Helferskirchen

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coat of arms Germany map
Coat of arms of the local community Helferskirchen
Helferskirchen
Map of Germany, position of the local community Helferskirchen highlighted

Coordinates: 50 ° 31 '  N , 7 ° 49'  E

Basic data
State : Rhineland-Palatinate
County : Westerwaldkreis
Association municipality : Wirges
Height : 330 m above sea level NHN
Area : 5 km 2
Residents: 1208 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density : 242 inhabitants per km 2
Postal code : 56244
Area code : 02626
License plate : WW
Community key : 07 1 43 028
LOCODE : DE HK2
Community structure: 2 districts
Association administration address: Bahnhofstrasse 10
56422 Wirges
Website : www.wirges.de
Mayoress : Anette Marciniak-Mielke
Location of the local community Helferskirchen in the Westerwaldkreis
map
View over the village

Helferskirchen is a municipality in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate . It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde Wirges .

Geographical location

The village lies between the Kannenbäckerland and the Westerwald lake district on the Kleiner Saynbach .

To Helferskirchen the district Niederdorf and include residential places Zollesmühle and stud Falkenhorst.

history

Helferskirchen was first mentioned in 1277 under the name Langesain in connection with Niedersayn , Karnhöfen, Kuhnhöfen and Blaumhöfen. This can only have been Niederdorf, which is located on the small Saynbach. In 939 the name Helperich / Helperici appeared in a document. In 959 the boundary description of the parish of Humbach / Montabaur was documented in a document. Here the border went to the property of the ex-Count Helperich at the northern end of the Sporkenberg forest. Buhlingen, abandoned during the Thirty Years' War , is in the Helferskirchen district. A defense tower was built next to the Helperich homestead in 1222, where two wooden churches were attached one after the other, each of which burned down. In 1769, the current baroque church was added to the medieval west tower with the help of Lutherans from the neighboring community of Quirnbach . Due to its fully preserved interior and decoration, it is one of the most beautiful baroque churches in the Westerwald.

The churches

The Catholic parish church of St. Maria Himmelfahrt is a listed church building, it is in a central location and is a landmark. Two predecessor churches are occupied. The patronage has been attested as the Church of Our Lady since 1450. The building is one of the richest baroque churches in the Westerwald. Paintings rediscovered in 1947 show the rich decoration with Rocailles paintings. The original color version was uncovered and restored according to findings.

First church

There are few written records about the first church. When Archbishop Heinrich von Trier consecrated the new church in Humbach-Montabaur, he described in 959 the course of the tenth line on the Kleiner Saynbach up to the Helperich district . Archbishop Robert von Trier also described it in an older record from 931 to 948. Helperich was the name of a family and a manor that was outside the original parish of Humbach-Montabaur. The noble Helperich built the first church between 931 and 948 within his manorial district. This own church was built as a fortified church to protect against enemy attacks and was probably made of wood. According to the results of excavations in 1967, the church may have had a stone foundation. Other research results assume a location near today's Holy Cross Chapel. This church building was directly mentioned in 1211 and 1214 as the church of Helperskirchen . At that time the western wall of this building was the boundary of the Spukenberg forest. Accordingly, the place Helferskirchen belonged to the County of Wied-Neuwied.

Second church

On an oil painting in today's church, an inscription says Quirinius Rettwig Liber Baro de Mudersbach, founder of this church and the parish of Helferskirchen in 1222 . The painting shows the founder and his family praying a rosary in front of the crucifix. Other sources assume that the church was only founded in 1311 by the von Steinebach family, who were wealthy in Helferskirchen in 1311. This is probably because the Lords von Steinebach made use of their right to propose new appointments to the pastorate and since they had been involved in tithing the place since 1533 . The pastorei was considered noble and rich at this time, in a document it says: donated by the Lords of Steinebach, as seen everywhere painted and written in the church . However, these images and inscriptions have not been preserved. The parish of Helferskirchen was named as an independent parish in 1311 and included the places Quirnbach, Hosten and Böhlingen, which later fell into desolation . Niederdorf belonged to the parish since 1548. The knight Richwin is mentioned as the benefactor of the church in 1518, other sources incorrectly refer to him as the founder. From this church only the steeple from the 12th century has survived, which not only served as a bell tower, but also as a defense tower. The complex was surrounded by an enclosed churchyard. In a visitation report from 1657 the church is mentioned as being in good standing . The building fell victim to a fire in 1768 and was destroyed with the exception of the church tower.

Today's church

The nave was built in 1769 as a hall building in the baroque style, the intact west tower was included. The relatively narrow choir closes on three sides. The plans were probably made by the Electorate of Trier court architect Johannes Seiz . During the construction, the church relied on the hand and tension services of the parishioners. During the construction period, the Elector of Trier renounced the road, official and cellar frontage services that would otherwise have to be performed. Because of the ongoing wars, the building could not be inaugurated until 1781 by the auxiliary bishop Johann Maria d´Herbain. An inventory from 1838 describes the building in detail: The new church in Helferskirchen is west of the street, close to the parish buildings and with them at the northern end of the village. Church and sacristy were newly and strongly built in 1769; the tower is much older but still has solid masonry. Church, tower and sacristy stand on the courtyard of the dead, which is surrounded by a wall, to which four entrances lead. At one entrance there is a staircase made of hewn stones with an iron railing. All church buildings are built of stones and covered with lys. The church has two entrance doors, one on the north and the other on the south, through which you have to go to the tower. In the choir, where there are three large windows, there is the high altar, the pulpit, the baptismal font and the communicant bench. In the nave - with six large windows - there are two side altars, two confessionals, 26 chairs for the people and the man house (west gallery) with an organ. The sacristy is on the north side of the church, respectively. of the choir. At the same are two windows, each with four resp. five heavy iron bars are attached, one of which serves as a skylight above the outer door. A second door, the inner one, leads to the choir of the church. An annex was built to the west of the church and north of the tower by placing a roof of slate over a few posts against the church wall. The extension served to accommodate the bier.

In 1817, a number of windows had to be replaced, the choir and nave were renovated in 1820 and the walls were painted white, nine of the church windows were given so-called French glazing and were given a light silver-gray paint. The roof panels on both sides of the nave were given a light silver-gray paint job after they were re-laid. The tower, two columns and the sacristy were redesigned in the same color. The chairs in the church were painted maroon. The old windows and several hundredweight of iron were auctioned off in 1821. A storm tore away large parts of the roof in 1830, the rubble destroyed eleven window panes and the arch over the northern entrance door. The interior was extensively restored in 1845, the church walls were newly plastered and given a new coat of oil paint. Then the walls were given a new green color, with white lines in the fields. The fields on the ceiling and under the gallery were painted blue, the plaster decorations and the ceiling friezes were whitewashed. The ceiling fields were decorated with twelve plaster rosettes. The pillars under the gallery were marbled in color. The street leading past the church was lowered in 1846, which made it necessary to build a two-step staircase to the churchyard. The church tower got a new plastering on three bays in 1878. A new painting of the interior was due for 1887, seven small medallion pictures were attached, they point to the seven sacraments, two wall pictures show St. Joseph with his foster son Jesus and Anna with her daughter Maria . Other murals showed the four evangelists. In 1923 water penetrated the north wall and the roof had to be re-covered. The side entrance in the north wall was bricked up in 1928. Since lightning struck the tower and building several times in the past, a lightning rod was installed in 1937. During restoration work in 1947, parts of the first color version, which had been repainted several times, were exposed. With the cooperation of the then state curator, the version of the time of construction of the building could be renewed according to the findings. The ivory colored background of the walls was divided into pink primed fields, rocailles in red chalk rounded off the picture. Crosses of the Apostles surrounded by wreaths of leaves were painted under the windows. Stucco moldings divide the flat ceiling into fields. The representations of the Coronation of Mary and the Trinity could be renewed. The original color of the exterior was a light ocher background with corner pilaster strips in sandstone red color. In the autumn of 1953 the damaged rear wall had to be reinsulated, the subsequent renovations of the interior lasted until 1955. All altars, the pulpit, the sacristy door, the Easter candlestick and the communion bench were restored by the company Gessner and Dick from Wassenbach. At the same time they built a new patronage bank. The baroque style sideboard is used today as a display stand for fonts. In 1955, the carpenters Lehmann and Müller built 25 new oak benches with headboards similar to the old ones. The church now had 194 seats for the adults, 40 for the children and about 100 standing places. In 1961, the architect Krah from Herschbach drew up the plans for an enlargement of the sacristy egg to double its size, this measure was considered a successful measure after it was carried out. Due to damage caused by saltpetre, the surrounding walls were insulated in 1967 and an insulating plaster was applied to the wall surfaces. In the same year, the Engelbert Müller company from Villmar installed marble slabs in the color Verona red in the corridors and on the stairs. Since the color of the baroque furnishings was damaged in 1978, it had to be replaced. Further renovations took place in 1980 and 1982.

Romanesque tower

From the Romanesque tower, the gable approach of the old church is still visible in the attic at the tower connection. The west tower is made of quarry stone, in the lower area the masonry is several meters thick. A round arched barrel vault was drawn into the rectangular ground floor. The tower is divided up to the level of the previous upper floor, only by a few columns of light. The sound holes on the upper floor are coupled and divided by central pillars. in the Gothic period the tower was raised by one floor, which is divided by pointed arched windows. The high pointed helmet is octagonal.

Altars

During a visit to the second church in 1657, four altars were named without endowment, all of which were desecrated as a result of the Thirty Years' War. In 1664 the high altar, which was consecrated to Mary, the Katharinen altar and the cross altar were known, all three without endowment or foundation. In 1768 there were two consecrated altars, the third one was decorated with a consecrated stone. After the Second World War, the altars, which were painted brown in 1845, were restored. The parts eaten by the woodworm were renewed, old paintwork renewed. The high altar could be rebuilt in 1953. The restoration of the two side altars took place in 1954.

Bells

No. Surname Casting year Foundry, casting location Diameter
(mm, approx.) 		Dimensions
(kg, approx.) 		Chime comment
1 Maria 1428 Johann and Klaus Brubach not known not known not known The translation of the Latin inscription reads: In the year of the Lord 1428 a vessel made of ore flowed into me, Johann and Klaus Brubach cast me for God's praise and praise for that reason I call Mary Mary
2 John 1573 Peter of Trier 90 cm 450 kg not known The Latin inscription translates as: Johannes, my name is Johannes, I ring the bell for the glory of God, I call the living, I lament the dead, Peter von Trier poured me in the year of the Lord in 1573. Melchior Kupper von Köln Pastor at Helferskirchen and Hartenfels
3 Unknown 1749 Karl Gottlieb Hanke unknown approx. 260 kg not known The translation of the Latin inscription reads From a damaged bell in honor of St. Guardian Angel and St. Joachim, Anna and Joseph re-cast in 1749.
4th Unknown 1804 Philipp and Wilhelm Rincker in Leun unknown approx. 150 kg not known This bell was previously used as a school bell. The translated Latin transcription reads: Under Pastor Caspar Hannapel, I was cast to serve the parish of Helferskirchen by the Rincker brothers in Leun in 1804

organ

The first organ existed before 1700, but no further information has been passed on about the instrument. In 1696 a teacher is mentioned as organist. The organ builder Schöler from Bad Ems built a single-manual organ with 11 stops and a pedal in 1785. The main work comprised 4½ octaves, the pedal 1½. The organ front was kept in the popular rococo style with a slight classical influence. Schöler took the instrument apart in 1816, cleaned it and tuned it. The frame was renewed in 1821, the main color was chestnut, the other parts became silver-gray. Some parts were gilded, 16 wooden pipes were silver-plated. Some more renovations and extensions were made in the following decades. A general restoration was due at the end of the 1970s. Financing was problematic, so the community bought an electronic organ for a transitional period. The organ building company Fischer + Krämer from Endingen carried out the fundamental repairs in the early 1980s.

politics

Municipal council

The council in Helferskirchen consists of 16 council members, who in the local elections on May 26, 2019 in a majority vote were elected, and the volunteer local mayor as chairman.

mayor

Anette Marciniak-Mielke became mayor of Helferskirchen in 2014. In the direct election on May 26, 2019, she was confirmed in office for a further five years with a share of 70.92% of the votes.

Marciniak-Mielke's predecessor was Klaus Hardy.

coat of arms

The description of the coat of arms reads: The shield has the shape of a late Gothic round shield with a horizontal upper edge and a side edge that adjoins it at right angles. Its basic color is silver. On the left there is the representation of the Trier cross in red , on the right also partially covering the left side in black the stylized side view of the church after the expansion from 1769, as it is still visible today. The complex and tower, which were preserved from the beginning of the 13th century, characterize the church as an old fortified church in the center of the village.

traffic

See also

The main street with the village museum

literature

  • Franz Baaden: The churches of Helferskirchen A historical overview . Trottmann Druck Helferskirchen. April 1984. ISBN 3-9800827-1-7 .

Web links

Commons : Helferskirchen  - Collection of images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ State Statistical Office of Rhineland-Palatinate - population status 2019, districts, communities, association communities ( help on this ).
  2. ↑ State Statistical Office Rhineland-Palatinate (ed.): Official directory of the municipalities and parts of the municipality. Status: January 2019 [ Version 2020 is available. ] . S. 83 (PDF; 3 MB).
  3. ↑ Landmark ( memento of the original from September 21, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been 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.wirges.de
  4. ^ Franz Baaden The churches of Helferskirchen A historical overview Trottmann Druck Helferskirchen April 1984 ISBN 3-9800827-1-7 pages 9 to 12
  5. ^ Franz Baaden The churches of Helferskirchen A historical overview Trottmann Druck Helferskirchen April 1984 ISBN 3-9800827-1-7 pages 12 to 16
  6. ^ Franz Baaden The churches of Helferskirchen A historical overview Trottmann Druck Helferskirchen April 1984 ISBN 3-9800827-1-7 pages 12 to 25
  7. ^ Franz Baaden The churches of Helferskirchen A historical overview Trottmann Druck Helferskirchen April 1984 ISBN 3-9800827-1-7 pages 25 to 42
  8. ^ Franz Baaden The churches of Helferskirchen A historical overview Trottmann Druck Helferskirchen April 1984 ISBN 3-9800827-1-7 pages 60 to 64
  9. ^ Franz Baaden The churches of Helferskirchen A historical overview Trottmann Druck Helferskirchen April 1984 ISBN 3-9800827-1-7 pages 66 to 72
  10. ^ The Regional Returning Officer Rhineland-Palatinate: Local elections 2019, city and municipal council elections
  11. ↑ The election events in the Westerwaldkreis. Westerwälder Zeitung, May 25, 2014, accessed June 30, 2020 .
  12. ^ The State Returning Officer Rhineland-Palatinate: direct elections 2019. see Wirges, Verbandsgemeinde, fourth line of results. Retrieved June 30, 2020 .
  13. ↑ Stephanie Kühr: Election: Helferskirchen scores with three women. Candidates in the VG Wirges. Westerwälder Zeitung, May 19, 2014, accessed on June 30, 2020 .