Hospital Church (Biedenkopf)

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West facade with entrance on Hospitalstrasse
Choir and tower, view from the east
Interior view of the choir - the only part of the church from 1419 still preserved in its original state

The Hospital Church in Biedenkopf is a listed church building belonging to the Evangelical Lutheran parish in Biedenkopf , a central Hessian town in the Marburg-Biedenkopf district . It is one of the oldest buildings in Biedenkopf and the oldest preserved church building in the city.

location

The east church is located on the corner of Hospitalstraße and Am Stadtpark . The entrance to the church on the western facade is on Hospitalstrasse , the church tower is at the eastern end of the building. At the time of construction, the church and the other hospital buildings were erected "on a field on the Galgenberg" in an open field outside the city ​​wall . At that time, the city's cemetery was to the east or "above" the church ; above it ran the old road from Eckelshausen to Biedenkopf - roughly where the streets Schillerweg and Im Höfchen run today .

history

The Hospital Church , formerly known as the Holy Spirit Church (also known as the Hospital Chapel or Chapel of the Holy Spirit ), and the entire hospital were built in 1419 as a private foundation by Baron Gerlach IV von Breidenbach. The deed of foundation has survived; it is dated May 9, 1417 and signed by Landgrave Ludwig I of Hesse . The document mentions the construction of a "sick hospital" and a chapel. The barons of Breidenbach zu Breidenstein were powerful and wealthy nobles of the Breidenbacher Grund at the time , with extensive possessions. The building originates from a time of pious foundations , which were common since the early Middle Ages, for the sake of the salvation of an individual, an entire family or clan, sometimes also for atonement and penance.

Extensive redesigns took place in 1617.

In 1817 the hospital had to give way to a new street, the chapel was preserved.

In 1826 a reconstruction took place, the vault of the nave was replaced by a flat ceiling.

Since 1866 the chapel was the church of the Evangelical Lutheran parish and until the completion of the construction of the city ​​church in 1891 it was the only Protestant church in Biedenkopf.

In the 19th century the church was redesigned in a neo-Gothic style.

In the 1930s it was redesigned into a community hall, and the longitudinal upstairs were omitted . When it was used as a community hall, the choir was separated from the nave by a roller blind.

In 1974 the chapel was extensively renovated and restored. Underfloor heating and an organ were installed, the neo-Gothic organ loft was replaced by the current one. The architect of the renovation was Berthold Himmelmann from Marburg . The rededication took place on November 30, 1974.

In the years 2000 and 2001 a complete renovation and renovation took place again, in May 2001 it was inaugurated again.

architecture

Choir

Of the Hospital Church, built in 1419, only the late Gothic choir is preserved, which is one of the latest imitations of the choir of the Elisabeth Church in Marburg . The choir was raised by six steps in 1617 and a hexagonal roof turret with a pointed helmet was added. It consists of three narrow, rectangular yokes and a choir head in a three-eighth end. The ribbed vault rests on slender, round pillars . The seven pointed arch windows of the choir are decorated with late Gothic tendril ornament. The strong choir arch is made of sandstone . The capitals are expansive and lavishly carved. A sandstone angel of the Annunciation under a canopy on the north pillar of the choir head comes from the time it was built. On the tape that falls from one shoulder to your feet is the greeting “AVE GRATIA PLENA DNS. TECU ”, an abbreviation of“ AVE GRATIA PLENA DOMINUS TECUM ”, translates as“ Greetings, you favored ones, the Lord is with you. ”( Lk 1.28  EU ) A sacrament niche is framed by tracery , on the right there is a Gothic piscina . During the restoration in 1974, a wall fresco was exposed and highlighted on the light fields of the choir wall behind the altar - a Renaissance work that shows flowers and foliage and is probably to be interpreted as a symbol of the Trinity .

coat of arms

Floor plan of the choir with the location of the heraldic shields

From the time it was built in 1419. Details have been handed down: In the choir room of the hospital church are on the capitals of the services and to the keystones nine color of the ribbed vault total combined heraldic shields attached, which can be interpreted as evidence of the founder.

  1. Four coats of arms with a red wolf iron in gold can be assigned to Gerlach IV. Von Breidenbach .
  2. Two heraldic shields with a double hook and a wolf tang in gold refer to the mother of Gerlach, Margarete von Diedenshausen (and not, as has often been assumed, to the noble family Löwenstein ).
  3. A single coat of arms shows a red zigzag bar in gold, a reference to the noble family of Brendel von Homburg , from whose house one Elisabeth was Gerlach's first wife.
  4. A double coat of arms, which shows a striding lion in blue above and four red alarm clocks 3: 1 in silver below each other , can be assigned to the Vogt von Fronhausen , a branch line of the Schencken zu Schweinsberg - the coat of arms is that of Gerlach's second Mrs., Liutgard Vogt von Fronhausen.

All coats of arms are therefore dedicated to Gerlach IV von Breidenbach, his mother, first and second wife.

In addition to the heraldic shields, other capitals show leaves, an angel ( Gabriel ?) And figurative representations.

  • 1. Breidenbach

  • 2. Diedenshausen

  • 3. Brendel von Homburg (?)

  • 4. Vogt of Fronhausen

ship

In 1617 the nave was completely redesigned and enlarged. During the restoration in 1974, old bricked-up doors and windows were exposed, the positions of which can now be seen in the external plaster. They were laid out at different heights and apparently belonged to different floors at the time, i.e. not part of a single church.

The wooden pulpit in the late Renaissance style dates from 1617 and is stylistically related to the pulpits of the Johanneskirche , the village church in Breidenbach and the village church in Wallau . The pulpit bears the inscription "SAIAE-OCAP preach ALL FLESH IS haew VND ALL ITS GVTE IS LIKE A BLUM ON THE FIELDS" ( Isaiah 40.6  LUT ).

organ

View of the nave and organ

Peter Dickel built the first organ for the Hospital Church from 1855 to 1858 behind a neo-Gothic prospect on the west gallery. It had seven registers on a manual and pedal . In 1974, the organ builder Wolfgang Böttner from Frankenberg (Eder) replaced it with a new two-manual structure with 18 registers. The neo-renaissance prospectus comes from the organ of the castle chapel in Breidenstein , which Adam Eifert had built in 1904. The disposition is as follows:

I substation C – g 3
Reed flute 8th'
Coupling flute 4 ′
Fifth 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
Principal 2 ′
Steel game III 4 ′
Tremulant
II Hauptwerk C – g 3
Gemshorn 8th'
Viol 8th'
Principal 4 ′
Open flute 4 ′
Forest flute 2 ′
Mixture III 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
Zymbel II 1 ⁄ 2 ′
Trumpet 8th'
Tremulant
Pedal C – f 1
Pommer 16 ′
Thought bass 8th'
Revelation 4 ′
Octave bass 2 ′
Dulcian 16 '

hospital

In this context, the term hospital (or infirmary ) denotes a total of real estate, land and other assets. The term does not refer to a hospital, as it is used today, but a social, charitable institution which, according to today's ideas, is most likely to be compared with a retirement or nursing home . The hospital in Biedenkopf was a large social aid organization for the elderly and the sick. In the course of the economic development of the High Middle Ages, there was an increasing number of unserved poor, single, old and sick people who were a burden to the city and who now found a home, security and care in the hospital. The hospital was open to all citizens of Biedenkopf and not only served to accommodate old poor people, but also served as a retirement home for the wealthy. The Hospital of the Holy Spirit was not the first of its kind in Biedenkopf, it is said that there was previously an infirmary on the Billerbach or Siechenhecke . The Hospital Chapel or Chapel of the Holy Spirit was just one of the many hospital buildings. In addition to the main and residential building, the actual hospital, there were other buildings for the administrator, barns, stables, a bakery and other farm buildings. The buildings were located from the location of today's Ruppersberger butcher's shop to the Hospital Church and further south to the middle of Hospitalstrasse , possibly even further. The hospital goods included u. a. 14 acres of land in Biedenkopf, as well as farms and estates in Wehrshausen , Damshausen , Wollmar , Aumenau and Holzhausen . The lands in Biedenkopf included u. a. the Kreuzwiese . The administration of the hospital was subject to both the city and the church, which occasionally led to disputes. It is known from 1801 that the hospital was in debt. In 1817 the city began building what is now Hospitalstrasse , with a breakthrough to the market square , right through the hospital complex. In 1826 the hospital was closed. The buildings were in a dilapidated state and were auctioned off for demolition in 1827. The foundation was dissolved in 1961. The hospital church, however, never lost its purpose.

Parish

The Evangelical Lutheran parish in Biedenkopf, which belongs to the Hospital Church, is divided into two districts, the western district with a rectory at An der Kirche 11 (parsonage from 1717) and the eastern district with a rectory at Kottenbachstrasse 31a (parish hall). The parish churches are the town church and the hospital church.

literature

  • Gerald Bamberger; Hospital Foundation, Natascha Reuter (Ed.): Hospital Foundation, Hospital Building and Hospital Church. 1417-2017. Historical background on the occasion of the anniversary celebration of 600 years of the Hospital Foundation from June 2 to 4, 2017. Hospital Foundation, Biedenkopf 2017.
  • Elisabeth Margarete Idelsberger: From the history of the Biedenkopf hospital. Ceremonial lecture on the occasion of the rededication of the Hospital Church on November 30, 1974 after the material collection by Dr. Elsa Blöcher . In: Hinterland history association, Biedenkopf (ed.): Contributions to the history of the hinterland. Volume 1. Max Stephani, Biedenkopf 1985, pp. 221-239.
  • Ferdinand Luthmer (edit.): The architectural and art monuments of the districts of Biedenkopf, Dill, Oberwesterwald and Westerburg. Heinrich Keller, Frankfurt am Main 1910, pp. 31-35 ( online ).
  • Frank W. Rudolph: Protestant churches in the deanery Biedenkopf (= large DKV art guide ). Deutscher Kunstverlag, Berlin & Munich 2012, ISBN 978-3-422-02355-0 , pp. 26-27.

Web links

Commons : Hospitalkirche Biedenkopf  - Collection of images

References and comments

  1. ↑ a b c d Elisabeth Margarete Idelsberger: From the history of the Biedenkopf hospital . Ceremonial lecture on the occasion of the rededication of the Hospital Church on November 30, 1974 after the material collection by Dr. Elsa Blöcher . In: Hinterland history association, Biedenkopf (ed.): Contributions to the history of the hinterland . tape 1 . Max Stephani, Biedenkopf 1985, DNB  880051019 , p. 221–239 (first edition: 1974, first published in Hinterländer Geschichtsblätter Volume 53, pp. 173–178).
  2. ↑ Karl Huth : Biedenkopf: Castle and city through the centuries . Ed .: Magistrate of the City of Biedenkopf. Wetzlardruck GmbH, Wetzlar 1977, p.  270 .
  3. ↑ a b Hans Feldtkeller : The architectural and art monuments of the Biedenkopf district - brief inventory . Ed .: The State Conservator of Hesse (=  The architectural and art monuments of the State of Hesse - Wiesbaden district ). Eduard Roether Verlag, Darmstadt 1958, DNB 451231864 , p.   16 .
  4. ↑ a b c d Frank W. Rudolph: Evangelical Churches in the Dean's Office Biedenkopf (=  Great DKV Art Guide ). Deutscher Kunstverlag, Berlin & Munich 2012, ISBN 978-3-422-02355-0 , p. 26-27 .
  5. ↑ a b c leaflet: Guided tour through the hospital church. (PDF; 273 kB) of the Evangelical Lutheran parish of Biedenkopf. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
  6. ↑ The Hospital Church in Biedenkopf - history and photos Website of the Evangelical Lutheran parish of Biedenkopf. Retrieved April 6, 2013.
  7. ↑ Frank W. Rudolph describes the floor plan of the choir as a 5/8 end .
  8. ↑ The shape of the red wolf iron largely corresponds to the golden wolf iron in the coat of arms of the municipality of Breidenbach .
  9. ↑ Double hook in the Heraldry Wiki.
  10. ↑ Wolfhard Vahl: The von Breidenbach family and the coat of arms in the hospital church in Biedenkopf . In: Association for Hessian History and Regional Studies Kassel 1834 e. V. (Hrsg.): Journal for Hessian History and Regional Studies (ZHG) . tape 106 , 2001, ISSN  0342-3107 , p. 5–17 ( vhghessen.de [PDF; accessed April 7, 2013]).
  11. ^ Research results from Dr. Wolfhard Vahl from the Hessisches Staatsarchiv in Marburg shows that it is considered incorrect that Hermann von Löwenstein (husband of Gerlach's stepdaughter) is to be regarded as the second benefactor - as it is, apparently from a false heraldic interpretation, u. a. is formulated at Idelsberger and Feldtkeller. Another important indication that only Gerlach IV zu Breidenbach was the founder of the hospital is its exclusive mention in the deed of foundation.
  12. ↑ Dieter Schneider: The Hospital Church in Biedenkopf and its organs. In: Hinterland history sheets. Vol. 56, No. 4, 1977, pp. 65-68.
  13. ^ Biedenkopf, Hospital Church. In: organindex.de. Retrieved June 5, 2017 .

Coordinates: 50 ° 54 ′ 37.98 "  N , 8 ° 31 ′ 51.14"  E