Silesian grace churches
Six Protestant churches in Silesia are referred to as grace churches , which, according to the Altranstädter Convention of 1707, by the grace of Emperor Joseph I , were allowed to be built in the Silesian parts of the country ruled by him as (Catholic) sovereign.
history
In the 17th century, most of the Silesian duchies were no longer ruled by ( Piast ) dukes, but fell to the Bohemian crown and thus to the Habsburgs in their capacity as kings of Bohemia as fiefs of the Silesian hereditary lands . After the Peace of Westphalia , all places of worship in the areas immediately under Habsburg control that had been Roman Catholic before 1618 and then became Protestant were returned to the Catholic clergy . The Protestants, who made up the majority in these areas, were granted the three Silesian peace churches that were established in the cities of Glogau , Jauer and Schweidnitz . Since these were insufficient for such a large area with a Protestant majority, so-called border churches for the Protestant population outside the duchy were built on the borders of the independent duchy of Liegnitz . When in 1675 the last Silesian state with the Duchy of Liegnitz- Brieg - Wohlau fell as a settled fiefdom to Habsburg, the Silesian Protestants were left with the Kingdom of Poland , where religious freedom prevailed, and the Protestant electorates of Brandenburg and Saxony .
In the Great Northern War , King Charles XII defeated. from Sweden in the initial phase his opponents Denmark, Russia and Poland. On his campaign he penetrated into the Electorate of Saxony . When the king, who was a staunch Lutheran, stood with his victorious army on the border of Silesia, he threatened to intervene on the French side in the War of the Spanish Succession and thereby forced in the Altranstadt Convention of 1707 not only the return of 121 churches in the former Protestant princes ruled the states of Liegnitz, Oels and Münsterberg , but also the approval of Emperor Joseph I to build six new Protestant churches in Silesia. After the approval of the emperor, the land to be built on was paved with bars of mercy , which were adorned with the imperial eagle and, in the case of Teschens, the portrait of the emperor and were later placed in the churches as a "sign of imperial grace" .
The new Gnadenkirchen were built in the cities of Freystadt , Hirschberg , Landeshut , Militsch , Sagan and Teschen in the years 1709 to around 1714. Four of them were half-timbered buildings , like the Friedenskirchen, but, in contrast to these, were allowed to have a bell tower. The convention now also made it possible to add (free-standing) towers to the peace churches. The grace churches in Hirschberg and Landeshut were faithful copies of the Stockholm Katharinenkirche , which should also express the gratitude of the population towards the Swedish king.
Four Gnadenkirchen (Hirschberg, Landeshut, Militsch and Teschen) survived the Second World War and the profound ethnic and confessional upheavals in Silesia, which fell to Poland. With the exception of the Jesus Church in Teschen, all grace churches of the Catholic Church in Poland were transferred. The grace churches in Freystadt and Sagan were demolished after the Second World War, with the exception of their 19th century towers.
In the new building area of Stuttgart-Heumaden , the modern church, consecrated in 1964, was named after the historical models Gnadenkirche, as was the Gnadenkirche zum Heiligen Kreuz in Hannover-Mittelfeld .
buildings
Mercy Church Hirschberg / Jelenia Góra
The Mercy Church “On the Cross of Christ” (Kościół Św. Krzyża) forms a synthesis between Protestant classicism and Roman Catholic baroque. The building was built in stone from 1709 to 1718 based on the model of St. Catherine's Church in Stockholm by master builder Martin Frantz from Reval (Tallinn) and has the shape of a Greek cross. In the middle there is a dome, which is surrounded by four towers. The church can accommodate 4,000 people.
Church of Mercy Landeshut / Kamienna Góra
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The Protestant Church of Mercy "To the Holy Trinity" was built in the years 1709–1720 in Landeshut and also made of stone by master builder Martin Frantz from Reval (Tallinn) based on the model of St. Catherine's Church in Stockholm. In 1724 an organ was built in, a year later the altar and in 1766 the church clock was installed. The church was not affected by acts of war. However, after the Second World War, important parts of the furnishings were removed from the unused church: the altar, the baptismal font, the organ, the pulpit, the chandelier and the bells. Today the church is used as the Catholic parish church of St. Maria Rosary (Kośćiół Matki Boskiej Różańcowej), next to the church a new steel bell tower with three bells was built. Inside the church, polychrome paintings by Jan Molga and Paul Mitka were created. The paintings depict Our Lady of the Rosary and various historical figures from Poland who pay homage to her.
Gnadenkirche Teschen / Cieszyn
The Teschener Gnadenkirche - the Jesus Church - is the largest of the six Silesian grace churches and the only one in Upper Silesia . The Gnadenkirche was built in stone from 1709 to 1730, and by 1751 it was equipped with a 72 m high tower. It has 8,000 places and was then responsible for 40,000 Protestant parishioners in Austrian Silesia and in the Duchy of Teschen . Its aura extended to the Troppau area and the Duchy of Pless . Today it is the mother church of Evangelical Christians in Poland , it is the only one that is still used as an Evangelical church after 300 years.
Gnadenkirche Militsch / Milicz
The Evangelical Gnadenkirche zum Heiligen Kreuz was built between 1709 and 1714 as a half-timbered building with baroque and rococo furnishings and three galleries. Today it is the Catholic parish church of St. Andrew Bobola (restored in 1981).
Freystadt / Kożuchów Church of Grace
The Evangelical Church of Grace Freystadt "Zum Weinberge Jesu" was built in 1709 on the site of a vineyard outside the city (hence its name "Zum Weinberge Jesu"), nothing is known about its inauguration. In the years 1857-1859 the half-timbered structure was replaced by massive stone work, and the tower was built in 1826/1827. The church fell into disrepair after 1945. The high altar, pulpit and organ prospect were transferred to the Jesuit church in Glogau, after which the church was demolished except for the tower.
Church of Grace Sagan / Żagań
The Church of Grace Sagan was built between 1709 and 1710 and consecrated as the Holy Trinity Church in 1710. In 1753 the church was rebuilt and the steeple was raised. Renovations of the original half-timbered church took place in 1809 and from 1844 to 1846 the church was made of stone. A 70 m high neo-Gothic tower was added. In 1873 the church was restored and after the congregation was expropriated in 1952, it was decided in 1965 to demolish the church. In 1991 the prince's chapel was rededicated and the Sagan princes von Biron were buried . In 1999–2004 the tower was renovated and opened in 2004 as an observation tower.
literature
- Martin Brügmann: The Mercy Church of the Holy Trinity in front of the state hat in Silesia. Düsseldorf 1969, DNB 456207694 .
- Fritz Gleisberg: The Gnadenkirche to the Holy Cross before Militsch. Verlag Unser Weg, Düsseldorf 1971, ISBN 3-87836-220-X .
- Traud Gravenhorst: Silesia. Experiences of a country. Korn, Breslau 1938, DNB 573539391 ; 3rd edition, Bergstadtverlag, Munich 1952, DNB 451647351 .
- Piotr Oszczanowski (Ed.): Cuius regio, eius religio . 300th anniversary of the grace churches in Silesia . Muzeum Karkonoskie Jelenia Góra Parafia Ewangelicko-Augsburska kościoła Zbawiciela Jelenia Góra-Cieplice / Giant Mountains Museum in Hirschberg, Evangelical Augsburg Parish Church of the Redeemer in Hirschberg-Cieplice, o. O. [Jelenia Góra-Cieplice] 2011, ISBN 978-83-8948027 -9 (Polish: Cuius regio, eius religio. Trzechsetna rocznica powstania kościołów Łaski na Śląsku . Translated by Barbara Bartczak, Agnieszka Góral, Izabela Taraszczuk and Elżbieta Towarnicka).
- Reiner Sörries: By the grace of the emperor. Protestant church buildings in the Habsburg Empire. Böhlau Verlag, Cologne u. a. 2008, ISBN 978-3-412-20154-8 , pp. 111-117.
Web links
- Marius Zippe: Churches as big as town halls. In: Mitteldeutsche-kirchenzeitungen.de. May 29, 2016, (last) accessed on May 29, 2016 (300 years of Silesian Gnadenkirchen)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Andrea Langer: The grace church "To the cross of Christ" in Hirschberg. On the Protestant church building in Silesia in the 18th century (= research on the history and culture of Eastern Central Europe. Vol. 13). Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 978-3-515-07470-4 , page 22 (also: Mainz, University, dissertation, 1996).