Evangelical Church of Hohensolms

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Hohensolms Church from the west

The Evangelical Church of Hohensolms is the parish church of the Evangelical Church Community of Hohensolms in the municipality of Hohenahr in the Lahn-Dill district in Central Hesse . The building, erected in 1448, consists of a late Gothic hall and a choir that was added during the First World War . The Hessian cultural monument is covered by a hipped roof with roof turrets. The roof structure is probably still medieval. The church belongs to the parish of Lahn and Dill of the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland .

History of the Church and Parish

Entrance with porch and stairs

In the first decades of its existence, the town of Hohensolms was looked after by the pastor of Großaltenstädten and belonged to the Deanery Wetzlar and Archdeaconate St. Lubentius Dietkirchen in the Diocese of Trier . The church in Hohensolms was built in 1448 by Count Johann IV von Solms as a castle chapel for Hohensolms Castle and replaced a previous building that, according to oral tradition, was located in the area of ​​today's Rainbow Hall. On February 20, 1454, the castle chapel was elevated to a parish church by the Archbishop of Trier and from then on also served as the town's parish church. The patronage was due to the private church law of the count as the owner of the church. A gallery with a royal box was set up on the north side wall for the count's family .

A Catholic court chaplain was still in office in Hohensolms in 1555 . For the years 1540–1588, Johann Colbinus is proven as a Protestant pastor, which indicates that the castle chapel of the count's family was still Catholic, but the parish of the city was already Protestant. In 1623 Count Philipp Reinhard I von Solms converted to Calvinism and a reformed parish was established in Hohensolms . All other parishes in Hohensolm's office remained Evangelical-Lutheran under Hessian influence.

Count Johann Heinrich Christian von Solms-Hohensolms (1665–1668) converted to the Catholic faith and tried to recatholize his country, also using violence. The reformed pastor Haas was expelled, subjects threatened and imprisoned. After the count was killed in a duel with his cousin von Solms-Greifenstein in autumn 1668 , his successor, Count Ludwig, left it with the Reformed creed.

In the 18th century, the situation remained largely unchanged until the end of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806. Hohensolms belonged to Nassau for a short time and from 1815 to Prussia . With the political integration into the Prussian Rhine Province , the ecclesiastical connection to the Rheinische Landeskirche went hand in hand. As part of the parish of Lahn and Dill, the parish of Hohensolms still belongs to the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland. In 1817 the Reformed and Lutheran Christians in Prussia united to form the Uniate Church . Remnants of the Reformed tradition persisted for a long time in the rite of worship in Hohensolms.

In 1827 Hohensolms and Großaltenstädten were connected by parish offices. This remained so until 1971. Hohensolms was connected with Blasbach , Großaltenstädten with Erda . The pastor's seat was still Hohensolms.

On January 1, 2020, the parish office in Hohensolms was dissolved by the District Synodal Board. The parish of Hohensolms has since been connected to the parish of Erda-Großaltenstädten. The pastor's seat is in Erda . Thus, for the first time since the Middle Ages, Hohensolms is no longer a parish seat.

Structural equipment

architecture

Gallery on the western outer wall
Gothic window on the south wall

The church building consists of a rectangular hall structure from the 15th century, to which the choir , which was built during the First World War , is attached. The entire building is made of quarry stone and is not plastered. A baroque roof turret sits on the steep hipped roof of the nave . The two-tiered tower is structured by slate-shaped hoods . In old pictures the tower appears lower than it is today until the 18th century and only had a simple dome. It may not have got its current shape until 1765, when a new tower cross was added. Until 1877 there was a tower clock on the church tower . The roof turret was completely dismantled in 2003, rebuilt partially using the old beams and then put back on.

The main entrance is on the west side and takes place via the long staircase that leads up from the village to the castle. A small porch stands in front of the church door. The church is equipped with a gallery and wall paintings.

The windows are not uniform in shape and size. In addition to four relatively small pointed arch windows, there are two larger arched windows on the south side . These are younger and were subsequently broken into the wall to lighten it. The pointed arch windows date from the time they were built and some of the tracery still show clear Gothic style elements .

A Latin inscription on a window arch tells about the building of the church:

hanc cappellam, presentem que structura, nobilis johanes, in solms comesque miles, sic fieri fecit, deoque edificavit, eiusque edem, sui cupit esse mercedem, anno milleo cccc °, quadrageo octavo, labor hec consumatus, sit deus noster benedictus.
( The chapel, namely the current building, was built by noble Johann zu Solms, Count and Knight; and he built it for God and wished that his temple would be his reward. In 1448 this work was completed here Our God be praised. )

Another inscription on the right window frame again indicates the year of construction of the church: anno dm M ° CCCC XLVIII edificata est cappella .

Interior

Late Gothic wall painting of St. Christopher
Pulpit from 1871

The furnishings also include the pulpit , the mural of St. Christopher , crosses of the Apostles on the walls and the organ in the choir . The choir is two steps higher than the nave, to which it is connected by a large pointed arch . A late Gothic frieze painted all the way round the walls from the ceiling.

An octagonal post with four head struts supports the flat ceiling lying on a longitudinal beam . Its position in the ship suggests that the ceiling was originally supported by another post, which was later removed.

The pulpit was originally on the south wall of the church. It was replaced in 1916 by a neo-Gothic pulpit manufactured in 1871 for the church in Mühlheim / Ruhr and is located on the north side of the church.

The clockwork of the former tower clock is on display in the entrance area. A take plate in the choir is dated 1676.

The church was dedicated to St. Christopher , the altar to St. Nicholas . On the northern inner wall there is a wall painting from the time the church was built, which shows, among other things, St. Christopher turning to the Christ child kneeling on his neck . During the Reformation the painting was whitewashed and then remained hidden for centuries. It was not rediscovered and uncovered until 1912 as part of a renovation. During the subsequent restoration by the Cologne restorer Anton Bardenhewer, the latter added a few contemporary additions.

Renovations

Extensive renovations were carried out in 1842, during the First World War, as well as in 1954, 1980 and 2003.

The year 1842 carved on a supporting beam of the gallery still reminds of the renovation at that time, during which the interior of the church was completely redesigned, the benches were rearranged, various doors were renewed and two round windows on the rear male stage were replaced by a new window. After 1871 it became the custom to display the orders of deceased parishioners in a glass case in the church.

During the First World War, access, which was originally via two doors on the north side, was moved to the west side, where it is still located today. At the same time, the small entrance porch was built. The previous entrances in the north wall were closed or converted as windows. Another side door to the right of the organ led to a small annex on the east side, in which the organ fan was located. This was demolished and the choir was added in its place. To connect it with the rest of the nave, a large pointed arch in the Gothic style was cut into the wall. The following motto was attached to the new arch: Lord, you are my strength and power and my refuge in times of need.

Two of the three galleries also disappeared during the renovation. The royal box was relocated to the newly built choir. In 1954, the no longer up-to-date special places of the princely family were finally removed. The ceiling, wall slogans, crosses of the Apostles and friezes were also whitewashed at the time.

Today's interior work is mainly based on modernization measures in 1980, when the floor and benches were replaced, the steps to the altar were brought forward, the rear wall under the gallery was moved forward and a glass wall was added to the entrance area. The medieval friezes and crosses of the Apostles, whitewashed in 1954, were also exposed again. The medal collection was still on display in the entrance area until this time. But before the renovation began, some of these decorations, including some old Waterloo medals from the Wars of Liberation , were stolen when a church was broken into. The glass showcase with the other medals was then removed. Since then, there has been a bronze plaque in the entrance area with the inscription: The Victims of War and Violence .

organ

Altar and organ

The oldest source about a Hohensolms organ dates from 1697. In 1836 the organ is said to have been in poor condition. Bernhard Schmidt from Gelnhausen built a new work in 1956, which had 13 registers distributed over two manuals and a pedal . Today's two-manual organ with eleven registers was built in 1980 by Orgelbau Günter Hardt in Weilmünster-Möttau. A comprehensive overhaul took place in 2011. The disposition is:

I Hauptwerk C – g 3
1. Reed flute 8th'
2. Principal 4 ′
3. Forest flute 2 ′
4th Mixture IV 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
5. Trumpet 8th'
II Swell C – g 3
6th Dumped 8th'
7th Coupling flute 4 ′
8th. octave 2 ′
9. Third bell tone 1 3 ⁄ 5  ′
Tremulant
Pedal C – f 1
10. Sub-bass 16 ′
11. Principal bass 8th'

Peal

The ringing consists of three bronze bells . Due to wartime losses during the two world wars, they all date from the last century. According to an old tradition, the first Hohensolms bell was cast in 1448 by the bell caster Johann Bruwiller. In 1766 it got a crack and was cast over. After another jump in 1782, it was cast again by Friedrich Wilhelm Otto in Gießen and again in 1905 by the Rincker bell foundry . During the First World War, a bell from 1765 and a bell originally from 1752 (cast in 1905) were melted down for war purposes. In 1923, Rincker cast two new bells to replace them. During the Second World War , a historic bell from 1448 (Rincker no. 1438) that was cast in 1905 by Rincker and one of the two replacement bells from 1923 were confiscated. In this way, all historical bells were lost.

Today's bells date from 1923 and 1951 (Rincker). In contrast to the historical tuning, they are tuned to the notes 'c', 'b' and 'g' and bear the following inscriptions:

  • Land, land, hear the word of the Lord! (small bell, tone c, cast year 1951)
  • Glory to God in the highest. (middle bell, tone b, cast year 1951)
  • Ring the bell, ring the peace, ring the peace in every heart, once my day ends, ring me heavenward. (big bell, tone g, found in 1923)

Crypt of the house of Solms-Hohensolms

The former burial place of the House of Solms-Hohensolms is located under the altar . In the 17th and 18th centuries, numerous members of the count's family were buried in the so-called princely crypt, which is no longer accessible today. In a walled-up doorway on the southern outer wall, there are also some children's coffins from the second half of the 17th century. In addition, there are probably graves under the floor, as the Hohensolms church records repeatedly report burials in the church.

Historical font

Medieval baptismal font? Today buried in the bonded garden of Hohensolms Castle

Opposite the church is a stone basin, half buried in the ground and decorated with late Gothic stylistic elements, in the dough garden of the castle. It is probably an old font. According to the ornaments, it should come from the time the church was built. It is conceivable that when the Reformed Confession was introduced it was removed from the church and buried in the neighboring Renteigarten. It was probably then replaced by an unadorned stone, which was torn out of the church in 1668 during the attempts at recatholization by Count Johann Heinrich Christian. A silver baptismal bowl has been used since 1701 at the latest.

literature

  • Friedrich Kilian Abicht: The district of Wetzlar, presented historically, statistically and topographically. Volume 2. Wetzlar 1836, pp. 191-197 ( online ).
  • Georg Dehio : Handbook of German art monuments , Hessen I: Administrative districts of Giessen and Kassel. Edited by Folkhard Cremer and others. Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich / Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3-422-03092-3 , p. 429.
  • Wilhelm Diehl : Pastor and schoolmaster book for the acquired lands and the lost territories (= Hassia sacra. Vol. 7). Self-published, Darmstadt 1933.
  • Hans Hermann Hagmann: History of the Evangelical Churches in Hohensolms (1964–1985), Großaltenstädten (1964–1971) and Blasbach (1971–1985). Hohenahr 2010.
  • Emil Kemper: Lutheranism and Calvinism in the city and office of Hohensolm until the Thirty Years' War. Self-published, Hohensolms 1917.
  • Waldemar Küther: The patronage right of the church of Hohensolms. In: Messages from the Wetzlar History Association. 19, 1961, pp. 9-56.
  • State Office for Monument Preservation Hessen (Ed.), Karlheinz Lang (Ed.): Kirchstrasse 6, Ev. Church In: Cultural monuments in Hessen. District of Giessen III. The communities Allendorf (Lumda), Biebertal, Heuchelheim, Lollar, Staufenberg and Wettenberg (= monument topography Federal Republic of Germany ). Theiss, Stuttgart 2010, ISBN 3-8062-2179-0 , pp. 307-308.
  • Timo Zimmermann: Hohensolms. Valley, town, municipality and district. Zimmermann, Hohensolms 2000.

Web links

Commons : Hohensolms Church  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c State Office for Monument Preservation Hesse (ed.): Evangelical Church In: DenkXweb, online edition of cultural monuments in Hesse
  2. ^ Gerhard Kleinfeldt, Hans Weirich: The medieval church organization in the Upper Hessian-Nassau area (= writings of the Institute for historical regional studies of Hesse and Nassau 16 ). NG Elwert, Marburg 1937, ND 1984, p. 196.
  3. ↑ a b Timo Zimmermann: Hohensolms. Valley, town, municipality and district. Zimmermann, Hohensolms 2000, p. 121.
  4. ↑ a b c d Timo Zimmermann: Hohensolms. Valley, town, municipality and district. Zimmermann, Hohensolms 2000, p. 122.
  5. ↑ Timo Zimmermann: Hohensolms. Valley, town, municipality and district. Zimmermann, Hohensolms 2000, p. 131.
  6. ↑ a b Hohensolms. Historical local dictionary for Hessen. In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS). Hessian State Office for Historical Cultural Studies (HLGL), accessed on January 22, 2020 .
  7. ↑ Timo Zimmermann: Hohensolms. Valley, town, municipality and district. Zimmermann, Hohensolms 2000, p. 123.
  8. ↑ Timo Zimmermann: Hohensolms. Valley, town, municipality and district. Zimmermann, Hohensolms 2000, p. 37.
  9. ↑ Parish of Lahn and Dill: Changes in the parish of Lahn and Dill at the beginning of the year , accessed on January 22, 2020.
  10. ↑ a b Dehio: Handbuch der Deutschen Kunstdenkmäler, Hessen I. 2008, p. 429.
  11. ↑ Timo Zimmermann: Hohensolms. Valley, town, municipality and district. Zimmermann, Hohensolms 2000, p. 124.
  12. ↑ Timo Zimmermann: Hohensolms. Valley, town, municipality and district. Zimmermann, Hohensolms 2000, pp. 126-127.
  13. ↑ Timo Zimmermann: Hohensolms. Valley, town, municipality and district. Zimmermann, Hohensolms 2000, pp. 121-122.
  14. ↑ Timo Zimmermann: Hohensolms. Valley, town, municipality and district. Zimmermann, Hohensolms 2000, p. 126.
  15. ↑ Timo Zimmermann: Hohensolms. Valley, town, municipality and district. Zimmermann, Hohensolms 2000, p. 127.
  16. ↑ Timo Zimmermann: Hohensolms. Valley, town, municipality and district. Zimmermann, Hohensolms 2000, p. 128.
  17. ^ Hans Hermann Hagmann: History of the Evangelical Churches in Hohensolms (1964–1985), Großaltenstädten (1964–1971) and Blasbach (1971–1985). Hohenahr 2010.
  18. ↑ Abicht: The district of Wetzlar, presented historically, statistically and topographically. Volume 2. Wetzlar 1836, p. 192 ( online )
  19. ^ Franz Bösken: Sources and research on the organ history of the Middle Rhine (=  contributions to the Middle Rhine music history . Volume 7.1 ). tape 2 : The area of ​​the former administrative district of Wiesbaden. Part 1: A-K . Schott, Mainz 1975, ISBN 3-7957-1307-2 , p. 446 .
  20. ↑ Program Orgelarena 2017 , accessed on January 22, 2020.
  21. ↑ Timo Zimmermann: Hohensolms. Valley, town, municipality and district. Zimmermann, Hohensolms 2000, pp. 124-125.
  22. ↑ Timo Zimmermann: Hohensolms. Valley, town, municipality and district. Zimmermann, Hohensolms 2000, p. 129.
  23. ↑ Timo Zimmermann: Hohensolms. Valley, town, municipality and district. Zimmermann, Hohensolms 2000, pp. 122-123.

Coordinates: 50 ° 39 ′ 15.7 "  N , 8 ° 30 ′ 50.7"  E