Jakobus Church (Lang-Göns)

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James Church

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. James is located in the center of the Lang-Göns district in the Langgöns community in the Gießen district ( Hesse ). It is a Hessian cultural monument and, thanks to the mighty church tower from around 1500, it is characteristic of the place.

history

On the left the namesake James with the walking stick and shell

In the Middle Ages, the Gönser Mark belonged to the deanery of Wetzlar and the archdeaconate of St. Lubentius Dietkirchen in the diocese of Trier . The Lang-Göns community was initially looked after by the mother church in Großenlinden , where the broadcast court was also held. Later it belonged to Kirch-Göns as a branch church and was raised to an independent parish in the 13th century. The first chapel in Lang-Göns is mentioned in 1235. A field name “bey der kirchen” in the street “Am alten Stück” could refer to the location. This settlement area was given up in the Thirty Years War. Remnants of the first church on Obergasse, the predecessor of today's church, may have survived until it was demolished in 1968/69. It had Romanesque layered masonry from the time before the 13th century in the lower part and Gothic quarry stone masonry from the 14th century in the upper part and had high pointed arch windows. The nave was about the width of today's tower, as evidenced by the roughly brick gable wall and its approaches on the west side of the tower. In 1296 Giselbert von Göns was the first pastor ("rector ecclesiae") to be attested by name. The church was named after St. James the Elder , who is depicted with his attributes on a late Gothic stone relief. Long-Göns was on one of the many roads to Santiago . In the 15th century there was an altar dedicated to St. James next to an altar of Mary. The name Jakobuskirche got lost over time and was only rediscovered in the 1990s and officially introduced in 1997. Today's church tower was built around 1500.

Langgöns joined the Reformation in the 1530s . The first Protestant pastor was possibly Jacob Cordtwage, who had to leave Göttingen because of his Protestant sermons. The work of Johann Münster in 1537 and of Gerhard Ebel from 1543 to 1573 is definitely guaranteed. (Only after the Second World War a Catholic parish was established again in Lang-Göns, which in 1955 created its own church with St. Josef .)

After the longship fell victim to a fire in 1546, the enlarged church also burned down in 1568. An entry in the church bill of Grüningen points to the renovation of the nave : " The churches of Langgins to build their churches in 1568 ... ". When the spire caught fire from lightning in 1680, the fire was extinguished. In the great village fire of 1690, however, the upper part of the Gothic pointed helmet and the church roof burned down completely. Church and spire were renewed within 18 months. The tower cock dates from 1691. In 1724 a new pulpit was created. A few months later, however, a large piece of wall fell on the pulpit during a sermon, " taking a piece of the Cantzel wreath with it, so that the pastor had to save me in a miserable way, namely by jumping over the Cantzel into the woman's chairs ". In 1792 the ball and tower cross were attached, in 1816 the tower clock by watchmaker MF Pliska from Butzbach , which was renewed in 1952. A sacristy built on the north side of the tower was demolished in 1822, as was a staircase to the galleries attached to the outside of the western wall. Since the interior renovation in 1865, the altar was no longer in the choir tower, but had moved up to the triumphal arch. In addition, the pulpit was replaced by a higher one with a cast iron base, which was clad in wood in 1934. The parish chair , which had previously found its place in the tower, was replaced by a new one, which was provided with glass panes and connected to the pulpit staircase.

In 1880 the vaults in the choir were exposed again and the organ loft was enlarged. The tower roof was re-covered with slate in 1950. When the steeple was renewed in 1925, two documents were found in the knob.

In 1896 the parish founded a building fund to expand the too small church, which entered into negotiations in 1904 and 1906. The preservation of monuments, inflation and the two world wars initially prevented these plans. After the Second World War, the nave became more and more dilapidated and finally closed by the building police until it was completely renovated in the 1970s and community rooms were added. The design by Flache and Hansen from Darmstadt won the tender. The ship was demolished in 1968/1969, the foundation stone was laid in 1971 and all rooms were inaugurated in 1974. Förster & Nicolaus built a new organ in 1977. 24 oil paintings served as parapets of the galleries in the old church, 20 of which were gradually restored and transferred to the new building around 1980. The community center was redesigned in 2005 and the tower was extensively renovated in 1988 and fundraising in 2006. After the mechanics of the church tower clock fell victim to rust, the hands were equipped with electrically operated motors in 2014.

architecture

View of the organ gallery
Tower ball, cross and weathercock

The 48 meter high, mighty choir tower on an almost square floor plan has been preserved. The medieval lower part is made of quarry stone and is divided into three floors of the same height by two horizontal cornices made of sandstone. The slate-roofed baroque spire from 1690 is octagonal and also three-story. Curved monopitch roofs connect the floors, which taper towards the top. The belfry above the tower cube merges into the hood, which in turn is crowned by a lantern . A gold-plated tower ball, a cross and a gold-plated weathercock form the end. There are 102 steps to the bell cage and 185 steps to the tower dome. In the basement of the tower, late Gothic windows with pointed arches and two-part tracery with fish bubbles , noses , circles and round arches have broken into . The entrance to the choir on the north wall is made possible by a large rectangular door from the outside and a small door in a pointed arched portal from the inside. A triumphal arch opens the choir to the nave. It is matched by a large ogival panel on the eastern inner wall of the choir tower, which extends over the window.

On the south side of the tower there are two red sandstone reliefs in niches. The lower one between the two windows shows James with the walking stick and the scallop shell to the left of the Madonna of the crescent moon with a halo and the baby Jesus on her arm. On the right-hand side, the apostle John is probably shown carrying a book in a leather bag (cf. Rev 12 : 1  LUT ). The upper corners of the picture are filled by two putti making music , one with a violin, the other with a lute. The upper relief depicts Christ crucified, flanked by Mary and John.

The relatively small nave opposite the tower has a slightly hipped, steep hipped roof that is slated . The rectangular floor plan and the structural design are based on the previous building, but have been enlarged. The flat parish rooms enclose the nave in a horseshoe shape on three sides. Like the western gable end of the nave, they are covered with slate in the upper part.

The cemetery was originally laid out around the entire church and was used until 1814. Remnants of the wall are still preserved from the old cemetery wall. As a result of the leveling of the cemetery in 1864, almost all of the old tombstones were lost. Two from the 17th century (1639 and 1694) and one from 1709 are installed in the wall of the new cemetery and are a Hessian cultural monument (see Friedhofsweg without number (Lang-Göns) ). In 1903 the old winter linden tree in front of the church was designated as a natural monument "Linden tree in front of the church" (ND 21). The bronze lion on the street side was erected in 1923 in memory of those who fell in World War I, but was later placed on a lower plinth.

Furnishing

Pharaoh's daughter saves Moses (Daniel Hisgen, 1775)
Interior towards the choir

The interior is closed off by a paneled wooden ceiling. Since the community rooms are built around the nave , it receives light through its high-lying windows. The simple furnishings, such as the altar, pulpit and chairs, are kept in a wood-transparent manner, so that the church can be used in many ways. On the north and south sides, the walls can be opened to enlarge the space.

Below the skylights, to the side of the triumphal arch and below the gallery, the walls are enlivened by 20 oil paintings with biblical representations. In 2014 Daniel Hisgen's signature was discovered with the year 1775, which means that the pictures could be assigned to the Licher Rococo painter. There are seven pictures hanging with scenes from the Old Testament from the visit of the three angels to Abraham to the calling of Moses on the burning bush. The 13 representations from the New Testament show scenes from the life of Jesus and the feast of Pentecost. Four more pictures with scenes from the passion story were not restored due to their poor state of preservation, but stored and only rediscovered in 2018. To the left of the east window in the choir tower, a crucifix from the 18th century is attached to the wall, which comes from the altar from the previous building.

organ

Organ from 1977: on the left the Rückpositiv, behind it the main work, on the right the pedal work

There is evidence of an organ as early as 1600 , which may have been built or converted by Georg Wagner . The small instrument was expanded to nine registers in 1661 by the organist and organ builder H. Johann Wilhelm Schaum. The organ, spared from the church fire, was replaced by Johann Georg Bürgy from 1839 , but was only completed with eleven stops after his death in 1843 . Förster & Nicolaus Orgelbau created a new organ with 14 voices in 1920.

Today's organ by Förster & Nicolaus from 1977 has 19 registers , which are distributed over two manuals and a pedal unit in a free-standing pedal tower. The prospectus of the main plant consists of four flat pipe fields, which rise towards the center according to the sloping ceiling. In contrast, the four fields of the Rückpositiv are arranged in two pairs of different heights. The pedals are built into the parapet on the north side. All three housings are closed at the top by a lamellar ornamentation. The disposition is:

I Hauptwerk C – g 3
Principal 8th'
Reed flute 8th'
octave 4 ′
Coupling flute 4 ′
octave 2 ′
Sesquialtera II
Mixture IV
Trumpet 8th'
II Rückpositiv C – g 3
Wooden dacked 8th'
Principal 4 ′
Reed flute 4 ′
Forest flute 2 ′
Nasard 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
Sharp III
Krummhorn 8th'
Tremulant
Pedal C – f 1
Sub bass 16 ′
Choral bass 8th'
Octave bass 4 ′
trombone 16 ′

Bells

The four bells ring

The Jakobuskirche has a four-bell ring. The old bells were destroyed by the tower fire of 1690. According to the church chronicle, one came from Arnold von Fulda. Four new bells were cast by Dilman Schmid and Antoni Fei from Asslar, three of which have been preserved. They have different inscriptions. On the two largest are medallions with a woman with a waving veil sitting next to a flower pot and smelling a flower. So far, the representation could not be related to the bell or church. The fourth was replaced in 1884 by a bell cast by Friedrich Otto in 1811, had to be sold in 1917 for war purposes and was re-cast in 1933 by FW Rincker in Sinn. In 1942 bells 1, 3 and 4 were given to the armaments industry and only the second bell remained for the community. Bells 1 and 3 could be returned to the community after the war, while the bell from 1933 was melted down. In 1956 a new bell was cast by the Rincker brothers. The tone combination of the four bells is called the "ideal quartet".

No.
  		Casting year
  		Foundry, casting location Diameter
(mm) 		Height
(mm) 		Percussive
( HT - 1 / 16 ) 		inscription
  		image
 
1 1690 Dilman Schmid and Antoni Fei, Asslar 1265 1,150 dis 1 -6 “ 1690 between the 10th and 11th day of martii approaches at two vhren there are four bells to sampt the thorn [= tower] and one hundred and fifty gave a large fire brvn vf but again this year on the 30th of august on christian orders come from the magister ] iohan casparn levn pastor HL [huius loci = this place] like avch both hern officials hern iohan henrich ellern vnd hern iohan philips clemen and the samptlichen congregation by dilman schmid and antoni faer of aslar been cast against god forbid evch love after koemlimge same damage langgoens " Church bells of Jakobuskirche Lang-Göns 52.JPG
2 1690 Dilman Schmid and Antoni Fei, Asslar 1180 1,050 f sharp 1 +4 “ 1690 I frighten the suinder [sinner] / I wake the sleeping one / I cry for the dotty [dead] / I call for prayer / I remind you of the last judgment / noon. " Church bells of Jakobuskirche Lang-Göns 51.JPG
3 1690 Dilman Schmid and Antoni Fei, Asslar 925 450 g sharp 1 +8 " In god's name flos me / dilman schmid von aslar gos me / morgenglock / 1690 " Church bells of Jakobuskirche Lang-Göns 53.JPG
4th 1956 Gebr. Rincker , Sinn 815 305 h 1 +10 “ Stop at the prayer / Roem. 12/12 " Church bells of Jakobuskirche Lang-Göns 54.JPG

Parish

In 2017 the parish had around 3,400 members who are currently looked after by two pastors. It is characterized by a lively parish life and rich church music with regular concerts. The trombone choir was founded in 1890. Under the sponsorship of the Evangelical Dean's Office in Giessen, the parish runs the Arche Protestant day-care center near the church. The “Life after Chernobyl” working group in the Protestant parish has been active since 1990. A youth officer has been employed for child and youth work since 2012. Half of the position is to be financed in the long term by the “Pro Jugend” association founded in September 2011.

Pastor

Since the time of the Reformation, the pastors can be completely proven. The manageable number goes back to the generally long terms of office. In 1624, at the time of Pastor Geilfuß, a miraculous event is said to have taken place in the inn just a few meters from the church (see House Paradiesgärtlein ).

  • 1296 : Giselbert von Göns00000
  • 1334 : "Her Heynrich the pernere"00000
  • 1370s, 1390s: Ebirhart Snauharte
  • around 1400 : Conrad the Zentgraf00
  • 1453, 1459: Heinrich Meyden
  • 1530s  : Jacob Cordtwage, first Protestant pastor?000
  • 1537 : Johann Munster von Munzenberg00000
  • 1543–1573: Gerlach Ebel (ius)
  • 1573–1619: Justus Kissel, 1571–1573 deacon
  • 1620–1635: Justus Geilfus von Witzenhausen
  • 1635–1655: Johann Balthasar Renner
  • 1655–1690: Johann Peter Leun
  • 1690–1726: Johann Kaspar Leun (son of Johann Peter Leun), 1674–1690 adjunct
  • 1726–1749: Johann Tobias Leun (son of Johann Kaspar Leun), 1716–1726 adjunct
  • 1749–1758: Christoph Ludwig Leun (son of Johann Tobias Leun), 1748–1749 adjunct
  • 1760–1805: Johannes Sell
  • 1806–1813: Ludwig Wilhelm Christian Welcker
  • 1813–1846: Georg Wilhelm Brumhard
  • 1848–1874: Daniel Schlich
  • 1876–1890: Carl Samuel Ernst Christoph Ludwig Strack
  • 1890–1899: Heinrich Ludwig Walz
  • 1900–1924: Theodor Weber
  • 1925–1950: Ludwig Franz Karl Gustav Wilhelm Wahl
  • 1950–1956: Karl Martin Hofmann
  • 1956–1976: Karl-Hermann Alt
  • 1977–1983: Rudolf Kreck
  • 1984–1997: Eberhard Klein
  • 1984–2017: Hartmut Völkner
  • 2017–2020: Sylvia Grohmann
  • since 1997 0 : Achim Keßler

literature

  • Johann Bayer; Lang-Göns community (ed.): On the history of the Lang-Göns community. Langgöns municipality, Langgöns 1976, pp. 63–77.
  • Otto Berndt: Lang-Göns. Insights into the past. Fernwald printing workshop, Langgöns 2013, pp. 61–85.
  • Georg Dehio : Handbook of German art monuments , Hessen I: Administrative districts of Giessen and Kassel. Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich / Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3-422-03092-3 , p. 538.
  • Wilhelm Diehl : Construction book for the Protestant parishes of the Landgraviate of Hessen-Darmstadt. (Hassia sacra; 5). Self-published, Darmstadt 1931, pp. 243–245.
  • Philip Hofmann: Lang-Göns, a village book from the Hüttenberg. Verlag der Gemeinde, Lang-Göns 1955, pp. 170-189.
  • State Office for the Preservation of Monuments Hesse (ed.), Karlheinz Lang (edit.): Cultural monuments in Hesse. District of Giessen II. Buseck, Fernwald, Grünberg, Langgöns, Linden, Pohlheim, Rabenau (= monument topography Federal Republic of Germany ). Theiss, Stuttgart 2010, ISBN 978-3-8062-2178-7 , p. 281 f.
  • Heinrich Walbe : The art monuments of the Gießen district. Vol. 3. Southern part without Arnsburg. Hessisches Denkmalarchiv, Darmstadt 1933, pp. 177–184.
  • Peter Weyrauch : Langgöns. In: The churches of the old district of Gießen. Mittelhessische Druck- und Verlagsgesellschaft, Gießen 1979, pp. 104-105.

Web links

Commons : Jakobuskirche Lang-Göns  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Lang: Cultural monuments in Hesse. 2010, p. 282.
  2. ^ Gerhard Kleinfeldt, Hans Weirich: The medieval church organization in the Upper Hessian-Nassau area. (= Writings of the institute for historical regional studies of Hesse and Nassau 16 ). NG Elwert, Marburg 1937, ND 1984, p. 199.
  3. ↑ a b c Weyrauch: Langgöns. 1979, p. 104.
  4. ↑ Gießener Anzeiger from 2017: Anton protected God's angels (in vain) , accessed on April 18, 2020.
  5. ↑ Berndt: Lang-Göns. 2013, p. 62.
  6. ^ Evangelical Lutheran Church Congregation Langgöns: Building History , accessed on April 18, 2020.
  7. ↑ Evangelische Sonntags-Zeitung of July 20, 2014: Copied from the Americans , accessed on April 18, 2020.
  8. ↑ a b Bayer: On the history of the Lang-Göns community. 1976, p. 64.
  9. ↑ Evangelical Lutheran Church Congregation Langgöns: The name "Jakobuskirche" , accessed on April 18, 2020 (PDF).
  10. ^ Hofmann: Lang-Göns, a village book from the Hüttenberg. 1955, p. 173 f.
  11. ^ Bayer: On the history of the Lang-Göns community. 1976, p. 74.
  12. ↑ a b Diehl: Construction book for the Protestant parishes. 1931, p. 243.
  13. ^ Bayer: On the history of the Lang-Göns community . 1976, p. 66.
  14. ^ Bayer: On the history of the Lang-Göns community. 1976, p. 65.
  15. ^ Bayer: On the history of the Lang-Göns community. 1976, p. 66 f.
  16. ^ Heinrich Walbe : Report on the architectural monuments in the province of Upper Hesse. In: Annual Report of the Preservation of Monuments in the People's State of Hesse 1913–1928. Vol. 4a. Staatsverlag, Darmstadt 1930, p. 262.
  17. ↑ a b Weyrauch: Langgöns. 1979, p. 105.
  18. ↑ langgoens-evangelisch.de: Turmeinlagen 2006 , accessed on April 18, 2020 (PDF).
  19. ↑ "Timeless Time" over. Renovation. Church clock back in service . In: Gießener Anzeiger from Thursday, May 8, 2014.
  20. ↑ Natural monument "Linden in front of the church" (ND 21) , district of Gießen; accessed on April 18, 2020.
  21. ^ Bayer: On the history of the Lang-Göns community. 1976, p. 71 f.
  22. ^ Giessener Anzeiger . from September 13, 2014: Signature discovered during a little break .
  23. ^ Franz Bösken , Hermann Fischer : Sources and research on the organ history of the Middle Rhine (=  contributions to the Middle Rhine music history . Volume 29.1 ). tape 3 : Former province of Upper Hesse. Part 1: A-L . Schott, Mainz 1988, ISBN 3-7957-1330-7 , p. 546 .
  24. ^ Bayer: On the history of the Lang-Göns community. 1976, p. 68.
  25. ^ Franz Bösken, Hermann Fischer: Sources and research on the organ history of the Middle Rhine (=  contributions to the Middle Rhine music history . Volume 29.1 ). tape 3 : Former province of Upper Hesse. Part 1: A-L . Schott, Mainz 1988, ISBN 3-7957-1330-7 , p. 549 .
  26. ^ Organ in Langgöns , accessed on April 18, 2020.
  27. ↑ Robert Schäfer: Hessian bell inscriptions (PDF file; 37.7 MB), in: Archives for Hessian history and antiquity. 15, 1884, pp. 475-544, here: p. 530.
  28. ^ The art monuments in the People's State of Hesse. Province of Rheinhessen. Giessen district. Vol. 3. Southern part. Darmstadt 1933, p. 184.
  29. ↑ Robert Schäfer: Hessian bell inscriptions (PDF file; 37.7 MB). In: Archives for Hessian history and antiquity. 15, 1884, p. 530.
  30. ^ Evangelical Lutheran Church Congregation Langgöns: Bells , accessed on April 18, 2020.
  31. ↑ Quoted from Bayer: On the history of the Lang-Göns community. 1976, p. 66 f.
  32. ↑ Langgöns Trombone Choir , accessed on April 18, 2020.
  33. ^ Protestant day care center Arche , accessed on April 18, 2020.
  34. ↑ Working group Life after Chernobyl in the Protestant parish , accessed on April 18, 2020.
  35. ↑ Gießener Allgemeine Zeitung of January 18, 2012: Youth officer for the parish in Langgöns , accessed on April 18, 2020.
  36. ↑ Johann Arnd: Various miracle stories, so with Hn. Joh. Arnds sel. Paradiess-Gärtlein in the fire . In: Paradieß-Gärtlein full of Christian virtues, Frankfurt 1694.

Coordinates: 50 ° 29 ′ 49.6 ″  N , 8 ° 39 ′ 32.1 ″  E