Florins Church (Koblenz)

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The Florins Church in Koblenz
inner space
High altar
Florinskirche (left), Liebfrauenkirche (right) and in the background the Basilica of St. Castor

The Florinskirche is a Protestant church in the old town of Koblenz . The church building, which was built around 1100 and dominates the city skyline, belonged to the Canons' Monastery of St. Florin, which was secularized in 1802 . Then in 1820 it was the first evangelically consecrated church building from Koblenz to the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland . The early medieval church building is a prime example of Romanesque sacred architecture on the Middle Rhine. The Florinskirche, together with the Bürresheimer Hof , the Old Department Store and the Schöffenhaus, form an ensemble of four historical buildings on the Florinsmarkt. It is owned equally by the state of Rhineland-Palatinate , the legal successor to Prussia , and the Evangelical Church Community of Koblenz-Mitte.

history

Originally a Marienkirche with an associated monastery, the Florinskirche may have emerged from the chapel of the neighboring Franconian royal court. At the place of the supposed royal court, in which King Childebert of Australia supposedly held court in 586, is today the rectory of the Church of Our Lady . Around 938 to 948, after Florin's relics had been transferred from Remüs (Switzerland), the church at that time was dedicated to this saint alone.

Around 1100 a new building took place under the provost Bruno von Lauffen , the later Archbishop of Trier, as a Romanesque three-aisled church. The pillar basilica , which was then flatly covered , included parts of the Roman-Franconian city wall on the east side . In the middle of the 14th century, the Romanesque apse of the church was replaced by a Gothic one with the support of Archbishop Baldwin of Luxembourg . In the years 1582 to 1614, the eastern nave was vaulted . At the beginning of the 17th century the bell towers were renewed. In 1671, the Martinskapelle on the south side of the church had to be demolished in order to create a road connection between Florinsmarkt and Kornmarkt. At the same time, the building was given a stronger south wall. During the siege of Koblenz in 1688 in the Palatinate War of Succession , the city was shelled by French troops. The Florinskirche was badly damaged and the central nave vault was destroyed, but it was renewed between 1708 and 1711. Around 1710 the church, probably planned by Philipp Honorius Ravensteyn , received a new south portal with the figure of St. Florin . After the southern tower was destroyed by lightning and fire in 1791, it was decided to build the new spiers lower. The plans for this were based on designs by the court builder Peter Joseph Krahe and the builder Nikolaus Lauxen .

In 1794, French revolutionary troops occupied Koblenz during the First Coalition War . The St. Florin Abbey was secularized by the French in 1802 and thus abolished. After that the church building was used as a military magazine . Between 1807 and 1811 the church inventory was sold, the schoolhouse, the adjoining monastery buildings and the cloister closed . In 1807 Napoleon arranged for the church to be converted into a municipal slaughterhouse with stalls. This did not happen, however, since Koblenz fell to Prussia in 1815 .

King Friedrich Wilhelm III. In 1818 the building was transferred to the Protestant military and civil parish. The subsequent restoration of the church building and the furnishings took place under the direction of Johann Claudius von Lassaulx . The church was consecrated as a Protestant parish church in 1820, making it the first Protestant church building in Koblenz. The spiers put on in 1791 were removed during the thorough restoration of the church under Hermann Cuno in 1899 and replaced with pointed roofs. In the course of restoration work on the inside during archaeological excavations under the Gothic apse, the foundations of a Roman city wall tower were found between 1929 and 1930. The roofs of the three-aisled pillar basilica burned down in an air raid in 1944 , and the vault of the former monastery choir was also destroyed. The reconstruction took place in 1951. The outside of the church was last restored in 1970. A new painting was also created based on the remains of the old Gothic painting found on the triumphal arch.

Construction and equipment

Outside

South portal with the figure of St. Florin
Window with four round panes from around 1300

The Romanesque church building is dominated by the fortified west building on Florinsmarkt with its two towers towering over everything. The exterior is plastered white, the base and cornices are light gray, the other dividing elements are painted yellow with red joints. The bell floors of the towers have characteristic Romanesque column biforias . The triangular gable above it dates from the 13th century, the pointed helmets are from 1899. The large post-Gothic tracery window on the west building dates from the 17th century. The roofs are covered with slate . The Gothic apse and buttresses are light gray with dark joints.

Inside

The west building is integrated into the nave . The nave includes the originally barrel-vaulted, now post-Gothic cross - rib vaulted ground floor hall as well as the tower ground floors and is therefore open to the nave in full width . The three-aisled pillar basilica is divided by five closely placed round arched pillar arcades. The walls and vaults are plastered in chalk white, the pillars are made of light gray cuboids with painted joints.

The monastery choir adjoins the nave to the east and is a few steps higher; it is set off by a strong choir arch. The rood screen with cross altar originally stood here . A transept (chapter house) with three rooms connects to the east of the monastery choir. A part of the cloister has been preserved underneath . Originally this chapter house, built around 1200 and made of tuff stone masonry, was probably used as a sacristy and the upper floor as a treasure house.

The medieval and baroque furnishings of the church were almost completely destroyed at the beginning of the 19th century. The epitaph of the Trier Elector Jacob II of Baden , which was formerly attached to the church , is now in the collegiate church of Baden-Baden , where it was saved by his family. Apart from a few fragments in museum possession, only remains of wall paintings from the 14th and 15th centuries can be found in the church . Century from former altars on the outside of the monastery choir and from the originally extensive picture decorations of the Florinskirche. In the choir there are also murals by Januarius Zick , which have been restored several times and therefore hardly show any original substance.

Two of the stained glass windows each contain four round panes about 24 centimeters in diameter from the early 14th century, donated by Freiherr vom und zum Stein on the occasion of the reopening of the church in 1819/20. The images on the panes show the Annunciation and the birth of Jesus, the adoration of the kings and the imprisonment of Jesus, as well as the flagellation, crucifixion, burial and resurrection. These pictures probably come from the church in Dausenau an der Lahn. Also in the 14th century, two 0.50 x 1.00 meter square panes were created, which, together with a much newer one, are inserted into the three-part window of the baptistery. She too had owned Freiherr vom und zum Stein; they possibly came from the monastery church in Arnstein near Nassau.

Baroque leaf garlands adorn the otherwise simple interior of the church. In the vault of the north tower there are two Franconian stone coffins that were found in 1929 during excavations in the church garden. In the vaulted ceiling of the baptistery there is a cannon ball to commemorate the bombardment of the church by French troops in 1688. Several Archbishops of Trier found their final resting place in the church.

  • Windows with round pictures, in St. Florin since 1819/20

  • Old gothic wall painting

  • Baptistery

  • Cannonball from 1688 in the baptistery

  • Dove of the Holy Spirit on the ceiling of the porch

organ

Interior with the organ newly installed in 2010

For the evangelical consecration of the church in 1820 a silent organ was installed. It was destroyed by a smoldering fire in 1970. In 1973 a new organ was put into operation, but it offered less sound quality. Therefore, at the end of the 2000s, the decision was made to commission an organ building project that was advertised throughout Europe.

The organ of the Florinskirche was built in 2010 by Förster & Nicolaus (Lich). The three-manual and 16-ton instrument has 51 registers with 3729 pipes , including six extended registers in the pedal , as well as a glockenspiel and a cymbal star as secondary register. The game actions are mechanical, the stop actions are electric. The total costs amounted to around 850,000 euros and were financed half privately and half by the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

I main work C – a 3
1. Big dumped 16 ′
2. Principal 8th'
3. Reed flute 8th'
4th Gamba 8th'
5. Octave 4 ′
6th Flûte allemande 4 ′
7th Fifth 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
8th. Super octave 2 ′
9. Cornett V 8th'
10. Mixture IV-VI 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
11. Trumpet 16 ′
12. Trumpet 8th'
Tremulant
II Positive C – a 3
13. Qintathön 16 ′
14th Principal 8th'
15th Salicional 8th'
16. Flauto traverso 8th'
17th Lovely Gedackt 8th'
18th Singing Principal 4 ′
19th recorder 4 ′
20th Sesquialtera II 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
21st Forest flute 2 ′
22nd Larigot 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
23. Scharff IV 1'
24. Dulcian 16 ′
25th Cromorne 8th'
Tremulant
III Swell C – a 3
26th Viola d'amour 16 ′
27. Horn principal 8th'
28. Tibia 8th'
29 Viola pomposa 8th'
30th Voix céleste 8th'
31. Drone 8th'
32. Fugara 4 ′
33. Night horn 4 ′
34. Nazard 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
35. Flautino 2 ′
36. third 1 3 ⁄ 5  ′
37. Fittings IV – V 2 ′
38. bassoon 16 ′
39. Trumpet harm. 8th'
40. Hautbois 8th'
41. Clairon harm. 4 ′
Tremulant
Pedal C – g 1
42. Pedestal 32 ′
43. Principal bass 16 ′
44. Subbass (No. 42) 16 ′
45. Occavbass (No. 43) 8th'
46. Gedacktbass (No. 44) 8th'
47. Tenor bass (No. 45) 4 ′
48. Large Mix IV 5 1 ⁄ 3  ′
49. Counter trumpet 32 ′
50. Trumpet (No. 49) 16 ′
51. Trumpet (No. 50) 8th'
  • Pairing :
    • Normal coupling: II / I, III / I, III / II, I / P, II / P, III / P
    • Super octave coupling: II / I, II / II, III / I, III / II, III / III, III / P
    • Sub-octave coupling: II / I, II / II, III / I, III / II, III / III,
  • Secondary register: Zimbelstern, Glockenspiel (positive); Euphrasia
  • Playing aids : Electronic setting system with 30,000 combinations, crescendo roller .

Bells

Five bells hang in the south tower. The oldest bell dates from 1511. The Rincker foundry added four bells to the ring in 1960.

Bell 1: d '+ 4 1325 kg ø 1321 mm 1960 Gebr. Rincker (Sinn)

Bell 2: f '+ 7 850 kg ø 1130 mm 1511 Peter von Echternach

Bell 3: a '+ 6 478 kg ø 935 mm 1960 Gebr. Rincker (Sinn)

Bell 4: b '+ 5 394 kg ø 870 mm 1960 Gebr. Rincker (Sinn)

Bell 5: c '' + 6 292 kg ø 792 mm 1960 Gebr. Rincker (Sinn)

and display information about the image
The Florinsmarkt with the Bürresheimer Hof , the Old Department Store , the Schöffenhaus and the Florinskirche (from left to right)

Monument protection

The Florinskirche is a protected cultural monument according to the Monument Protection Act (DSchG) and entered in the list of monuments of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate . It is located in the old town monument zone .

The Florinskirche has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Upper Middle Rhine Valley since 2002 . Furthermore, it is a protected cultural asset according to the Hague Convention and marked with the blue and white trademark.

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : Florinskirche (Koblenz)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Fritz Michel: The ecclesiastical monuments of the city of Koblenz. Printed and published by L. Schwann, Düsseldorf 1937, reprint 1981, ISBN 3-590-32141-5 , p. 57 u. 58.
  2. ↑ Information on the new organ of the Florinskirche ( Memento of the original from March 22, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.koblenz-mitte.jamnet.de
  3. ↑ General Directorate for Cultural Heritage Rhineland-Palatinate (ed.): Informational directory of cultural monuments - District-free city of Koblenz (PDF; 1.3 MB), Koblenz 2011

Coordinates: 50 ° 21 ′ 43 "  N , 7 ° 35 ′ 50"  E