Johanniskirche (Loessnitz)

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Johanniskirche in Loessnitz

photo

address 08294 Lößnitz (Ore Mountains)
Rathausplatz 3
Denomination Evangelical Lutheran
local community Lößnitz / Affalter parish
Current usage Parish church; Cultural place
building
start of building around 1817
Renovations and renovations restored from 1991
style classicism

The Evangelical-Lutheran St. John's Church in Lößnitz is a hall church consecrated in 1826 in the Saxon Ore Mountains . The Johanniskirche is the largest classical church in the Ore Mountains and has the second oldest bronze carillon in Germany. The striking building is a landmark of the city and is a listed building . The Lößnitzer Johanniskirche replaced a previous building in the center of the village, which was first documented in the 14th century.

Previous building

The church, mentioned around 1380, bears the patronage of John the Baptist , which was retained even after the Reformation . It was destroyed several times by fires, but was rebuilt repeatedly until the 18th century. The last city fire on December 10, 1806, however, left only a dilapidated ruin that was torn down.

New building from 1817 to 1826 and further church history

The new church stands on the historic green , which the streets Kirchgasse – Johannisplatz (north), Johannisstraße – Rathausplatz (south) as well as the Obergraben (northeast) and a connecting road (west) outline. The former cemetery extends between Johannisplatz and Johannisstraße .

The church building was erected within ten years, between 1817 and 1826, in the classicism style. The building plans were made by the architect Raffael Riegel, who is said to have also been involved in the construction of the Vienna Court Theater . The inauguration took place on October 26th, 1826. The fire, which broke out in 1829, apparently passed the new church without damage, because it was not mentioned in the recent destruction. Later fires could not harm her either.

St. Johannis Church in 1906 on a historic postcard.

In the last year of the First World War , on June 27, 1917 to be precise, the three bronze church bells were removed and delivered as a bell donation for war purposes. In 1920 a new bell could be put into operation.

On the occasion of the 700th anniversary of the city of Loessnitz in 1938, the Chemnitz- born businesswoman Clara Pfauter donated a carillon to the city , which was made in the bell foundry Franz Schilling Söhne in Apolda . It was supposed to find its place in the tower of the town hall , but its statics were not sufficient. The city administration and the church council agreed to install the plaything in the tower and the gaming table in the main room of the Johannis Church. At Pentecost 1939 it was set up and inaugurated by the church musician Wilhelm Bender . A meltdown of the carillon that was planned during World War II failed due to the resistance of the Loessnitz people.

In 1994 the Glockenspielfest Lößnitz took place on the occasion of the 55th birthday of the commissioning of the carillon on the town hall square and in the Johannis church.

architecture

church

The church building is designed as a plastered quarry stone building with a straight east end. The exterior is symmetrically structured by gabled central risalites , pilasters and tall, narrow arched windows with wooden bars . The foundation made of field stones is set into the rocky slope. The longitudinal axis was turned slightly northwards compared to the usual west-east orientation, depending on the local conditions. The external dimensions of the building are around 47 meters in length and around 25 meters in width with a rectangular floor plan . An entrance to the church is located in the middle on the southern long side of the nave. The main entrance is on the west side of the church tower.

A hipped roof closes the main aisles and the two aisles. The side aisles are set off from the main nave with white fluted Doric columns . Above there are three-story galleries on both sides . On the parapet of the second gallery, a Doric frieze with triglyphs and smooth pastel-colored metopes runs completely around the interior.

Steeple

The approximately 40 meter high west tower houses a bell house in the upper half . The lantern , in which the above-mentioned carillon is housed, is located above a square copper dome . An interior staircase with 203 steps leads to the height of the Glockenspielstube, and there are 222 steps to the lantern. The tower is crowned by a copper cross .

In the upper area there is also the electrically operated church tower clock, which controls both the carillon and the ringing bells.

Outdoor area

Memorial plaque for Gotthelf Friedrich Oesfeld

In a niche at the foot of the south-east wall of the Johanniskirche there is a plaque commemorating the pastor and chronicler Gotthelf Friedrich Oesfeld .

Interior

altar

The altar area is a semicircular apse , which is structured with five large arched windows. Consoles are attached to the struts between the windows, on each of which a carved figure rests. In the center of the altar area there is a canopy supported by four columns directly above the altar table. A gilded crucifix adorns the front edge of the canopy. A wrought iron grille surrounds the area.

Galleries

The organ is located on the second of the three galleries of the nave . It was created in the workshop of the brothers Emil and Bruno Jehmlich and was installed in the church in 1899. With more than 3,400 pipes, it is one of the largest church musical instruments in Saxony. The organ front , lavishly decorated with columns and tendrils , takes up the entire west side of the gallery and was designed by Woldemar Kandler . On the balustrade of the gallery is a stylized bronze harp as a discreet ornament .

Pulpit, seating and more

Instead of a classic pulpit , a metal ambo was set up to hold the sermon documents. The wooden pews are sparingly carved and painted white. The marble baptism with a pewter bowl and a decorated copper lid, placed to the side of the altar area, is marked with the year 1867. A large crystal chandelier hangs in the middle of the church . Together with multi-armed chandeliers on the side walls and on the balustrades of the galleries, they ensure uniform illumination of the interior.

Peal

The three tonally coordinated bronze bells of the original equipment were remelted into military equipment in 1917. Through a targeted collection of donations right after the end of the war , the parish was able to order a new bell in the Schilling & Lattermann foundry in Morgenröthe-Rautenkranz . The consecration of the three chilled cast iron bells took place on May 2nd, 1920.

A technical inspection carried out in the church tower in 2009 had shown that the supporting structure of the bells, the floors and the bells themselves were no longer safe. The Lößnitz parish decided to have three new bronze bells made in the Perner foundry in Passau with the help of a donation collection . For this purpose, the old bells were gradually expanded in 2011. A truck-mounted crane finally lifted the bells on November 21, 2011. All three iron bells were put down forever in the cemetery next to the hospital church.

The casting of the new bells took place on May 20, 2011, for which a delegation from Lößnitz had come to Passau. After weeks of cooling down, a truck brought the orchestras to Lößnitz, where they were temporarily stored in the bridal hall of the church. Installation began in January 2012 and on February 12th they were rung at a festive service, the consecration of bells had already taken place at the Salzmarkt . The ringing took place with the lively sympathy of all Loessnitzers and their guests. In addition, the stairs to the bell house, the girders, the floorboards and the church tower clock were completely renewed on this occasion . In order to ensure the best possible audibility, a test ring followed in March 2012, with the result that the blinds of the sound shutters would in future be left open during the ringing process.

Overview

Each bell has a similar lettering with the following text: “Gloria in excelsio Deo | Johannesgeläut zu Lößnitz” (German: “Glory to God in the highest”). The three strikes together form the gloria sounds . The texts of the bell inscriptions had previously been selected or proposed by the parish members and residents and a majority decided. The designer Tobias Michael from Lauter designed the bell ornament.

Bell jar diameter Weight
in kg 		Chime Name, use inscription
size 1434 mm 1 960 of' Death bell “Holy, holy, holy is God, the Lord, the Almighty, who was, who is, and who is coming!”
John Revelation, 4 V. 8
middle 1269 mm 1 397 it' St. John's bell, prayer bell “Ask, and you will receive, that my joy may be perfect.” (Obverse) John 16 V. 24 and
“Seek the best for the city and pray for it.” (Reverse) Jeremiah 29.7
small 1166 mm 1 106 ges' Baptismal bell “As many as welcomed him, he gave them power to become children of God who believed in his name.”
John 1 v. 12

The bell of the Johannis Church is driven by electric motors, but can also be switched to manual operation. The approximately 350,000 euros required for the bell casting came about  through numerous donations, through benefit music events, through funding from the federal government - state program for urban monument protection , through grants from the city of Lößnitz and, last but not least, through grants from the Saxon regional church .

Carillon

The game, consisting of 23 bronze bells (all preserved in the original and four with a swastika , among others ) is generally put into operation four times a day at fixed times of the day and on special occasions, for example for the " Apolda World Bells ", which has been taking place since 2009.

The sound of the inscriptions on the 23 bells of a 1939 carillon for the Johanniskirche was intended to evoke the successes of the Nazi state to date.

" The following signs and words decorate these bells:

  • "Ms. <...>, Chemnitz, donated me and my 22 sisters to the 700th anniversary celebration in July 1938 in their hometown of Lößnitz in the Erzgebirge."
  • In 1938, when Austria became the Ostmark of Greater Germany under Adolf Hitler's leadership and Sudetenland returned home to the Reich, cast by Franz Schilling's sons, Apolda
  • "A people"
  • "One Empire"
  • "A guide"
  • "At this hour we thank the Almighty that he has blessed us on our way in the past and ask him that he may guide us on our way to good in the future too. Adolf Hitler on October 23, 1938"
  • "I am a little bit of a harmony, but without me, says what would they be? So each one has its purpose in space, even if it is just a little bit of sound" "

The Glockenspiel is owned by the mining town of Lößnitz. On four of the 23 bronze bells of the carillon there are National Socialist symbols and inscriptions from 1938. After a comprehensive lecture by the mayor, this topic was examined in detail in a public event on Tuesday, September 24, 2019 in the Erzgebirgshalle Lößnitz in front of around 500 visitors and representatives of the press. The background was a currently increased awareness of the Lößnitz bronze carillon in a Germany-wide discussion about bells that were made during the National Socialist era.

The City Council of the City of Lößnitz subsequently adopted the following public resolution unanimously in its meeting on October 2, 2019:

The city council of Lößnitz decides:

1. To preserve the Lößnitz bronze carillon as a cultural monument in its originality and originality.

2. The musical maintenance of this carillon takes place in its previous manner.

3. The city of Lößnitz expressly distances itself from the goals and ideology of National Socialism. The Lößnitz bronze carillon stands in particular for peace, for freedom and for the resistance of the Lößnitz citizens against the warmongering of the Nazi era.

4. The Lößnitz bronze carillon is to serve as a memorial in the future and offer the opportunity to deal with the history of National Socialism and especially with the history of the Carillon. For this purpose, the administration is commissioned to work out a concept for a subsequent presentation of the information on several (display) boards, which are to be set up in public space, with historical support.

It is maintained and looked after by the Lößnitzer Bronze-Glockenspiel eV association. The polyphonic ringing is operated by a role-playing machine using a keyboard. This technology comes from the company M. Welte & Sons from Freiburg im Breisgau , the game machine was built by the company Zachariä from Leipzig . Over time, only worn fastening elements, a support beam and a few small parts were replaced. The total weight of all bells including the slot machine is given as 2,400  kg . The instrument's bell tones are chromatically tuned in two octaves. The carillon is illuminated around the lantern in the evening.

Apolda world bells ringing

This is a musical event by four cities or institutions that have carillon from Apolda. They symbolize the four cardinal points. One day a year, the selected bells will sound at the same time. The ringing of the world bells is broadcast live via video and screens to the other facilities and also directly on the Internet. In 2012, the Luther Church (Apolda) , the Johannis Church Lößnitz, the Cologne Cathedral and the Kallion Church in Helsinki took part . In Lößnitz, the glockenspiel was accompanied by the Lößnitz trombone choir, the brass ensemble Lutz Hildebrandt eV and the chimes. The angel tower , composed by Lutz Gabriel especially for this event , was heard on July 14th in the fully occupied church. Other pieces were also performed.

Cultural use of the Johannis Church

  • The melodious organ plays an important role in the annual Christmas Oratorio . The oratory marks the end of the Loessnitz Christmas market.
  • There are concerts in the church in loose succession .
  • The men's vocal ensemble King’s Singers was a guest at the Erzgebirge Music Festival in 2012 .
  • Participation in the Ore Mountains Music Festival 2014 : The performance of the international ensemble Pera and the soprano Francisca Lombardi in the church is being prepared.
  • The Kurrende children of the congregation studied the musical Josef in 2012/2013 and performed it in the church in February 2013.

literature

Web links

Commons : Saint John the Baptist Church (Lößnitz, Erzgebirge)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

References and footnotes

  1. ↑ a b c Timeline City Chronicle Lößnitz
  2. ^ Website of the Lößnitz tourist office ; accessed on March 12, 2014
  3. ↑ Ulrich Bender: Church musicians in the "Third Reich": Wilhelm Bender Snippet on books.google.de; accessed on March 12, 2014
  4. ^ Report on the Lößnitz Glockenspiel Festival 1994 ; reproduced on powertechnik.com; from the Freie Presse, Aue edition of May 24, 1994, accessed on March 12, 2014
  5. ↑ Details of the organ can be seen at Orgel-Wein-Abend on www.erzgebirgsfernsehen.de  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed March 12, 2014@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.erzgebirgsfernsehen.de  
  6. ^ Lößnitz: Johanniskirche needs new bells. In: Freie Presse from June 8, 2009; accessed on March 11, 2014
  7. ↑ Bell construction site - part 15 ready to ring - almost ( memento of March 6, 2012 in the Internet Archive ); accessed on March 11, 2014
  8. ^ Financing status of the new bells at the end of 2011 ( memento of April 6, 2012 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on March 11, 2014
  9. ^ Rainer Thümmel : Bells in Saxony . Sound between heaven and earth. Ed .: Evangelical Regional Church Office of Saxony . 2nd, updated and supplemented edition. Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, Leipzig 2015, ISBN 978-3-374-02871-9 , pp. 327 (With a foreword by Jochen Bohl and photographs by Klaus-Peter Meißner).
  10. ↑ Apoldaer Tageblatt May 25, 1939
  11. ↑ Current information on the Lößnitz bronze glockenspiel, on stadt-loessnitz.de, accessed on July 20, 2020
  12. ↑ a b The association Lößnitzer Bronze-Glockenspiel eV
  13. ↑ Stadtkirche der Bergstadt Lößnitz ( memento from December 13, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), on kirche-loessnitz.de, accessed on March 11, 2014
  14. ↑ Specific data (strikes) on the glockenspiel on the website www.glockenspielvereinigung.de ; accessed on March 11, 2014
  15. ↑ World Bells 2012 ( memento from January 23, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) on www.kirche-loessnitz.de
  16. ↑ a b Förderkreis Lößnitzer Kirchenmusik eV
  17. ↑ Musikfest Erzgebirge Vokal International - King's Singers in Lößnitz ( Memento from September 27, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
  18. ↑ Josef das Musical ( Memento from September 27, 2016 in the Internet Archive )

Remarks

  1. ↑ The length and width have been roughly measured using Google Earth .
  2. ↑ The height of the tower has not yet been found in any sources. Therefore it was calculated from the number of steps multiplied by the standard step height of 15 cm and the further addition of the estimated height of the lantern as a guide.
  3. ↑ Details of the altar area created by evaluating several photos on the Internet and on various websites.

Coordinates: 50 ° 37 ′ 19.1 ″  N , 12 ° 43 ′ 59.3 ″  E