Evangelical Church Exter

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View from the northeast

The Evangelical Church in the district of Exter the city Vlotho is the parish church of the Evangelical Lutheran parish Exter-Bonneberg that the church district Vlotho the Evangelical Church of Westphalia belongs. It is the first and therefore oldest Protestant motorway church in Germany.

history

Inauguration of the Autobahn Church in 1959

The peasantry Exter originally belonged to St. Mary's Church on the Stiftsberg in Herford . In 1666 a parish was founded in Exter and the first church was built. Of this only the tower is preserved, the nave was torn down in 1951 due to dilapidation and replaced by a new building.

In May 1959, the church, which is located near junction 31 »Vlotho-West« on federal motorway 2 , was the first Protestant church in Germany to be consecrated as a motorway church.

On July 7, 2019, the ZDF broadcast a television service from this church.

The parishes of Exter and Bonneberg in Vlotho were independent until August 31, 2019. The decline in church members also had an impact in the city of Vlotho, accompanied by a nationwide decline in church tax revenue.The two parishes merged on September 1, 2019 to form the Exter-Bonneberg parish. The other church services are held alternately in the respective churches, currently being led by the pastor from Exteran. The Bonnebergers had not had their own pastor for some time. This task was taken over by the supervisors of the neighboring church communities.

architecture

Tower entrance with coat of arms stone

The original Renaissance church was a half-timbered building . The massive west tower that has been preserved has arched sound holes and a triangular closed entrance on the west side. A coat of arms stone above the tower entrance shows the monogram of the Brandenburg Elector Friedrich Wilhelm and the year the parish was founded in 1666. The old nave was replaced in 1951 by a massive stone building. The previous massive tower was retained. It is said to have been built about ten years after the church was founded.

Furnishing

The pulpit and the gallery balustrade have been preserved from the old interior . The organ was built by Steinmann in 1962 . Of the four bells in the tower, one dates from 1920 as a replica of a cracked one, two from 1954 and one from 1964. The baptismal angel is one of four in the church district of Vlotho. It is a replica of the one stolen in 1979, which replaced the previous font in the mid-19th century. In 2007 the interior of the nave was extensively renovated and redesigned

Armenian cross stone on the motorway church Exter.

Outdoor area

In the entrance area of ​​the tower there is an Armenian cross stone with a representation of the cross as a tree of life, which overlooks the globe. It is a donation from an Armenian refugee family living in the village, which shows their thanks for the friendly welcome in the village. It was inaugurated on May 2, 2008. It was also erected as a memorial cross for those who died in road traffic, especially those who died in the area of ​​the Autobahn Church, which is considered to be one of the most dangerous sections of the A2.

Outside there is a small rest area for non-residents near the sanitary facilities that were set up in 2007 in the adjacent parish hall, which replaced the previous inadequate ones. Gravestones still preserved from the time the parish was founded in the 17th century can be seen on the south side of the nave. Until the expansion of the A2 around the year 2000, the cemetery showed that the access in the direction of Hanover was only separated from the graves by a wall or hedge across the cemetery area.

Pastors

Since it was founded in 1666, 16 pastors have worked in the parish of Exter:

  1. Gerhard Georg Arcularius (1666–1706)
  2. Johann Gerhard Arcularius (1706–1747), son of the first pastor
  3. Carl Fürstenau (1747–1769)
  4. Anton Gottfried Hambach (1769–1777)
  5. Johann Nicolaus Köcker (1777–1784)
  6. Heinrich Peter Erdsiek (1784–1795)
  7. Daniel Pemeier (1796–1807)
  8. Andreas Christian Carl Baumann (1808–1836)
  9. Carl Heinrich Christian Lohmeyer (1836–1860)
  10. Leonhard Friedrich Theodor Wedepohl (1860–1870)
  11. Friedrich Wilhelm Brünger (1870–1909)
  12. Heinrich Gottlieb Brünger (1909–1937), son of the previous pastor
  13. Heinrich Bültemeier (1938–1948)
  14. Wilhelm Gröne (1948–1974)
  15. Ulrich Holtkamp (1974-2001)
  16. Ralf Steiner (since 2001)

literature

  • Walter and Wilhelm Gröne: Church in Exter. 1666-1966. From the past and present of the community, ed. from the presbytery of the Evangelical Lutheran parish Exter, Bielefeld 1966.
  • 1666–2016 350 years of the church in Exter (with a reprint of the 1966 chronicle). Ed. History workshop Exter, ISSN  1619-7828 , Vlotho-Exter 2016
  • Ulrich Holtkamp: Evangelical Lutheran Church Community Exter. In: Kirchenkreis Vlotho (ed.): Church on the Weser and Werre. 150 years of the Vlotho church district. Bad Oeynhausen 1991, pp. 114-117.
  • Albert Ludorff : The architectural and art monuments of Westphalia . Volume 24: The architectural and art monuments of the Herford district. Münster iW 1908, p. 21. ( archive.org )

Web links

Commons : Autobahnkapelle Exter  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Evangelical Church in Germany, May 4, 2009: First Evangelical motorway church celebrates its 50th anniversary.
  2. ↑ OUR CHURCH Edition July 7, 2019, p. 9
  3. ↑ https://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/kirchensterben-deutschland-schleift-seine-gotteshaeuser-1257880.html
  4. ↑ Ludorff, p. 21. ( archive.org )
  5. ^ Walter and Wilhelm Gröne: Church in Exter. 1666-1966. From the past and present of the community, ed. from the presbytery of the Evangelical Lutheran parish Exter, Bielefeld 1966
  6. ↑  1666–2016 350 Years of the Church in Exter (with reprint of the 1966 chronicle). Ed. History workshop Exter, ISSN  1619-7828 , Vlotho-Exter 2016
  7. ↑ Evangelical Lutheran Church Congregation Exter

Coordinates: 52 ° 8 ′ 24.9 ″  N , 8 ° 46 ′ 48.5 ″  E