart also belonged. After the Reformation (around 1562 the pastor Braun and his congregation converted to the Lutheran faith) Wahlschied and Lummermed were united with Heusweiler. A few years after this change of denomination, the pastor's office of electoral arbitration due to poverty was canceled by a resolution of January 21, 1576. The church was a branch of Heusweiler for over 320 years. On April 1, 1896, the community was divided. In Wahlschied the official seat of the Protestant parish was Wahlschied und Holz.

The Teutonic Order continued to receive half of the tithe .

Evangelical parish church until 1901

Pre-church

But before that, a previous building will have stood in the same place. It was consecrated to Saint Willibrord († 739). Around 1200 the previously Romanesque building will have given way to a successor church in the Gothic style. This was destroyed in the Thirty Years War . After 1648, a new church was built on the still preserved walls. It cannot be said with certainty whether this is the church that was rebuilt in 1731, other sources speak of 1788, and demolished again in 1901. The church that exists today is therefore the third, probably the fourth or even the fifth church in this place.

Parish church from 1901

Immediately after the parish was founded, a dispute began about the building of the church, which ultimately led to both districts, Wahlschied and Holz, receiving two places of worship. The Holzer built 1899–1900, the Wahlschieder 1901–1903. For the building of the church, the community raised 1200 marks from the Gustav-Adolf-Werk ; the emperor contributed 10,000 marks with a so-called “Most High Grace”. Various collections in the community resulted in 13,000 marks. In addition, the members of the congregation in services Frondienst works like stones break, demolition of the ramparts of the old chapel and the patient transfer the remains of tombs in a mass grave at the current cemetery.

For the inauguration of the church on January 4, 1903, Empress Auguste Victoria donated an altar Bible with her own signature, which is still on the altar today.

inside view

Organ loft

Furnishing

The first three bells from the Rincker bell and art foundry were melted down during the First World War. The current bells come from the Bochumer Verein and were commissioned in 1921.

The bronze plaque on the pulpit with a representation of the four evangelists, the altar cross and the lamenting angel figure in the hall of honor for the fallen of the two world wars were made by the Göttelborn sculptor Hans Glawe . The pleasant harmony of the interior is also influenced by the lead glass windows in the chancel with scenes from the Old and New Testaments , the central figure of Christ with a gesture of blessing and the carved wooden baptismal font . The cozy character of the church, which offers 250 seats, is also determined by the barrel vault and the gallery, which has been painted in warm colors since the renovation in 1959: subtle red and muted green contrast nicely with larger milk-white wall surfaces.

organ

The organ of the church was built in 1903 by the Oberlinger company ( Windesheim ). The organ was rebuilt in 1959 and the prospectus was also redesigned. The cone shop instrument is set up on the gallery and has 8 registers , distributed over a manual and pedal . The action mechanism is mechanical, the stop actions are pneumatic. The disposition is as follows:

I main work C – f ³
1.	Principal	8th'
2.	Hollow flute	8th'
3.	Octave	4 ′
4th	Pointed flute	4 ′
5.	Octave	2 ′
6th	mixture	1 ¹ ⁄ ₃  ′

Pedal C – d ¹
7th	Sub bass	16 ′
8th.	cello	8th'

Pairing : I / P
Playing aids : Tutti, additional switch (push button) for mixture

Renovations

As early as the middle of the 20th century, i.e. less than fifty years later, cracks and other damage had already appeared on the structure, which was obviously due to damage in the mountains . There was no building damage due to the effects of war here. Submissions from the parish to the Markscheider at the time did not help, only bolts were hammered into the walls and measurements were taken. Finally, in 1952, the presbytery felt compelled to bring a lawsuit against the Saarbergwerke . Expert reports and counter-reports slowed things down, and finally the action was withdrawn in 1956 with the approval of the mine management.

The actual renovation began in 1959 and was carried out in three construction phases: In the first section, which cost 113,000 German marks , the sacristy was expanded, a warm air heating system was installed and an organ was rebuilt, in addition to safeguarding the building against further mining damage. There was also a new altar and a new pulpit. In the course of this work, the foundation stone was found and opened at the end of April 1959, because the building document and the building history were searched for. The lead box had been improperly soldered in 1901 and water had penetrated it. Old newspapers (for example Saarbrücker Zeitung No. 209 of July 27, 1901 and the Bergmannsfreund , No. 84, with the same date), a hymn book , a catechism and a Bible were irretrievably lost, only the coins made of silver, nickel and copper as well the box itself could be saved. The coins were cleaned and returned to the lead box along with an attached building history written on a typewriter. After careful soldering, it was put back into the foundation stone on May 15th.

The second construction phase began in September 1960. It provided for the repair of the tower hood, the redesign of the cock and cross and the installation of a new clock. The costs amounted to 26,500 DM. In the third section with costs of 14,000 DM in the following year, the external plastering and the horticultural facilities were carried out.

New renovations were due from 1995. Above all, the ingress of water and the associated flaking of the interior plaster again due to pit damage were the cause. In the base area, some sandstones had to be replaced, the slate roofing had to be completely renewed, cracks in the masonry were grouted and plastered again. The wall around the churchyard was also partially renewed. The cost of 400,000 DM was subsidized with 40,000 DM from Saarberg.