Evangelical Church Breithardt
The Evangelical Church Breithardt is a church building in the Hessian town of Breithardt in the municipality of Hohenstein .
history
There are three reasons for the old age of the Breithardt Church: the Romanesque architectural style of the oldest parts, the defensive character of the tower and the central function that Breithardt had in ecclesiastical terms until the 17th century. The latter can be seen from the oldest church book from 1644, which contains entries from the branches Adolfseck , Born, Hennethal , Libbach, Limbach , Steckenroth , Strinz-Margarethä and Strinz-Trinitatis . In terms of church organization, Breithardt was originally dependent on the Bleidenstadt monastery founded towards the end of the 8th century . There is much to suggest that the church “Zum heiligen Kreuz” was built between 1100 and 1200 (other information: around 1200). A Marian altar was mentioned in the 15th century. The Breithardter Church is the oldest in the area. Its function as the mother church goes back even further than the first documented mention of the place (1280) or its city charter (1418).
Steeple and nave
The church tower belongs to the Romanesque style without its helmet. Like the rest of the structure, it is made from Taunus slate mined in this area. Its wall thickness (initially over two meters) tapers on the inside and should be one meter at the height of the Romanesque double round arch. Of the slender columns in the round arches, three are made the same, a fourth differs through three bulges on the base. When excavating the foundation of the tower it was evident that it must have had a predecessor. The south wall of the nave is also Romanesque on the current church, up to a height of about two meters; a characteristic paragraph can be seen from the outside. There is also a walled-up portal with a rectangular frame called the Borner Türchen. Excavations showed that the level used to be at least half a meter lower, so this door could well have been the only entrance to the church and the tower. A grave slab is now placed inside the church.
The choir arch is also Romanesque and has recently lost some of its original strength on the left (because of the view of the altar from the side) and on the right (because of the pulpit). Tower, south wall and choir arch (which then included the apse or rectangular choir area) provide the dimensions for the original Romanesque church building. This was surrounded by an elliptical cemetery (cf. Tractus Charten district of Breithardt from 1786), whose certainly high moult ran to the east and south at a greater distance from the church.
The fortified church Breithardt offered protection in dangerous times for people and cattle (the latter in the cemetery). The place itself was probably never surrounded by a wall, at most by ramparts and moats. The church tower with its loopholes was like a donjon almost invulnerable. The current west door was not broken until the 17th century (1675 is given; the number "7" is still faintly recognizable on the lintel); previously there was only one entrance from the nave. The window in the tower facing the cemetery could be from the same time. At that time the tower had a low pyramid roof. The current high spire, with which the tower reaches a total height of 36 meters, and the four hexagonal wichhouses used as lookouts are from the Gothic era. The guard houses were also used for the fire watch .
The Gothic choir
A highly significant change in the Breithardt Church can be dated to between 1450 and 1492: the high, late Gothic choir was created from a yoke with a 5/8 end . The old choir seems to have been almost completely abandoned, only the tabernacle in a simple form on the right and the piscina could come from the old choir. The entire new choir, probably also the new spire, was donated by Adolf von Breithardt (approx. 1420–1491), a Breithardt farmer's son, who became Chancellor of the Archbishop of Mainz, Adolf II of Nassau . He also endowed other churches with foundations from his not inconsiderable benefice income .
The net vault of the choir rests on 8 grimacing consoles , cow, pig and dog heads. The two human faces are expressionless. Two keystones in the zenith of the vault show the Nassau lion and a characteristic chalice, cloth and hand over the place where the high altar could have stood. Left and right are small access doors to the choir with Gothic frames; the one facing the cemetery was walled up for a long time, as building photos from 1914 show. The generous donor did not experience the consecration of the choir, the most significant structural change in the Breithardter Church.
Extension of the nave in the 17th century
For the further development, two things can be identified in structural terms, on the one hand the zone where the nave adjoins the church tower (especially in the roof truss area) and on the other hand the structural changes above the choir arch. The masonry and plastering show that the Romanesque nave was considerably higher than the current one, but not as wide. The nave was then widened to the north twice. The initially exposed crossbeams, which allowed a view into the high gable, were extended the second time with iron bars, which can be seen on the church floor. For structural reasons, it was necessary to have those massive beams that were not symmetrical and rest on four strong wooden pillars. The oldest photo of the church shows that the joists were additionally supported at their ends by narrow pilaster strips. The great burden of the now much lower ceiling, which spanned a wider space, had to be absorbed. The whole measure had become necessary in the early 17th century because of the increased population; the new flat ceiling was provided with geometric stucco ornaments. Pine cones (as the fruit of the tree of life, symbol of life and fertility) protrude into the room in oval fields . Traces of the original painting have been found, but not yet uncovered. The beams are also richly stuccoed. It is noteworthy that the third of the ceiling above the newly won men's gallery (to the north) remained unadorned. This was only made up for in 1947, albeit in a simplified form.
Interior
The organ was built in 1834 by Conrad Embach , Rauenthal and initially set up in the choir on a specially constructed gallery. A complete cycle of wall frescoes from the second half of the 15th century was painted over with scenes from the New Testament. In the years 1962–66 these frescoes were exposed again. In 2003/2004 the church tower was restored.
Coordinates: 50 ° 11 ′ 44.8 " N , 8 ° 5 ′ 53.6" E