Johanneskirche (Bächlingen)
The Evangelical Lutheran Johanneskirche is a single-nave hall church in Bächlingen , a district of the city of Langenburg in the Schwäbisch Hall district . The late Gothic building is named after its former patron saint. Originally, the church, surrounded by a walled churchyard , was dedicated to the Virgin Mary , the Evangelist John and John the Baptist . The wall paintings in the choir room from 1360, the barrel-vaulted sacristy under which there is a charnel house (an old ossuary ) and the grave monument for knight Rezzo von Bächlingen from the 14th century on the south side of the nave are worth seeing .
Building history
The church is considered to be the oldest in the region. The first documentary mention comes from the year 1245. The current church presumably had at least one predecessor made of wood. It is unknown when construction of the stone church in Bächlingen began. No information is available about its early building history. The lower floors of the tower are considered to be the oldest components of today's choir tower church. They probably date from the beginning to the middle of the 14th century. In the course of the following centuries the church was rebuilt several times and received its late Gothic nave.
In the course of the Reformation, the church was massively redesigned. Count Wolfgang II had the altars removed and replaced with a new one, the frescoes painted over and chairs installed in the choir and church.
In 1580 the church received a half-timbered structure with a grain floor above the nave for times of need. In addition, the churchyard wall was re-fortified and the gate rebuilt and given a roof. The tower had a simple gable roof until 1888, before this was replaced by the tower spire that still exists today. In 1914 the parish had its church completely renovated and at the same time undertook a whole series of renovation measures. The medieval painting of the choir was rediscovered and exposed. In addition, the community procured a new interior.
In 1979 the community had a new protective layer applied over the ceiling frescoes in the choir. At the beginning of the 21st century, another major renovation was necessary. Saltpeter had accumulated in the walls . Rainwater had entered the tower for decades and soaked the beams so that they were so badly rotten that they had to be replaced. The municipality also commissioned a new coat of paint to replace the electrical system. In the course of the work, experts also examined the ceiling frescoes. It turned out that the protective layer applied in the 1970s was unsuitable. She rolled up and threatened to take the colors with her.
Church history
At the time of the Franconian missionary work , Bächlingen was one of the original parishes of Hohenlohe . The patronage was held by the Neumünster Collegiate Foundation in Würzburg . Its parish once included the town of Langenburg with Atzenrod , Binselberg (now part of Gerabronn ), Forst, Oberregenbach , Dünsbach and Hörlebach, as well as some places that no longer exist today, in addition to the towns that are now Bächlingen, Hürden and Nesselbach . The communities Michelbach an der Heide (before 1000), Billingsbach and Obersteinach (before 1285) were probably separated from the Bächlinger mother church at an early stage, while Hörlebach (until 1437), Dünsbach and Morstein (until 1552) and Langenburg belonged to the district until 1553 . In the 14th century, the then Pope and twelve bishops, "given at Avignon, November 18, 1335, in the first year of Pope Benedict XII.", Granted the Bächling church an indulgence .
In the course of the Reformation introduced around 1545 , the high altar and the two side altars were demolished and burned in a field near the village. The font was also removed. The frescoes inside the church were covered with a layer of lime. In addition, in 1553 the Lords of Langenburg moved the parish seat near their residence. For the next 20 years Bächlingen was part of the parish in Langenburg, before the parish was able to regain its independence in 1576 under the patronage of the Hohenlohe-Langenburg family .
The place suffered great hardship during the Thirty Years' War . Billing and marching through the troops were the order of the day. In addition, there was the plague , which killed 240 people in the community.
Building description
The Johanniskirche is a choir tower church in the walled cemetery. Such systems are rather rare in the southwest. Its essential components date from the 14th century, the late Gothic nave with half-timbered structure from 1580. It was renewed in 1721. Inside it has a tower choir with a ribbed vault and a barrel-vaulted sacristy . The numerous renovation measures over the centuries can be clearly seen in the different window shapes of the building. Most of the interior design, designed by the then very well-known architecture firm Theodor Dolmetsch and Felix Schuster from Stuttgart, dates from 1914.
Furnishing
Wall painting in the choir room
The frescoes in the choir are considered valuable treasures of Franconian art. The ceiling paintings made using the secco technique are considered to be unique in terms of their state of preservation, their design and their art-historical value. According to the art historian Helga Steiger, the wall and ceiling paintings were created around 1350/60. It may have been commissioned by a descendant of the knight Burkhardt Rezzo von Bächlingen, whose epitaph is still in the church today. In the course of the Reformation, Count Wolfgang II had it painted over with lime and pine soot around 1580 . A Schwäbisch Hall painter named Schmidt die Bilder rediscovered the pictures in the course of the renovation in June 1914 and exposed them. In 1924 the Stuttgart painter Reile restored the pictures. 40 years later the frescoes were restored again. At the beginning of the 21st century they were in acute danger. They were then scientifically examined and then extensively restored from 2009 to 2011. The total costs for the measure amounted to 350,000 euros.
The symbols of the four evangelists Matthew , Mark , Luke and John as well as depictions of Jesus are grouped around the keystone with the severed head of St. John the Baptist in the John's bowl. Clever and foolish virgins are depicted on the triumphal arch, towered over by Mary with the child wearing the crown and Mary's lily. On the side walls there are depictions of the Passion , Resurrection of Jesus Christ , Ascension , Pentecost and the Last Judgment . A special feature is the Man of Sorrows in the northern choir. He is depicted under a painted Gothic choir arch and is mocked by the grimace of a scribe. On the opposite side, on the south-eastern wall of the choir, there is a mystical devotional image known as Volto Santo (Italian: Holy Face).
Epitaph of the knight Burkhardt Rezzo von Bächlingen
The artistically crafted epitaph in sandstone is reminiscent of the knight Burkhardt Rezzo von Bächlingen, whose family played a major role in the region. At first the Rezzen , as they were called, were administrators of the castle on the Langen Berg (= Langenburg) before they moved their headquarters to Bächlingen. The sandstone tomb shows a knight carved out as a portrait in full armor with shield, chain mail, sword, iron hat and greaves. The inscription reads: "ANNO DNI MCCCXX I DIE MARTIN EPI O STRENUUS MILES BVRGHARD DCS REZE D'BECHELINGEN ET ANNO MCCCXXIII KAL MAI O ELIZABED MORSTIN UXOR EI REQIE I PACE". Translated, this means: In the year of the Lord in 1320, the brave knight Burkhard, known as Reze von Bechelingen, died on Martin's Day, and in 1323 on May 1st, Elisabeth von Morstein, his wife, died. May you rest in peace.
Epitaph of Melchior Brenner
The second epitaph with a bas-relief, also made of sandstone, to the left of the choir is dedicated to the Bächling red tanner Melchior Brenner, who died around 1650, and his wife Sibylla, who died in 1648. In the upper area it bears the inscription "I know that my Redeemer lives and he will wake me up on earth afterwards". In the lower area of the tomb there is the inscription: “ANNO 16 fell asleep in Christo Seelig, the Erbar and Honorable Melchior Brener Rothgerber Alhie his age year and before ANO 1648 on June 26th See died. In Christ, the virtuous lady Sibylla, born Schönherrin von Craylßheim, his married wife Haußfraw, whose souls God nourished. ”The kneeling persons depicted in the center represent the family members: Father Melchior is on the far left. The three sons follow him. On the right is Brenner's wife Sibylla and in front of her the two daughters.
Memorial plaque for Georg Renner
The colored wooden plaque from 1585 above the staircase to the pulpit is a reminder of the Langenburg mayor Georg Renner, whose descendants were among the important pastors and officials of the County of Hohenlohe. Presumably his grandson Ludwig Casimir, who was pastor in Bächlingen from 1616 to 1619, had it installed. The Renners family is depicted under the resurrection picture in the center. Skulls on the depictions refer to the family members who had died at the time the painting was made.
Karner
The Karner (an old ossuary) is located under the sacristy and the choir . The former entrance can be seen on the outer wall of the sacristy. Presumably the Bächlinger Rezzen were also buried there.
organ
The church received its first organ in 1774. It was built by the master organ builder Georg Martin Gessinger from Rothenburg ob der Tauber . Due to different measurements (the Bächlinger church community worked with the Hohenloher foot while Gessinger used the Rothenburg foot measure) it did not really fit into the intended location. An additional organ gallery initially solved the problem. But after 20 years the community had the instrument relocated because it took the place of the numerous believers (Bächlingen had a lot more inhabitants than today). The instrument was therefore placed in the choir room, where it would remain for the next 210 years. When the ceiling frescoes were rediscovered, the location was discussed again.
In 2010 the congregation finally commissioned a new, smaller instrument from Tilman Trefz, which the master organ builder set up in the nave. The organ has 8 stops on a manual (C – f 3 ): large covered 8 ′, Violdigamb 8 ′, principal 4 ′, flute 4 ′, octave 2 ′, fifth 1 1 ⁄ 3 ′, mixture III 1 ′) and pedal ( C – d ′: Subbass 16 ′), and has a pedal coupler , a channel tremulant and a cymbal star .
Other items of equipment
The stone to be found outside next to the Gothic main entrance of the church shows a motif that is badly weathered and therefore difficult to recognize. It is believed that the stone was a Celtic myth or ban stone against the floods of the Jagst.
After the organ was relocated, the baptismal font found a new place in the choir room directly under the Johannessschüssel.
The church clock in the tower above the choir was acquired by the community in 1927. It is still fully functional, but was replaced in 1973 by an electrical clock and bell system.
An old one of the bells was preserved. One had to be handed in to be melted down in the First World War and two more in the Second World War.
The memorial stone attached to the side entrance commemorates Basilius, the son of pastor M. Georg Hospes who died in 1591. Hospes was a pastor in Bächlingen from 1586 to 1593 and began keeping the local family books the same year he took office.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f Citizens' Initiative per Heilbronn-Franconia Region: Original Parish Church in Bächlingen (PDF; 11 kB)
- ↑ a b c d e Blaufelden church district: The Bächlinger Johanneskirche ( Memento of the original from October 6, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Accessed October 2, 2014.
- ^ Community Langenburg: Church Bächlingen . Accessed October 2, 2014.
- ↑ Fahrt.de // Hohenlohe: Pictures shimmer in their old splendor . Retrieved October 2, 2014.
- ↑ a b c Baden-Württemberg regional information system: Bächlingen [old community / suburb] . Accessed October 2, 2014.
- ↑ Festschrift: 900 years of Bächlingen
- ↑ a b c Monument Foundation Baden-Württemberg: Funding Report 2009 . Accessed October 2, 2014.
- ↑ a b Information sheet of the Evangelical Church Congregation Bächlingen: The Johanneskirche in Bächlingen .
- ^ Translation according to the information folder in the church.
- ↑ Information according to the information folder available in the church.
- ↑ a b Blaufelden church district: epitaphs and memorial plaque. Epitaph Burkhard Reze von Bächlingen ( Memento of the original from October 6, 2014 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. . Retrieved October 2, 2014.
- ↑ Information on the new instrument ( Memento of the original from August 15, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. and for disposition ( Memento of the original from August 15, 2016 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. on the organ builder's website
- ↑ a b c Information sheet of the Evangelical Church Community of Bächlingen: The Johanneskirche in Bächlingen.
Coordinates: 49 ° 14 '44.1 " N , 9 ° 50' 53" E