Belief Church (Sankt Johann am Tauern)
The Protestant parish church of St. Johann am Tauern is located in the municipality of Sankt Johann am Tauern in the Murtal district in Styria . The church is a listed building .
The Protestant Church of the Faith is one of the oldest tolerance prayer houses in Austria and the only surviving Protestant church from the Tolerance period in Styria . It was built in 1784 (according to recent research, 1794). The church has remained almost unchanged in its original form from the time it was built. Only one tower was added on the north side in 1951/52. The church has been called the Church of the Faith since October 15, 1967 by resolution of the presbytery of the branch parish.
history
Due to the tolerance patent of Emperor Joseph II, the Protestant Christians were allowed to build a house of prayer in communities with at least 500 people or 100 families after long persecution. After a first attempt in 1783 failed because the number of people was too low, the Evangelicals at Tauern applied for the construction of a branch prayer house in 1790, which was approved after an initial refusal due to the insufficient number of 99 people. Originally the house of prayer was supposed to be built right next to the Catholic Church. But this was not realized because of the fear of religious disputes and seduction of Catholic children. Finally, a building site was found under the Schullerer Höhe, far away from the Catholic Church and near the property of the Protestant families.
The construction of the branch prayer house was approved by the Vienna Court Chancellery on April 20, 1792. On May 11th and additionally on May 24th, 1792 the permit was granted by the Judenburg District Office. Construction began immediately; the shell was probably completed in 1892. The completion of the church, including the interior, is mentioned in a report by the Walden pastor in 1794. The church has been looked after by the Stranimaier family since 1840. At that time she had taken over the parish priest's property opposite the church.
architecture
On the north side there is a tower with a pointed helmet from the years 1951–1952. The hall has a 3/8 end, the altar and pulpit date from the construction time, the altar was changed in 1860.
In 1853 an application was made and approval was made to set up their own cemetery. In 1875 the cemetery got its own wall, for the construction of which the Catholic population also donated 65 guilders.
Tower and bells
After the repeal of the restrictive regulations for tolerance prayer houses for Protestant church building in 1849 and the Protestant patent from 1861, most Protestant prayer houses were provided with towers or replaced by new buildings. Only the prayer house on the Tauern remained largely unchanged due to its remote location.
The tower was built at the suggestion of the Bukovina refugee Heinrich Becker, who found himself in the Tauern. From 1947 on it was collected. Support came from the Stranimaier family, the Magnesitbergbau Hohentauern company, from Hanover and the Austrian Gustav Adolf Association. Construction began in May 1951. On June 15, 1952, the tower and bell were consecrated. The then only bell from the Graz company Szabo is tuned to e and bears the inscription Wachet, stand in faith, be manly and strong! . A second bell was purchased in 1994 and wound on September 16. It was cast by the Perner company in Schärding, is tuned to g and bears the inscription "Friede auf Erden".
Furnishing
The church has a classical altar, a pulpit separate from the altar and pews. The separation of pulpit and altar is unusual, as pulpit altars are usually found in Austrian tolerance prayer houses.
The classicistic altar bears the inscription Christofo Wossermahn Maler 1860 on the back . It contains the typical altarpiece of the time , the Transfiguration of Christ , which was made by the Kalwang painter Kohl for 15 guilders. The altar bears the inscription Blessed are they who hear and keep God's word, and Rather be God on high .
The church has never had its own organ. In 1958 a harmonium was purchased.
Renovations
Several renovations have been carried out since World War II:
- In 1952, four days after the tower was consecrated, major hail damage had to be removed from the plastering of the church
- In 1957/58 the church, tower and cemetery wall were repaired
- In 1961 the wooden shingle roof was replaced by Eternit and the tower was clad with Eternit. Lightning rods were installed.
- In 1965 the rotten gallery was removed and the windows replaced with glass blocks
- In 1966 a concrete floor was laid and a new church door was installed.
In the 1980s, moisture damage occurred repeatedly. In addition, there was a return to the original shape of the church:
- In 1990 the outer wall on the slope was drained.
- In 1991, damaged plastered surfaces were repaired, the glass blocks removed and the original windows that were still in place.
- In 1992 the church got a wooden floor, the church door was renewed and a gallery with stairs and handrail was built in.
- In 1993 the canopy was covered and a brick floor was laid in the entrance area. The altar and pulpit were restored, the overpaintings from the 1960s were removed and the original marbling, coloring and gilding were restored.
use
The church is the spiritual center of the Tauern branch community. It always had around 100 parishioners. Currently (2014) there is a monthly service. In the winter months after Christmas, the service takes place in the parlor of the nearby farmhouse vlg. Chair pastor instead.
The parish never had its own pastor and was always looked after by the pastor of their respective mother parish. Originally, the pastor, who was employed in the community of Wald am Schoberpass in 1795, undertook to visit the Tauern every month. In 1948 a separate parish was established in Gaishorn (today Gaishorn am See). Since then, the subsidiary community of Tauern has been looked after by it. Special church services include Thanksgiving and Christmas services. The church is also often used as a wedding church.
A high point in church life was the recording of Christ Vespers, which was broadcast on Christmas Eve 2000.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Styria - immovable and archaeological monuments under monument protection. ( Memento from September 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) . Federal Monuments Office , as of June 27, 2014 (PDF).
- ↑ Evangelical Church. In: Sankt Johann am Tauern on riskommunal.net. Retrieved September 6, 2014 .
- ^ A b Kurt Woisetschläger , Peter Krenn : Die Kunstdenkmäler Österreichs. Dehio-Handbuch Steiermark: (excluding Graz) . Ed .: Federal Monuments Office . Anton Schroll & Co, Vienna 1982, ISBN 3-7031-0532-1 , p. 441 .
- ↑ a b c d Hans-Peter Weingand: The Belief Church of St. Johann aT The tolerance prayer house from 1794. Ed .: Evangelical parish of Gaishorn and the daughter community of St. Johann aT 2nd edition. St. Johann aT 2011.
- ↑ Christian Brugger, Heimo Kaindl, Antje Senarcies de Grancy: Protestant art and culture in Styria . Ed .: Ernst Christian Gerhold, Johann-Georg Haditsch. Leykam, Graz 1996, p. 108-109 .
Coordinates: 47 ° 23 '8.8 " N , 14 ° 27' 41.9" E