Heart of Jesus (Obertsrot)

Sacred Heart Church

Side view

The Church of the Heart of Jesus ( listen ^?^/^I ) is the Roman Catholic parish church of Obertsrot , a district in Gernsbach in Baden-Württemberg . The church belongs to the pastoral care unit Gernsbach .

history

prehistory

The historic chapels of Obertsrot and Hilpertsau were dilapidated in the 1880s and had become too small for the growing population, so that a new building was necessary. Conveniently, however, appeared to Obertsrot and Hilpertsau a common, large parish to build and a new, detached from Gernsbach parish to found. Although the Gernsbach pastor also advocated the construction of a large church for both places, this solution was controversial in the two places and the financing of such a church building was unsolved, as the church and the community could not agree on the distribution of the construction costs. Nevertheless, on January 7, 1897, two construction variants for a new church in Obertsrot were worked out: One proposal was for a church with 500 seats exclusively for the Catholics of Obertsrot, the other, only slightly more expensive, proposed a church with 800 seats for the Catholics of Obertsrot including Hilpertsau. On June 25, 1910, the municipal councils met with the upper foundation council, the senior building inspector, the architect and the parish administrator to agree on how to proceed: Obertsrot and Hilpertsau were to be merged into a common parish, which was also to build a new church . In addition, the costs for the new church as well as some fundamental decisions for the execution of the construction were recorded.

Building history

On January 1, 1911, the Grand Duchy of Baden issued the building permit, after which it was agreed to build a neo-Romanesque basilica with round arches and a three-aisled nave , which was finally approved by the Archdiocese of Freiburg on May 7, 1912 . In the spring of 1912, excavation and concreting of the foundation began . The foundation stone was laid on Ascension Day 1913 , then the shell construction with yellow-white Murg valley sandstone from the Michelbach area was pulled up by autumn . On October 26, 1913, it was decided to build the rectory . The First World War delayed the completion of the church, which was ready in August 1915 and 29 August 1915 dedicated been.

In 1927 the church got a new organ and electric lighting. In the years 1956 and 1964–1965 the exterior of the church was renovated because the sandstone on the outer walls proved to be fragile. From 1987 to 1989 the roof was re-covered and the exterior of the church was extensively renovated. The large picture above the entrance was also restored. The interior of the church was repaired for the first time in 1936. The implementation of the liturgy constitution of the Second Vatican Council in the early 1970s suggested a redesign of the interior. The work was carried out up to the Sacred Heart Festival in 1973, with the popular altar , the new baptismal font , the ambo and the tabernacle being made of red lava stone. The cross , the Madonna and the reliefs were cast in bronze . In keeping with the taste of the time, the original paintings were scraped off and the church was painted uniformly light. On October 7, 1973, the then Auxiliary Bishop and later Archbishop Oskar Saier consecrated the people's altar. In 2012 the interior of the church was renovated again, and the lighting was also replaced.

Exterior image of the transfiguration of Christ

Building description

Steeple and exterior

The Herz-Jesu-Kirche is located in the center of Obertsrot on the corner of Ackerbrunnenstrasse and Obertsroter Strasse . Because of the rising terrain, the church is not face to face as usual , but has the choir on the west side. A wide path leads from Obertsroter Straße up to the church. The front facade has a large picture from the time the church was built, showing the transfiguration of Christ : Surrounded by a wreath with angel heads, the center of the picture is the transfigured Christ , flanked by Moses and Elijah . In the lower half of the picture the disciples Peter , James and John can be seen, who are blinded by the transfiguration. A wide flight of stairs leads to the inside of the church under a canopy.

The bell tower is attached to the north of the church at the height of the choir. As a result of the historical events, it already has its third bell. On April 30, 1914, it was decided to purchase a first four-part bell with the pitch sequence e, f sharp, g sharp and b. This bell was withdrawn shortly afterwards because of the First World War and melted down for the armaments industry . In 1922 the church received its second chime, which had the striking notes es, g, b and c. After these bells were also drawn in for the armaments industry during the Second World War , the company FW Schilling , Heidelberg , poured the current bell. The bells of the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus now sound in the tone sequence e, f sharp, g sharp and b. During the renovation of the church from 1987 to 1989, the old concrete supports in the bell cage were replaced by oak beams.

The bells of the Sacred Heart Church:

number	Weight	volume	diameter
1	1050 kg	e	1244 mm
2	748 kg	f sharp	1101 mm
3	525 kg	g sharp	974 mm
4th	305 kg	H	809 mm

inside view

Interior and artistic equipment

The bright interior of the church is in the neo-Romanesque style. The three naves are spanned by groin vaults, which rest on columns with romanized cube capitals. Since the renovation in the 2010s, circular chandeliers have been hanging in the central nave, which is painted in white tones. The Way of the Cross , which is attached to the outer walls of the aisles, has been preserved almost exclusively from the original interior . The liturgical furnishings in the choir date from the period of renovation, which was completed in 1973. In the center of the choir, which is raised from the main nave by several steps, is the popular altar, which is flanked on the left by the ambo. A monumental cross hovers over the altar. The tabernacle column rises up in front of the choir wall, behind it is a contemporary picture that relates the Easter event to the present day: In the middle is a glowing yellow cross bearing the name of God in Hebrew letters . The cross is surrounded by the text from John 3:16 : For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son there, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. On the left side are the words And I ... , which invite the viewer to find his own answer to the cross events. Various contemporary people can be seen around the cross, including a Benedictine , a Franciscan and a Missionary of Charity from the Order of Mother Teresa . The altar, which is attached to the north side of the church next to the organ gallery, comes from the previous church. Instead of an altar sheet, a figural Pietà can be seen, in the upper field in a medallion of St. Anthony with the baby Jesus .