Evangelical Church Scherzingen
The Evangelical Church Scherzingen is a Protestant - Reformed church in Scherzingen under cantonal conservation . Built in 1617/18, it is the oldest church building of the Reformed denomination in Thurgau .
history
prehistory
After the Reformation was introduced in Zurich under Huldrych Zwingli in 1523 , the ideas of the Reformation quickly reached Thurgau. In 1524 the pastor of the Münsterlingen monastery confessed to the reformed faith, was then imprisoned and finally forced to emigrate from Thurgau. In the years 1522–1539 the nuns of Münsterlingen also became Protestants, overriding the ban on the Catholic Confederates and the Thurgau governor. Among the numerous nuns who subsequently married was Katharina Ryf, known as Walter, who married the Constance reformer Ambrosius Blarer in 1533. In 1528/1529 an evangelical preacher held office in the monastery church , who abolished mass . In 1529 the first Protestant synod met in Thurgau. Zwingli himself directed it. In 1532 the provostess of Münsterlingen fought against the politically enforced reintroduction of the fair. She left the monastery and went to Constance. In 1547 the Protestant imperial city of Constance was re-Catholicized. In 1549, the Protestant pastors from Tägerwilen to Altnau attended the synod in St. Gallen instead of in Konstanz, as they had before. In 1549 the Münsterlingen monastery was restored by three Benedictine women from Uri . In the old monastery church, only the choir was given to the nuns, otherwise it now served as a simultaneous church for Protestant services.
Church building
Since 1584 the Catholic places and the governor have tried to remove the conflict-prone Protestant service from the monastery church. In the so-called "Kilchenbrief" of 1594 by the governor from Uri, the Catholic side proposed the construction of a Protestant church with two bells near Scherzingen and recommended the monastery 's right of patronage . This meant that the monastery would pay for the building of the rectory, the salaries of the pastor and mesmer and support for the poor Protestants. In return, the Protestants would also have to give the tithe to the monastery. In 1596, the Schwyzer Landvogt put the contract into effect. In 1617/18 the construction of the Evangelical Church in Scherzingen was carried out under the responsibility of Abbess Barbara Wirth von Wil . The evangelicals' wish to build the church closer to the street was complied with, but it was ordered that they should pay for any damage themselves.
17th century
In the first year of construction of the church in 1618, a complaint was filed with the dean about Pastor Bluntschli's administration. He took an oath to the saints, so he was a crypto-Catholic. He also drinks too much, which "is not noticeable in this area". In 1618 a proper baptismal register was introduced under Pastor Lindinner. In 1628 the Scherzinger complained to the monastery that they wanted Pastor Walser from Graubünden to “neither boil nor roast”. Because he was generally despised and preached “bad German”. The monastery secretary, however, replied: "Then you just take him friggasirt" (= shredded). In 1646 pastor Joh. B. Collinus was installed. He swore the oath to the abbess of the monastery. The diary of Collinus, which was kept and preserved from 1646–1692, is important. This contains the annex of a baptism, marriage and death register. In 1647, a married couple who had remained childless donated a sacrament set that is still in use today (as of 2012). In 1656, during the Rappenschweiler War , the nuns fled to Constance. The remaining evangelical pastor Collinus managed the monastery and its properties and beneficiaries on behalf of the monastery . It also accommodated almost 500 soldiers who moved into quarters in the monastery. For 1695 there are 290 Protestants in 60 families in Bottighofen, while 151 Protestants in 31 families were counted in Scherzingen.
18th century
In 1709 Kurzrickenbach - Egelshofen (today Kreuzlingen ) broke away from the traditional branch relationship of Scherzingen-Bottighofen and became politically and ecclesiastically independent. In 1712 Oberhogfen changed from Güttingen to Scherzingen-Bottighofen as the previous branch . In the years 1715–24 there were more and more complaints about the dilapidated parsonage and inadequacies in the church: the church door without a lock was provisionally patched with old boards and often fell to the ground, the snow slipped through the leaky roof onto the people, the beams of the Bells are rotten and rotten, the windows are repeatedly and willfully destroyed by stray students. In 1716, today's Münsterlingen monastery church was built. In 1746 the parish registers reported a dispute between two families: it was about the ownership and usage rights of three church chairs. The dispute was settled with the Solomonic judgment : The person who comes first to the Scherzinger Church should also be the first to use the respective chair. In 1747 the choir was renovated. On the occasion, 32 chairs were also purchased.
19th century
In 1808 moral courts were introduced in Thurgau, which in 1819, together with the office of justice of the peace, were transferred to the competence of the church councils. In the years 1829/39 the Evangelicals submitted a petition to the monastery for a comprehensive renovation of the church. In 1845 the parish of Scherzingen bought the church, rectory and cemetery from the Münsterlingen monastery, which was dissolved in 1844. The establishment of a separate Protestant parish at the Münsterlingen Cantonal Hospital in 1863–70 proved to be an intermezzo , after which pastoral care was transferred back to the Scherzingen parish. The request made by the Scherzingen-Bottighofen men's choir in 1874 to purchase a harmonium for the church was rejected by a three-quarters majority. In 1886 the church tower and bells were built. In the following year 1887 the bell tower with clock was inaugurated. In 1888, 681 parishioners are documented. The large majority with 464 members is in Oberhofen; Bottighofen has 102 voters, Scherzingen 56. In 1896 a heating stove was installed in the church.
20th century and present
In 1903 the first organ was installed in the Scherzingen church. It found its place in the choir room. In 1920 the decision was made not to align the tombstones obligatorily to the east . In 1924 the interior of the church was renovated: a new gallery was created, the pulpit was moved to the center in front of the organ, the door to the cemetery was removed and an emergency exit was set up in the choir. At the parish assembly in 1931 a protracted debate arose as to whether individual cups should be used at the Lord's Supper . The communal chalice was retained. In 1942 Oberhofen split off and formed an independent municipality with Illighausen . In 1942 E. Munz was elected President of the parish. He was the first non-theologian in this office . Pastor Joss, however, had voluntarily renounced the office before his appointment. The tower was renovated in 1949–1950: the four turrets were removed and the tower roof redesigned and repaired. The facade of the church was renewed and a tool shed with toilet facilities was built. The use of wind protection as a tower extension was controversial. In 1950 a new organ was inaugurated. The pulpit was moved to the side again. In 1955 the church windows were redesigned and adorned with the coats of arms of the places and the monastery. Another renovation of the church took place in 2002. Glass windows were brought into the choir. In 2003 the youngest, meanwhile third organ was built on the gallery.
Church organization
The Evangelical Church in Scherzingen is the Sunday sermon church of the Evangelical Parish Scherzingen-Bottighofen. This is an independent parish within the deanery IV Obersee of the Evangelical Church of the Canton of Thurgau .
Web links
Coordinates: 47 ° 37 '55.6 " N , 9 ° 13' 23.1" E ; CH1903: 734110 / 277240