Johanneskirche (Untergruppenbach)
The Johanneskirche in Untergruppenbach in the district of Heilbronn in northern Baden-Württemberg is a Protestant parish church . The church goes back to the original church of the place and probably already existed in the 12th century. It was given its present form through an extension in 1903/04 based on plans by Heinrich Dolmetsch . The stained glass windows in the choir by Rudolf Yelin the Elder are among the distinctive features of the church . J. , which were installed during an interior renovation in 1961/62.
history
Early history
A village church in Untergruppenbach has probably existed since the 12th century at the latest. From the patronage of St. Johannes and the location not far from the Gruppenbach , which gives the place its name , one concludes that the church was once the baptistery for the entire area. The church was first mentioned in 1453, together with a Marienkapelle built in 1440 in Wüstenhausen . In terms of church, Untergruppenbach originally belonged to the Weinsberg regional chapter within the Würzburg diocese , but in 1325 it came to the Mosbach Giulian monastery , which had previously exercised the right of patronage in Gruppenbach. In earlier times the church was the burial place of the respective rulers on the nearby Stettenfels Castle , which is still indicated by a tombstone from the 14th century. The village's cemetery was located around the church until the 19th century. In 1536, the then gentleman on Stettenfels, Wolf Philipp von Hürnheim, acquired the patronage of the church and carried out the Reformation . Since then, the place has been predominantly evangelical, even if the Catholic Fugger castle, place and patronage rights acquired as early as 1551 and denominational disputes were not lacking. After the departure of the Fuggers, the rule of Stettenfels came to Württemberg in 1763 , making the church subject to the special superintendence of Lauffen.
Extension 1830/31
The old Gruppenbach rectory was replaced in 1791 by a new building (today's town hall of Untergruppenbach ). Subsequently, plans were started to expand the church, which with its 400 seats no longer offered any space for the approximately 900 believers at the time. This construction project dragged on, however, and it was not until 1830/31 that the old choir tower church was expanded to include additions to the sides according to plans by building councilor Abel and under the direction of architect Distelbarth. In 1854 a new cemetery was inaugurated on the outskirts, whereupon the previous burial around the church was abandoned. A further expansion of the church, which should create space for 1,100 people attending services, was decided by the parish council in 1893. In the same year Heinrich Dolmetsch was commissioned to work out the draft and cost estimate for this conversion. In 1899 the parish council asked Dolmetsch to revise its plans in order to reduce the estimated construction costs. In January 1900, Dolmetsch submitted new plans for a church with a capacity of 800 believers, the construction costs of which he estimated at 107,000 marks, and was then commissioned to begin construction by February 1903. The actual start of construction was on April 14, 1903.
Extension 1903/04
When the church was rebuilt in 1903/04, the old church tower was essentially preserved, but it was raised to 50 meters in height and converted into a staircase inside, which means that the Romanesque frescoes from the 12th century that were discovered on this occasion were lost again, with the exception of a few fragments . The transept was built on the foundations of the old nave, while a new nave was built at right angles to it. Inside, the church was designed as a dedicated preaching church , in which the pulpit played a central role, while a sweeping choir was dispensed with. As a result of this, and with the seating facing the pulpit from three sides, the new church building was given the shape of a transverse church and took up, among other things, elements of the Romanesque and Gothic styles that were also present on the previous building. The interior of the church was initially decorated in the style of Art Nouveau . The solemn inauguration of the new church took place on March 20, 1904.
In 1920 the church received a memorial plaque for the fallen of the First World War on the eastern inner choir wall, designed and executed by Albert Volk .
The church survived the Second World War without major damage. Only the windows were shattered by bombs and minor stone damage was reported. Until the war damage was repaired in summer and autumn 1947, church services took place in the neighboring rectory during the winter months. At the same time, from 1946, the church was also available for worship services for the more than 300 Catholic expellees who had settled in Untergruppenbach after the war.
Development after 1945
In 1959 the church got a heater. When the heating was installed, the old patron s lodge , which until then had been on the tower side of the gallery, was removed. At the same time, part of the church space was separated as a youth room. In the years 1961/62 the church was under the direction of Rudolf Yelin the Elder. J. renovated inside, whereby numerous design elements of Art Nouveau, especially on the pulpit and the gallery parapet, were removed or covered and the youth room was also closed again. On the occasion of this renovation, the choir windows received new stained glass panes according to Yelin's designs. After the rectory was sold to the community in 1963/64, a new rectory and a community center were built in the area. In 1969/70 the outside of the church was renovated. In 1973 the church received its current organ, made by Plum in Marbach, using the wooden paneling of the previous instrument. In 1974 the bells were renovated and in 1978 the heating was renewed. Another renovation took place in 1987, during which some of the former Art Nouveau elements (above all the pulpit, but also decorated doors) were restored. The parish center belonging to the church was expanded in 1992.
architecture
The Johanneskirche is a single nave building in the shape of a Latin cross . The main nave, built in 1903/04, is oriented to the southwest with the choir on its front side; the transept, which goes back to the nave of the previous building, is at right angles to it. The tower is connected to the south-eastern end of the tower, the base of which once served as the tower choir of the old church, but which today serves as the main entrance and half as a staircase. The tower has a half-timbered structure in the upper area , which has been clad with slate since 1925 for reasons of weather protection . In the southwest corner of the main and transepts there is a sacristy .
The interior of the church is spanned by a wooden coffered ceiling. On the inner walls opposite the choir there is a wooden gallery that runs around three sides and is multi-tiered .
Furnishing
The historical furnishings of the church include the grave slab of Edeltrudis Sturmfeder († 1361) in the choir and a late Gothic baptismal font .
In the tower, a fragment of a medieval fresco has been preserved, which originally extended over the entire tower choir and showed Christ surrounded by symbols of the evangelists . The fresco did not come to light until the renovation in 1903/04, but no funds were available for structural changes to save it. The largest part of the fresco was therefore sacrificed when the tower choir ceiling was broken through for the installation of the stairwell. Today, only two evangelist symbols and part of the vignette surrounding Christ are preserved on a narrow remnant of the tower choir ceiling.
By d Rudolf Yelin. J. designed choir windows show motifs related to Christmas, Passion, Easter and Pentecost.
The ringing of the Johanneskirche currently (2008) consists of 5 bells. The oldest is the Christ bell, which was cast around 1300. It bears the inscription: O REX GLORIE CRISTE VENI NOS CON PACE (O glorious King Christ, come to us in peace) . Strike tone: dis ''.
The second oldest is the evangelist bell, which was cast around 1330. It bears the inscription: MAHTEUS MARCVS LUCAS IOHANNES . Strike tone: e ''.
The third oldest and at the same time largest bell is the Osanna bell from 1507. It bears the inscription: OSANNA HEIS ICH - IN OUR WOMEN I EXPLAIN - BERNHART LACHAMAN GOS ME 1507 (Osanna is my name - I ring for our wives' honor - Bernhart Lachaman poured me ) . Strike tone: g '.
Thanks to a private donation, the ringing was extended by 2 bells to 5 in 2007.
The Lukas bell was added to this. It bears the inscription: And there will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, who will sit at table in the kingdom of God . Strike note: a ',
and the Roman letter bell. It bears the inscription: For creation will also be set free from the bondage of impermanence to the glorious freedom of the children of God and for the fearful waiting of the creature awaits the revelation of the children of God . Strike tone: c .
The evangelist bell had to be delivered in the First World War, the Osanna bell in the Second World War. However, both bells were not melted down and could be refunded.
Web links
- Evangelical Johanneskirchengemeinde Untergruppenbach
- Recording of the full bells of the Johanneskirche in Untergruppenbach, with descriptive text for the individual bells
Individual evidence
- ↑ The board is no longer preserved today. Cf. Norbert Jung: 1914 - Albert Volk - War Memorials - 2014 , Heilbronn 2014, ISBN 978-3-934096-39-4 , p. 23.
literature
- 800 years St. John's Church, Festschrift for rededication on 3 Advent, 12.13.1987 , Heilbronn 1987th
- Dorle and Friedrich Eisenmann: The Johanneskirche - center of the Christian community in the old Gruppenbach , in: Heimatbuch der Gemeinde Untergruppenbach , Untergruppenbach 1992, pp. 609–622.
- Theophil Steudle: The Protestant parish Untergruppenbach from 1945 to the present , in: Heimatbuch der Gemeinde Untergruppenbach , Untergruppenbach 1992, pp. 623–641.
- Wolfgang Altvater: The Johanneskirche in Untergruppenbach. In: Matthias Driver (ed.): The Protestant churches in the Heilbronn church district. Evangelical Church District Heilbronn, Heilbronn 2005, pp. 62–63.
Web links
Coordinates: 49 ° 5 ′ 22.3 " N , 9 ° 16 ′ 27.7" E