Johanneskirche (Weinsberg)

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The Johanneskirche from the south, on the left in front of the church the building of the Protestant deanery

The Protestant Johanneskirche in Weinsberg , a Romanesque basilica built in the early 13th century , is the church of the Protestant parish of Weinsberg . Until the Reformation, the Johanneskirche served not only as a Weinsberg parish church, but was also the main church of the Weinsberg district of the Würzburg diocese, first mentioned in 1291 . Since the introduction of the Reformation, it has been the main church of the Protestant church district of Weinsberg of the Württemberg State Church (with an interruption from 1586 to 1710 when there was no church district of Weinsberg), and since January 1, 2020 it has been the main church of the two previous church districts of Weinsberg and Neuenstadt at the Kocher newly formed church district Weinsberg-Neuenstadt (with the two parts Weinsberg and Neuenstadt ). The Johanneskirche is a cultural monument of particular importance.

Location and surroundings

Site plan (1834, little changed to this day)

The Johanneskirche is located at Ökolampadiusplatz 1 in the north-western corner of the old town of Weinsberg, higher than the other buildings in the old town with the exception of the Weinsberg castle , which in turn rises above the church in the north-west. The churchyard surrounding the church (today's Ökolampadiusplatz ), which borders the city wall in the west and north, was used as a cemetery for a long time, from 1617 only for family graves. In 1807 the cemetery was finally closed. A monument erected on the square in 1869 for the Weinsberg-born reformer of Basel Johannes Oekolampadius , who had preached at the church, was removed again in 1967 due to weathering and replaced by an inscription on the surrounding wall of the square. In the immediate vicinity of the church, at Oekolampadiusplatz 2, is the former Weinsberg girls' school, built in 1807. The Kirchstaffel , a wide staircase, connects the Oekolampadiusplatz at its southwest corner with the Weinsberg market square below and to the south. The deanery building of the Weinsberg church district is located on the church staffel, directly below Oekolampadiusplatz. Other preserved buildings on the church stagger served over the centuries as a rectory , town hall , diaconate , Latin school and sextonry .

history

Layout
The nave seen to the east

No archival records have been preserved about the construction of the church, which is why all dates have to be based on excavations, inscriptions and art-historical considerations. The church consecrated to John the Baptist was probably built without a previous building on behalf of the Lords of Weinsberg , a family of ministers from the Hohenstaufen dynasty , who then also had the right of patronage . The rectangular Romanesque nave with a main nave and two side aisles was built around 1200/1210. The main entrance was in the west, towards the east the building was closed off by a wall until the choir tower was added there, probably around 1230/1240 - square below, octagonal further above. As the last construction phase, the Gothic east choir was added around 1350 . To the south of this, another two-bay room was later added, which is now used as a sacristy . According to unproven assumptions, this room originally served as a meeting room for the priests of the Würzburg district chapter Weinsberg.

The Weinsberg city wall, which was built at the same time as the church, originally also included the castle in the northwest. The richly decorated west portal of the church, facing the castle, was its main portal. Presumably in 1332, in the course of a dispute with the lords of the castle, the citizens of Weinsberg closed the city with a new city wall in the west opposite the castle, according to documents from 1375. The church, originally located between the castle and the settlement, was now in the northwestern corner of the city, separated from the castle by the city wall. An entrance to the south of the church was developed for the main entrance (today the westernmost of the three southern doors).

After the city became electoral Palatinate in 1440 and the castle in 1450 , the patronage rights passed to the Palatinate electors, and from 1504 to the dukes of Württemberg . When Duke Ulrich conquered Weinsberg in 1504 , the church was damaged and the ceiling of the east choir collapsed. The damage was repaired by 1510. From 1510 to 1518 Johannes Oekolampadius , who later became the reformer of Basel , held a position as a preacher at the Weinsberg Johanneskirche in his hometown. In Weinsberg, however, he caused offense with his reform-oriented sermons and therefore left the city. A little later, when the city was destroyed in the Peasants' War on May 21, 1525, the church burned down and was then rebuilt. The tower, which was still a refuge for some aristocrats during the Weinsberg Blood Easter on April 16, 1525 (Easter Sunday), lost one floor during the reconstruction. The church survived the later destruction of the city by fires in 1707 and 1945 unscathed.

organ

During a church renovation from 1817 to 1820, the distracted west gable of the nave roof , originally designed as a gable roof , was removed and the roof was redesigned into a hipped roof . The eagle that originally crowned the gable has since stood at the foot of the city wall directly opposite the west portal of the church.

architecture

The Romanesque rectangular nave with the side aisles, originally without a choir, has always been adorned with arched friezes, grimaces and ornaments on the outside, but almost unadorned on the inside. The aisles are connected to the main nave by arcades. They are formed by pillars (rectangular) and columns (round). This pillar change is rarely found in southern Germany. Four column capitals are richly decorated with tendrils and leaves, but the column capitals are rather geometrically designed. In the east, the nave ends at the triumphal arch in a raised square choir (with a Romanesque altar), which is accompanied by two apses to the south and north . The outside of the choir tower is carefully structured according to floors and decorated with Romanesque capitals and diamond bars. Further east is the Gothic choir, separated from the nave by the tower choir.

This basically classic design of a basilica "oriented" from west to east underwent a remarkable change that is no longer noticeable today for almost 350 years. It was based on the Reformation priority of the sermon over the service of the altar (Lord's Supper): The congregation no longer oriented itself towards the altar and the liturgical center there for the Eucharistic celebration, but turned to the long side of the nave towards the pulpit on the central south pillar as a listener-friendly pulpit Place of proclamation of the Gospel. Correspondingly, the ground floor chairs and the galleries (one in the west, two in the north aisle and an organ gallery in front of the triumphal arch) were oriented across the length of the room towards the pulpit: a transverse church . This genuinely Protestant church structure was and is mainly in Württemberg. The liturgy also corresponded to this up to the beginning of the 20th century: Except for the rare Lord's Supper celebrations on the high feast days of the year, the pastor stayed in the pulpit from the opening greeting to the final blessing - the word of God in the middle of the community. It was not until 1947 that the west-east orientation corresponding to the Romanesque architecture was taken up again by interior renovations.

Furnishing

Stained glass

Note: As with other works of art, evidence of glass paintings is primarily on the art object, and in the case of several works by the same artist per church and year, usually only in one of the windows. Written information is not always available and is secondary. The glass paintings in the Johanneskirche all date from the 20th and 21st centuries.

Window 1920

  • In 1920, three windows with lead glazing were installed in the south wall and in the north chamber as a donation from the Betz family: Adoration of the Kings , Resurrection of Christ and a Christ head. Their motifs seem to be based on oil paintings and woodcuts by the early Renaissance painter Albrecht Altdorfer , but with historicizing attributes, lettering and a fictitious date of 1522 . The Christmas motif of these so-called cabinet disks has an exact duplicate in the Evangelical Gellmersbacher Leonhardskirche and has so far been listed as a presumed remnant of the church of the Heilbronn St. Klara monastery, which was demolished in 1889.
  • The small tracery disc with the dove as a symbol of the Holy Spirit was also created in 1920. It is signed M. Auer , an unknown glass painter. Since the glass and the color pigments of this and the previous window correspond to each other, joint authorship cannot be ruled out.

Window by Walter Kohler 1937/38

The theologian and humanist Johannes Oekolampad , who was born in Weinsberg, introduced the Reformation in Basel in 1529 . A few years after the 400th anniversary of the Reformation, the local evangelical reformed community gave his hometown the south window with scenes from the passion of Jesus and a dedication with the Basel city coat of arms. The double-lane window with rose window was not created by the artist Walter Kohler in 1929, but only in 1937/38 . Since 1933, for reasons of contemporary history, the artist has changed his originally strong expressionist conception of art into a subtle application of classic Christian iconography, which is to be understood here with the emphasis on the first commandment and the world domination of the suffering and crucified and with the inscription as a confession in difficult times.

Window by Adolf Valentin Saile 1956–1979

The art-academically trained glass artist and master glass painter Adolf Valentin Saile created several windows for the Johanneskirche in his Stuttgart company:

  • 1956 The small organ windows above next to the organ with the musical motifs David with harp and trombones from Jericho
  • 1973 The Pentecost window next to the main entrance ("But they remained constantly in the apostles' teaching, in fellowship, in breaking bread and in prayer" ( Acts 2,42  LUT ))
  • 1979 The north wall window from the great invitation ( Lk 14,16-24  LUT )

Window by Peter Jakob Schober 1978

In 1978 the artist Peter Jakob Schober from Billensbach created the vine window (Christ speaks: "I am the vine, you are the branches" ( Joh 15  LUT )) and the round window above the small entrance door: "Adam and Eve under the tree of knowledge" .

Window by Johannes Schreiter 2002–2011

After completing his Weinsberg glass painting in 2002, the internationally renowned glass artist Johannes Schreiter could also be won over to design all the windows in the Gothic east choir.

  • 2002 The Resurrection Window and
  • 2011 the Weinsberg cycle for Psalm 23 is not a factual illustration or interpretation of a Bible text. “With their play of shapes, colors and dynamic lines, the large windows show the danger and transience of our earthly existence. At the same time, they invite the viewer to reflect on their own life in the beneficial and healing light of God's presence. "

Sculpting work

  • From the three construction phases of the church there are remarkable sculptural designs on the vaults (beginners or "services", ribs, ring or keystones, capitals), on the four-tiered choir arch and above on the blind arches of the dwarf gallery .
  • A late Romanesque crucifix from the 13th century, probably earlier hanging in the triumphal arch of the main nave, corresponds in the east choir with the middle window 800 years older.
  • The crucifix in the tower choir from 1685 rises up from the altar.
  • Several tombstones, formerly probably outside, were set up on the inside on the side walls to protect against weathering
  • The object artist Jürgen Brodwolf created the figurine on the theme of diakonia in 1988. It was donated by the city of Weinsberg in 1992 at the end of the renovation work.
  • The sandstone Christ torso was donated to his home church in 1997 by the Weinsberg sculptor Karl-Heinrich Lumpp.

The Weinsberg devotional picture 1680/90

In the east choir, the depiction of the wandering people of God made up of Jews and Christians is hung in a local landscape on the south wall. Old Testament, New Testament and contemporary people from Adam and Eve to the pastor with congregation can be recognized as they accompany the arrival of the spies with the large bunch of grapes from the land of Canaan.

Monuments

On the east side of the east choir is the Weinsberg war memorial for the fallen of the First World War . It was designed by the Weinsberg sculptor Albert Volk , who also made the figure decorations for the monument. The architecture and the inscriptions were made by the Weinsberg sculptor J. Scheerer. In 1995 a memorial plaque for Johannes Oekolampadius was placed on the south side of the church.

organ

The large organ was built in 1956 by the organ builder Friedrich Weigle (Leinfelden-Echterdingen) and restored in 2005 by the organ builder Mühleisen (Leonberg), whereby the disposition was also slightly changed. The instrument is laid out on 34 registers , 29 registers are currently built, distributed over three manuals and pedal . The registers of the 2nd and 3rd manuals are in a common swell, which can also be swelled on the back to achieve the effect of a remote control. The Spieltrakturen are mechanically, the Registertrakturen electrically.

I Hauptwerk C – g 3
1. Bourdon 16 ′
2. Principal 8th'
3. Covered 8th'
4th Viola di gamba 8th'
5. Octave 4 ′
6th Transverse flute 4 ′
7th Fifth 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
8th. Super octave 2 ′
9. Mixture V 2 ′
10. Trumpet 8th'
II Swell C – g 3
11. Violin principal 8th'
12. Salicional 8th'
13. Voix céleste (from c 0 ) 8th'
14th Fugara 4 ′
15th Plein jeu V 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
16. Basson 16 ′ v
17th oboe 8th'
III Swell C – g 3
18th Covered 8th'
19th Flute harmonique 8th' v
20th Reed flute 4 ′
21st Nazard 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
22nd Flageolet 2 ′
23. third 1 3 ⁄ 5  ′
24. Trumpet harm. 8th' v
25th Cromorne 8th' v
Pedals C – f 1
26th Principal bass 16 ′
27. Sub bass 16 ′
28. Nazard 10 2 ⁄ 3  ′
29 Octavbass 8th'
30th Covered bass 8th'
31. violoncello 8th' v
32. Tenor octave 4 ′
33. trombone 16 ′
34. Trumpets 8th'
v = vacant

photos

  • The church in front of the Weinsberger Burg, seen from the east

  • Tower from the southeast

  • The church from Burgberg

  • Today's west and former main portal

  • The remains of the first eagle

  • Detail of the south facade

  • Ring stone above the tower choir

  • East choir

  • Vault of the east choir

  • Keystone in the east choir with the head of John the Baptist

Remarks

  1. ↑ Baden-Württemberg Monument Protection Act, Section 12 in conjunction with Section 28

literature

  • Eduard Paulus: The art and antiquity monuments in the Kingdom of Württemberg. Neckarkkreis - inventory ; Stuttgart 1889, p. 512
  • Simon M. Haag: Römer - Salier - Staufer - Weinsberger: little history of the castle and town of Weinsberg . Ed. V. City archive Weinsberg. Verl. News sheet of the city of Weinsberg, Weinsberg 1996, ISBN 3-9802689-9-3
  • Simon M. Haag: On the building history of the upper administrative town of Weinsberg . Verl. News paper of the city of Weinsberg, Weinsberg 1995, ISBN 3-9802689-8-5
  • Christoph Planck: Johanneskirche Weinsberg . 3. Edition. Evangelical Church Community Weinsberg, Weinsberg 1998
  • Otto Friedrich: Evangelical churches in the deanery Weinsberg - picture reading book ; ed. Ev. Dean's Office Weinsberg, 2003, page 54 f
  • 800 years of Johanneskirche Weinsberg. Anniversary band for the 2004 festival year, lectures and events . Evangelical Church Community Weinsberg, Weinsberg 2004
  • Leaflet: Ev. Parish Weinsberg (ed.): Johanneskirche Weinsberg ; no year (after 2011)
  • Leaflet: Georg Ottmar: The east choir window - Ev. Johanneskirche Weinsberg - an aid to understanding ; ed. Ev. Parish Weinsberg; no year (after 2011)
  • Georg Ottmar: The Johanneskirche in Weinsberg - description and tour ; ed. Ev. Weinsberg parish, 2013

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Website of the Evangelical Church Community in Weinsberg
  2. ^ Website of the Evangelical Church District Weinsberg-Neuenstadt
  3. ↑ Simon M. Haag, Helmut Deininger, Manfred Wiedmann: The side walls between the castle and the town of Weinsberg and the outer bailey settlement or the support of historical research through recent scientific achievements . In: Württembergisch Franken 84 . Historical Association for Wurttemberg Franconia, Schwäbisch Hall 2000. pp. [75] –101
  4. ^ Georg Ottmar: The Johanneskirche in Weinsberg - description and tour ; ed. Ev. Parish Weinsberg, 2013, p. 8
  5. ↑ Matthias Figel: The Reformation sermon service. An investigation into the history of the liturgy on the origins and beginnings of Protestant worship in Württemberg ; Epfendorf / Neckar 2013 - as well as: Matthias Figel: sermon worship , in: Württembergische Church History Online, 2014 - Permalink: [1]
  6. ↑ As a reverse model, for example: Adoration of the Magi (around 1530–1535, oil painting on linden wood), Städel Collection (Frankfurt), inventory number SG 452, see [2]
  7. ↑ see defective signature; made by Glasmalerei Gaiser / Stuttgart, restored in 1992 by Glasmalerei V. Saile / Stuttgart
  8. ^ Ehrenfried Kluckert, Axel Zimmermann (arrangement): Adolf V. Saile - Städtische Galerie Filderstadt, Small Art Cabinet Bernhausen; Exhibition from October 13, 1985 to November 6, 1985 ; ed. from the city. Gallery Filderstadt; Volume 1: Exhibition catalog, Volume 2: Catalog raisonné; Filderstadt 1985 - directory numbers 1a / 56/12, 1a / 74/1 and 1a / 79/3
  9. ↑ For illustration and sermons on the east choir windows, see [3] , last accessed on July 19, 2020
  10. ↑ Text on the back of a Weinsberg picture postcard with the Schreiter choir windows
  11. ↑ Norbert Jung: 1914 - Albert Volk - War Memorials - 2014 , Heilbronn 2014, ISBN 978-3-934096-39-4 , pp. 26-28.
  12. ↑ More information about the organ of the Johanneskirche

Web links

Commons : Johanneskirche Weinsberg  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 49 ° 9 ′ 10 ″  N , 9 ° 17 ′ 9 ″  E