Helmstatt Chapel
The Helmstatt Chapel in the Neckarbischofsheim cemetery is a cemetery chapel built by the von Helmstatt family in the late 19th century . The chapel was extensively renovated in 2013/14 for a total of around 105,000 euros.
history
Neckarbischofsheim had been the headquarters of the Lords of Helmstatt since the 13th century, who had their traditional burial in the Church of the Dead in the middle of the original local cemetery. In 1860 a new cemetery was laid out on the outskirts, where the von Helmstatt family bought 15 grave sites in 1889 for 270 marks. The construction of the chapel at these grave sites probably goes back to Count Max von Helmstatt (1810-1893), who was once a royal French cavalry master and had lived in Neckarbischofsheim since 1848. The bourbon lily in the crowning and fencing of the chapel is probably a reminder of his time in France.
When it was foreseeable that the von Helmstatt family would become extinct, Elisabeth von Helmstatt arranged for the family members who had previously been buried in the new cemetery to be reburied in the crypt under the Church of the Dead in the early 1960s. Only Auguste von Stuckrad born von Helmstatt and her husband Rudolf von Stuckrad († 1958) remained buried in the new cemetery, later followed by their daughter Elisabeth von Stuckrad.
In 1958, Countess Elisabeth decreed that the family grave in the new cemetery should go to the city of Neckarbischofsheim, provided that the count's family could no longer pay for their maintenance. The last family members died in the 1960s, and since then the family name has only survived through an adopted grandson. When the last recorded graves had expired, the burial site with the chapel fell to the city.
The chapel was neglected for a long time and was soon overgrown with bushes and trees. In 2004 the city asked the Association for Homeland Care for support with the maintenance of the chapel, as the city's finances did not allow maintenance payments. However, with the restoration of the Church of the Dead, the association had also reached its financial limits, so that the chapel continued to deteriorate for the time being.
After a comprehensive investigation by the Office for the Preservation of Monuments in 2008, it promised the Association for Homeland Preservation financial subsidies for the maintenance of the chapel after the renovation of the Church of the Dead. In 2012, the Association for Homeland Care decided to take over the maintenance of the chapel for a period of ten years. The chapel was extensively renovated in 2013 and 2014. In 2013 the adjacent limestone wall was repaired first, defective clinker bricks and sandstones were restored, the cross on the roof was renewed and the roof top was repainted. This work resulted in costs of around 20,000 euros. The interior was renovated in 2014, whereby the painting was not based on the oldest but on the most decorative layer of paint. The altarpiece, which was painted on zinc sheet, was brought to the museum in the Old Castle and was replaced by a copy. In addition, the outdoor area of the chapel was renovated in 2014 and the chapel was given a wrought-iron door that gives a view of the interior. The cost of this second renovation phase amounted to around 86,000 euros.
literature
- Peter Beisel: The Helmstatt Chapel in the Neckarbischofsheim cemetery. A jewel was awakened from the deep sleep in: Kraichgau. Contributions to landscape and local research , volume 24, 2015, pp. 267–270.
Coordinates: 49 ° 17 '47.7 " N , 8 ° 58' 2.6" E