King Christ Church (Todtnau)

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King Christ Church in Todtnau

The King Christ Church in Todtnau in the Black Forest was rebuilt at the end of the 1950s after a previous church had been inaugurated on the same site at the end of the 19th century. The church is the only Protestant church in Todtnau and its districts where services are held.

history

prehistory

The village of Todtnau was a purely Catholic village until the 19th century. Around 1825, three people of Protestant faith lived between Zell im Wiesental and Todtnau. The first Protestant burial in the upper Wiesental took place in Schönau in 1855 . In that year 43 people in Schönau and 12 in Todtnau were Protestants. In 1861 the total rose to 81, so that the deanery responsible at that time in Maulburg requested four services per year. However, due to the long journey, the request could not be granted.

With the new pastor in Neuenweg in 1882, the Protestant parish received new impetus. This year there were monthly church services in Schönau, followed by religious instruction. Protestant believers from Todtnau also took part in these services. In 1882 a so-called diaspora community was formed for the rear Wiesental, to which Todtnau also belonged. At the same time, the then 82 members founded a fund in order to be able to finance the planned church building from the funds. The Protestant community experienced further progress when Zell im Wiesental was raised to the status of an independent parish in early 1887 . The pastor at the time was strongly committed to ensuring that the Evangelicals in Todtnau should have their own prayer room. Until then, the services were held in the drawing room of a Todtnau school, the first on the 1st of Advent 1887. The need for a separate room resulted on the one hand from the steadily growing number of members and the spa guests who attended the services.

Construction of the prayer room

Although the community received a building site from the factory owner Thoma for a comparatively low price of 1500 marks, with an estimated construction cost of 23,000 marks the project was nevertheless adventurous by today's standards, as the community has practically no own funds. Even the local savings bank was not able to grant a loan of this amount at the time. The upper church council finally granted the building because every member of the church council agreed to personal liability for debts. With the help of the Gustav-Adolf-Verein from Weimar , among others, construction work began on the two-story prayer house in Franz-Dietsche-Strasse in 1891. A small roof turret for a bell crowned the building, which was inaugurated on December 11, 1892. In order to keep costs low, the house was built to save as much space as possible and it was planned to offer apartments for rent on the first floor. The prayer hall was located on the upper floor. The house also provided space for parishioners to gather.

In the first few years after the church was built, the clergy changed quite frequently. The unsatisfactory double care of the two communities Todtnau and Schönau repeatedly led to the departures. It was not until April 1, 1926 that both localities were declared to be independent parishes. The traditional community was commemorated once a year with a joint service.

New building

Even before the Second World War , it turned out that the prayer room with its 80 to 100 seats could no longer cope with the increasing number of parishioners. To this end, expansion plans were presented in 1935, which, however, were not pursued due to lack of funds. Due to the heavy immigration after the end of the Second World War, the Protestant community almost doubled. This fact and an additional number of spa guests made the space problem acute again, so that the plans were revived, which were finally recognized as urgent in 1954. As the city was accommodating the new building, it provided the community with both the land required for the extension and a construction subsidy.

On July 7, 1957, the foundation stone was laid for the new church, which took the old place of the prayer room, but was significantly enlarged. The design of the new church comes from the Todtnau architect Traugott Bierl. On October 12, 1958, the King Christ Church was consecrated by the regional bishop Julius Bender . Due to structural defects, extensive renovation work had to be started in the early 1970s. In addition to replacing the plastic with glass windows, the foundation had to be repaired and partially renewed. In addition, the originally open bell tower corroded due to the weather and the rainwater ran down the iron girders and also made the roof of the nave leaky. Therefore, a wooden ceiling was installed inside and the tower was completely closed off. The interior was also redesigned on the occasion. The work dragged on for a total of eight years and lasted until 1980.

description

Location and church building

The König-Christ-Kirche is located in a small, gently sloping side street in the southern inner city area of ​​Todtnau. The long house with a flat gable roof looks like a normal house. Only through the large and colored windows on the long sides on the second floor can one recognize the sacred character. On the street side, a bell tower rises above the main entrance and stairwell, which ends with an equally flat gable roof and a cross. In contrast to the light plastered main building, the tower contrasts with its dark facade. The tower has rectangular sound openings on two sides , above which is the clock face of the tower clock. The community hall for up to 80 people with a small library is located on the lower floor. The large hall on the second floor offers space for around 200 people to attend the service. In the adjoining rooms there is a kitchen and the church archive.

Interior and equipment

inner space

In the simple, rectangular prayer room, a wooden ceiling has been drawn in, which reflects the slight slope of the gable roof. On the west side a small gallery rises above the entrance area . Light wooden benches are set up on both sides of the aisle. The altar area in the eastern part is slightly raised, on which the simple altar table made of sandstone slabs stands on a small pedestal. The artistic design of the chancel comes from the Emmendingen artist Ernst Thomann. In the middle of the altar wall there is a relief image depicting Petri fishing. The four meter high and three meter wide stained glass windows show Christ enthroned in heaven and the dove of the Holy Spirit. They were designed by Margret Thomann-Heger. The organ is placed to the right of the altar .

Bells

Bell from 1892

The first church in the parish had two smaller bells in the roof turret. The larger one weighed 125 kilograms and was tuned to the tone e ′, the smaller one weighed 75 kilograms and had the striking tone g ′. The last was given as a result of the First World War . In 1922 the ringing was replaced by two bells. The smaller of the two bells was also handed in during the Second World War in April 1942, so that the larger one has been preserved from 1892 until today. Since its sound was no longer perfect, it was taken out of service but placed in the stairwell of the church entrance.

The church currently has the following three-part bells produced in 1958 by the Bachert bell foundry in Karlsruhe:

Surname Chime inscription symbol liturgical function Mass and diameter
Big bell G' See, I am with you every day until the end of the world Cross with crown and Α + Ω Christ bell 623 kg, 1033 mm
Medium bell b ′ See, I am with you every day,
praying without ceasing		 Burning candlestick Prayer bell 438 kg, 890 mm
Little bell d ′ ′ Foundation Ev. Parish Schönau
I called you by your name, you are mine		 Dove, wavy lines Baptismal bell 229 kg, 720 mm

The Christ bell always sounds in combination with the other two and calls for worship. The prayer bell signals both the Lord's Prayer and the bereavement. The baptismal bell rings at baptisms and blessings such as weddings and confirmations.

Organs

organ

The first organ with eleven registers from the Stehle Brothers workshop in Bittelbronn was inaugurated on the gallery on July 5, 1959. However, since it was exposed to strong temperature fluctuations as well as dust and dirt in the church interior, it became unusable due to deposits on the organ pipes. A new organ replaced the first one in 1978, which this time was placed on the long side of the nave due to the warm air heating in the gallery. The instrument, built by the Georges Heintz company, has two manuals , a pedal and nine sounding registers (three prints ). It has the following disposition :

I Manual C-g 3
1. Pointed flute 8th'
2. Principal 4 ′
3. Fifth (first no. 4) 0 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
4th Sesquialter II 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
5. Octave (in advance No. 6) 2 ′
6th Mixture III
II Manual C-g 3
07th Bordon 8th'
08th. Reed flute 4 ′
09. Principal 2 ′
10. Fifth (first no.11) 0 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
11. Larigot II 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
Pedals C – f 1
12. Sub bass 00 16 ′

literature

  • Evangelical parish Todtnau (ed.): From the prayer room to the King Christ Church. 100 years of the Protestant church service room in Todtnau , commemorative publication for the 110th anniversary of the congregation, 1992.
  • Johannes Helm : Churches and chapels in Markgräflerland , Müllheim / Baden 1989, ISBN 3-921709-16-4 , p. 391.

Web links

Commons : King Christ Church  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b From the Prayer Hall to the King Christ Church , p. 7
  2. ^ Helm: Churches and chapels in the Markgräflerland , p. 391 (07.1)
  3. ↑ From the Prayer Hall to the King Christ Church , p. 12
  4. ↑ From the Prayer Hall to the King Christ Church , p. 19
  5. ↑ From the Prayer Hall to the King Christ Church , p. 32
  6. ↑ a b Helm: Church and chapels in the Markgräflerland , p. 391 (07.2)
  7. ↑ From the Prayer Hall to the King Christ Church , p. 37
  8. ↑ From the Prayer Hall to the King Christ Church , p. 40
  9. ↑ a b From the Prayer Hall to the King Christ Church , p. 38
  10. ↑ From the Prayer Hall to the King Christ Church , p. 28
  11. ↑ From the Prayer Hall to the King Christ Church , p. 29
  12. ↑ From the Prayer Hall to the King Christ Church , p. 26

Coordinates: 47 ° 49 ′ 49.8 "  N , 7 ° 56 ′ 43.5"  E