Georgskirche (Hausen an der Zaber)

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George's Church in Hausen an der Zaber

The Protestant St. George's Church in Hausen an der Zaber , a district of Brackenheim in the Heilbronn district in northern Baden-Württemberg , dates back to the original chapel of the place from around the year 1000, but has been rebuilt many times over the years. The oldest part of today's church is the tower base, which was built towards the end of the 13th century at the latest. The attached knight statue from around 1290 is considered to be one of the oldest, if not the oldest knight figure in Württemberg.

history

The place Hausen was probably founded from Meimsheim as an expansion place. As a result, Hausen was originally an ecclesiastical branch of the Meimsheim Martinskirche . Together with Meimsheim, Hausen came from the Diocese of Speyer to the Diocese of Worms and then to the Rural Chapter Schwaigern in the Archdeaconate of Wimpfen by the second third of the 13th century . In 1427, the early mass in Hausen is documented with the mention of an early knife. In 1468 Hausen was detached from the branch association with Meimsheim and raised to its own parish. The nearby Dürrenzimmern followed in 1475, Neipperg in 1476. In 1476, the Zabergäu communities were able to convert to the (partial) rural chapter of Brackenheim . Hausen, which belongs to Württemberg , became Protestant through the Reformation . The parish came to the new dean's office in Zabergäu and is now part of the Brackenheim church district that emerged from it.

The church's patronage was forgotten in the period after the Reformation. Researchers of the 19th century recognized St. Martin in the old knight figure on the tower of the church and suggested an original St. Martin's patronage, which was handed down until the 1980s. It was not until the 1960s that documentary evidence could be provided that the church was once dedicated to St. George . Since then you can see that saint in the knight statue.

The structural origin of the church in Hausen, which was first mentioned as a chapel in 1351, is believed to be around the year 1000, according to excavation findings from 1960. The church was on a rocky elevation, no longer noticeable today, in the midst of damp terrain. Surrounded by a wall, one can imagine the original character of the complex as a fortified church or even as a kind of moated castle. The first chapel could have emerged from these topographical considerations from the court chapel of the manor court of the earliest local nobility, which, according to broken fragments, was probably built at a place that was already inhabited during the Roman era. The first stone chapel building that can be verified by foundations had a nave 4.70 meters wide and 7.10 meters long, the choir was 2.70 meters wide and 1.90 meters deep. The wall thickness was 80 to 90 centimeters. A much larger chapel was built in the same place by 1290 at the latest. This chapel was already 18.70 meters long, and the choir tower was about 6 × 6 meters long. This second chapel burned down around 1350. On top of this, a ship was built, which was again larger on three sides, using the older stones, which show traces of fire, and while retaining the old tower. The wall thickness was now 1.20 to 1.30 meters. In this design, the church was elevated to a parish church in 1468.

With the separation from Meimsheim in 1468, where the people of Hausen had their burial so far, Hausen also received permission to create its own cemetery . This was put on around the church. Only to the east of the church no burials could take place because of the rocky subsoil. The burials around the church ended again in 1577 when a new cemetery was laid out outside the village. When the church was later expanded, the old cemetery was partially built over with the extension buildings.

Around 1500 the sacristy was added to the north of the tower and the tower choir was rebuilt. In 1528 the tower structure burned down after a lightning strike, it was rebuilt by 1539. In 1618 the nave was extended to the south, later it was also raised by 1.40 meters and a west gallery was added. In 1790 a south pore followed. In the roof of the church there were leased storage rooms and a granary.

The church got its present form in 1961 when the old nave was torn down and replaced by a new building. In the course of the renovation work, the last remains of the old churchyard wall were also removed. In 2003 the neighboring former Hausener schoolhouse, which is now used as a parish hall, was structurally connected to the church.

description

The oldest part of the Georgskirche is the Romanesque choir tower , which was built towards the end of the 13th century when the old chapel was expanded. The exceptionally high tower, covered with a half-hipped roof over the half-timbered structure of the highest floor, still reveals various characteristics that identify it as a defense and watchtower. Its height is due to the fact that Hausen lies in a depression in the landscape and the surrounding hills can only be seen from the top of the tower. The tower was once accessed from the church via the choir arch. In the central tower basement still transverse above are loopholes to realize the rectangular windows on this level were probably formed from such gaps. The lower-lying windows in the tower base, on the other hand, are clearly more recent, their Gothic tracery points to the time around 1500, when the east-facing tower choir was redesigned, which at that time was also spanned by a ribbed vault. A beam of the belfry bears the year 1539, the date of the reconstruction after the tower fire of 1528. In the 19th century efforts were made to give the tower a neo-Gothic spire.

The sacristy attached to the north of the tower also dates from the pre-Reformation period, as indicated by a recess on the window cornice of the north wall, which is used to clean the chalice during communion. Due to style-critical considerations regarding the services of the sacristy, it is possible that Hans Wunderer might have been involved in the construction of the sacristy.

The current nave was built in 1960/61 according to plans by Gerhard Fetzer ; it has no architectural reference to the old nave. Wolf-Dieter Kohler designed the glass windows and wall friezes for the new building . The late Gothic stone pulpit from the previous building, a high Gothic baptismal font, an altar with a crucifixion group from the 16th century, the old organ gallery and historical tombstones have been taken over into the new building. The gallery balustrade depicting Christ and the apostles was also reused in the new building. Early Gothic door frames from the old nave were built into the south door of the church. In 1964 the renovated church received a new organ from Richard Rensch from Lauffen.

The most important art treasure of the church is the stone statue of St. George on the tower, which was probably created around 1290. This life-size knight statue of St. George is one of the oldest stone sculptures in Württemberg, according to Hans-Martin Maurer, the figure is even the oldest knight statue in Württemberg. The knight is shown in chain mail with a shield and sword standing on a console under a canopy . The dating of the statue was based on iconographic, art-historical and weapon-related considerations. The age of the statue also determines the minimum age for the tower base.

Bells

When the French invaded the Palatinate War of Succession in 1693, a church bell was stolen. During the First World War, two bells from 1789 (cast by Neubert in Ludwigsburg) and from 1892 (cast by GA Kiesel in Heilbronn) were delivered. A single bell from 1802, which was cast by Neubert in Ludwigsburg, had a nominal pitch of g sharp, was 100 cm in diameter and weighed 520 kg, remained on the tower. In 1920 two new bronze bells were cast at the Bachert bell foundry . The larger of these bells had the nominal tone h ′, a diameter of 77 cm and a weight of 250 kg. An inscription commemorated the war dead 1914-18, the donors of the bell and the delivery of the bells in 1917, as well as the donations to purchase new bells. The smaller of the bells had the nominal tone d ″, a diameter of 65 cm and a weight of 150 kg. Their inscription also reminded of the delivery of the old bells in 1917. During the Second World War, the Neubert bell from 1802 and the smaller Bachert bell from 1920 were delivered. For the delivered bells, two new bronze bells were cast by Bachert in Heilbronn in 1949. The larger of these bells has the nominal tone a ′, a diameter of 93.7 cm and a weight of 475 kg. Its inscription reads PEACE WITH YOU. THE FALLEN WORLD WAR 2 HAUSEN / ZABER. The smaller of the bells has the nominal tone d ″, a diameter of 69.3 cm and a weight of 190 kg. Their inscription reads JESUS ​​CHRIST YESTERDAY AND TODAY AND THE SAME FOR ETERNITY. HAUSEN / ZABER. In 1969 the oldest bell at the time, the larger of the Bachert bells from 1920, was decommissioned and its metal was used to cast a new bell. This bell, cast by Bachert in Heilbronn in 1969, has the nominal tone h ′, a diameter of 83 cm and a weight of 318 kg. Their inscription reads OUR FALLEN TO THE MEMORY 1914-18.1969 PASTED BY A. BACHERT HEILBRONN / N. 1892 I donated J. + J. BLATT 1917 THE WAR IN 1920 I CREATED NEW FROM FREIW. GIVES FROM MANY CHURCH MEMBERS. CAST BY GEBR. BACHERT KOCHENDORF. Also in 1969 at Bachert in Heilbronn, another bell was cast, which has since completed today's bell. This bell has the nominal tone f sharp ′, a diameter of 112 cm and a weight of 800 kg. It bears the inscription WAKE UP AND PRAY THAT YOU DO NOT FALL IN DISPUTE. CAST FOR THE HAUSEN AD ZABER CHURCH IN 1969 .

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Kies 2011, p. 13.
  2. ↑ a b Kies 2011, p. 32.
  3. ↑ a b Kies 2011, p. 16.
  4. ↑ Kies 2011, p. 59.
  5. ^ Paul Keppler: Württembergs ecclesiastical art antiquities , Rottenburg 1888, p. 47
  6. ^ Eduard Paulus: The art and antiquity monuments in the Kingdom of Württemberg , Stuttgart 1889, p. 117.
  7. ^ Theo Kiefner: Church history of Meimsheim and its former branches , ZZV 1961, no. 2/3, p. 33.
  8. ↑ Aßfahl 1980, p. 369.
  9. ↑ Maurer 1963, p. 2.
  10. ^ The state of Baden-Württemberg - official description by districts and municipalities, Volume II North Württemberg Part I , Stuttgart 1971, p. 762.
  11. ↑ Kies 2011, pp. 83/84.
  12. ↑ a b Kies 2011, p. 75.
  13. ↑ a b c Kies 2011, p. 76.
  14. ↑ Kies 2011, pp. 134/135.
  15. ↑ Kies 2011, pp. 77/78.
  16. ↑ a b c d e f Kies 2011, p. 77.
  17. ↑ Kies 2011, p. 127.
  18. ↑ Kies 2011, pp. 78–80.
  19. ↑ Kies 2011, pp. 78/79.
  20. ↑ Kies 2011, pp. 81/82.
  21. ↑ a b Kies 2011, p. 85.
  22. ↑ Kies 2011, pp. 85–87.
  23. ↑ Kies 2011, p. 114.
  24. ↑ Maurer 1963, p. 5.
  25. ↑ Kies 2011, pp. 80/81.
  26. ↑ Jung 2008, pp. 32–34.

literature

  • Otfried Kies: Hausen an der Zaber - History of the Georgskirche and its parish up to the present day , Hausen an der Zaber 2011
  • Gerhard Aßfahl : Hausen an der Zaber , in: Heimatbuch der Stadt Brackenheim and its districts , Brackenheim 1980, pp. 357–387.
  • Heinz Rall : Historic churches in Zabergäu and the surrounding area . Forum-Verlag, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-8091-1088-4 , pp. 36/37.
  • Norbert Jung: hilf got vnd ​​maria, contributions to the history of bells in the city and district of Heilbronn , Heilbronn 2008, pp. 32–34 (history of bells in the Georgskirche).
  • Hans-Martin Maurer: The three oldest stone knight figures in Württemberg , in: Leaves for Württ. Church history , 63rd year 1963 (discussion of the knight statue of St. George's Church).
  • Julius Fekete : Art and cultural monuments in the city and district of Heilbronn . 2nd Edition. Theiss, Stuttgart 2002, ISBN 3-8062-1662-2 , p. 127.

Coordinates: 49 ° 4 ′ 41 ″  N , 9 ° 6 ′ 22.4 ″  E