Evangelical parish church Eferding

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Evangelical parish church of the tolerance community Eferding

The Evangelical Parish Church Eferding in the town of Eferding in Upper Austria dates from 1833. The parish is part of the Evangelical Church AB in Austria and belongs to the Evangelical Superintendentur Upper Austria . Under the title Evang. Parish church AB it is a listed building .

The Protestant Church

The church was built in the years 1830–1833 under pastor Friedrich Traugott Kotschny and is one of the rare so-called “tolerance churches” in its original form. According to the building regulations of the time, the tolerance prayer house was not allowed to look like a church from the outside. The result was the 3-storey building with high lattice windows, without a tower or bells. The church has a rectangular, flat barrel vaulted, late classicist hall. The entrance to the building had to be 50 meters from the street.

It was not until 1956 that a small tower with a bell was created. In 1999 a new organ with 18 stops was built. 2001–2002 the church roof was re-covered. In the course of this, the turret was removed and returned to its original appearance. In 2011 an interior renovation was carried out with the aim of restoring the character of the tolerance prayer house as far as possible.

For example, Solnhofen tiles were laid on the ground floor. During the renovation, original panels from the founding time were found and then laid in the rooms next to and behind the altar. The "dining grill" was put back in its original place and the pews on the ground floor were vacuumed. All wood has been oiled according to the original recipe. The altar and pulpit were renovated and partially re-gilded.

History of the Protestant Congregation

From the beginning of the Reformation up to the Upper Austrian Peasants' War in 1626, Eferding was one of the main centers of Protestantism in Upper Austria. The history of Eferding is closely connected to the Counts of Schaunberg and those of Starhemberg. Before the conclusion of the Concord Book of 1580, Eferding was also the seat of a radical Lutheran movement, the Flacians, under Rüdiger von Starhemberg. After the bloody suppression of the peasant uprising led by Stefan Fadinger in 1626, the Counter Reformation moved into the area. At the heart of the fighting, the city suffered terrible suffering, and the majority of the houses were reduced to rubble and ashes by the acts of war. The evangelical faith then lived on as secret Protestantism among the peasant population.

The tolerance patent of 1781 issued by Emperor Joseph II allowed the reestablishment of Protestant parishes in the Habsburg lands. In today's Austria a total of 48 tolerance communities were created by 1795. In Upper Austria, 9 tolerance communities were formed, including Eferding, where 729 people from 190 families were registered as "Evangelicals". This number of people was sufficient for a constitution, so the Protestant tolerance community Eferding was founded in 1783 and a first house of prayer was built.

Today's Protestant church building in Eferding was inaugurated on October 20, 1833 (as a tolerance prayer house). A collection was made in all churches in Prussia to support the establishment. In the years 1834 to 1835 a parsonage was added, a Protestant school was built from 1848. As a pastor, Friedrich Traugott Kotschy was responsible for the building activities. Kotschy was assigned to the current of the Pietists. In 1938, the evangelical school had to be based on an order from III. Be closed rich. In 1945 many war refugees came to the Eferding area. In 1967 a new rectory was built. In 2001 and 2011 the church was renovated. In 2018 the Evangelical Parish AB Eferding celebrated its 235th anniversary.

literature

  • Leopold Temmel : Evangelical in Upper Austria. Career and existence of the Evangelical Church . 1st edition. Oberösterreichischer Landesverlag, Linz 1982, ISBN 3-85214-334-9 .
  • Helmuth K. Koehrer: Evangelical Upper Austria today . 1st edition. Almesberger, Linz 1994.
  • Peter F. Barton: Evangelical in Austria . 1st edition. Böhlau Verlag, Vienna Cologne Graz 1987, ISBN 3-205-05096-7 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c d e Leopold Temmel: Evangelical in Upper Austria. Career and existence of the Evangelical Church . 1st edition. Oberösterreichischer Landesverlag, Linz 1982, ISBN 3-85214-334-9 , p. 132-137 .
  2. ↑ Helmut K. Koehrer: Evangelical Upper Austria today . 1st edition. Almesberger, Linz 1994, p. 47-51 .
  3. ^ Churches and religion in the city of Eferding. City of Eferding, May 5, 2020, accessed on May 15, 2020 .
  4. ^ History of the Evangelical Tolerance Community in Eferding. Evangelische Pfarrgemeinde AB Eferding, May 5, 2020, accessed on May 15, 2020 .
  5. ^ Peter F. Barton: Evangelical in Austria . 1st edition. Böhlau, Vienna Cologne Graz 1987, ISBN 3-205-05096-7 , p. 129, 203 .