Gerzensee Church

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Gerzensee church from the west

The Gerzensee church is mentioned for the first time in 1228 in the church directory ( Chartular ) that the Bishop of Lausanne had drawn up. Since 1528 it has been the Reformed village church of Gerzensee in the canton of Bern , Switzerland .

location

Atypical for churches in the Bern area, the church is not visible from far away. It is located on the southern slope of the Belpberg . In the area of ​​the church there are several enclosed springs and underground watercourses.

history

Rectory and church around 1820

It is speculated that the Gerzensee church was built on the site where a Celtic sanctuary is said to have stood, which was dedicated to a spring goddess. In the course of Christianization, the source goddess is said to have been replaced by St. Catherine . Since it was first mentioned in the Chartular of the Diocese of Lausanne in 1228, the Gerzensee Church has remained fundamentally similar to what it is today, in the 21st century. Two visitation reports are known from the 15th century (1416/17 and 1453) . The list of defects (the pulpit wall was crumbling, the missal torn, the censer defective) gave the visitor the opportunity to restore the church to good condition.

reformation

In 1528 the Reformation came to Gerzensee and with it the iconoclasm . The altars were torn down, the figures of saints smashed or burned, the frescoes chopped off, the Mount of Olives and the tabernacle bricked up. The building was remodeled probably at the beginning of the 17th century. The window openings were knocked out and arched windows were installed and there were benches without backrests in the nave . The ruling family had choir stalls built in and provided their seat with the family coat of arms . The pulpit was also renewed at that time. The gallery , resting on two pretty posts, was ready for the lead singer or singers, the bassoon and oboe players , who from then on accompanied the community singing. In 1825 the first organ was built on the gallery . The builder was the organist Hofer from Lützelflüh . 60 years later, in 1887, von Goll installed a probably larger organ in Lucerne. In 1717 the tower received a clockwork . From then on you could read the time on two painted dials . In 1860 three bells were hung in the bell house . An oven is mentioned for the first time in 1878. In 1892 the cracked largest bell was replaced and the ringing was extended with a fourth bell. In 1893 the church received a Jesus window as the middle choir window, a glass painting by R. Giesbrecht. In 1919, the lord of the castle, Berthold von Erlach-von Wattenwyl, donated two glass windows for the choir and later a third window with the Gerzensee coat of arms, which was installed in the ship . All three windows were designed by the painter Rudolf Münger from Bern. In 1920 the church was equipped with electric lighting.

Renovation from 1937

The family coat of arms of the Ritsch or Rych family dates from around 1340 and comes from a grave monument and is now set into the wall above the side exit of the Gerzensee church.

In 1937 the church was extensively renovated and redesigned. A new organ from Goll with 11 registers was included in the total cost of CHF 53,219 . In the west the church was extended by two meters. The round window on the gallery and two small windows under the gallery were installed. The two posts that supported the old gallery were replaced by a mighty steel beam clad with thin wood. The old long benches were replaced by benches with backs. In place of the often smoking stove, the electric heating was installed under the footboards of the benches. The baroque pulpit and the folding seats in the choir with the coats of arms of the lords were torn out and mysteriously disappeared without a trace. The new pulpit was placed on two visible concrete beams. New doors and new canopies were made. A wheel and a sword were carved on the horizontal beam by the tower canopy as a reminder of the original Katharinenkirche. Inside, the Romanesque baptismal font , an epitaph , the grave tablets of two pastors and a family coat of arms have been preserved. For aesthetic reasons (all three choir windows should stylistically match each other) the Jesus window was removed and instead the window with the community coat of arms from the ship was inserted. The Jesus window has been stored in the parsonage floor ever since. Two grave slabs were found under the floor of the choir, a doorway and two tabernacles behind the plaster in the choir . One, in late Gothic form, was restored by the Münsterbauhütte .

Tower renovation 1957

Clockwork in the Gerzensee church tower

In 1957 the church tower was renovated. Rotten wood of the helmet , weakened by worm infestation and wooden sponges, was replaced and the entire helmet was impregnated and covered with old bricks . Before the renovation, the upper part was covered with Eternit . The tower cross was rusted and was rebuilt by Karl Schmid. The arbor parapet was positioned in such a way that the water no longer ran down over the plaster . The tower clock has been overhauled. Three new, smaller dials were added, the numerals riveted to metal rings, and new hands were fitted. After chopping off the plaster, thick, well-preserved tower walls made of tufa and field stones came to light. The tower renovation cost Fr. 28,284.

Further innovations

In 1961 Albert von Erlach donated a stained glass pane that he had received as a thank you for his humanitarian service in the Second World War . The pane, made by Glasmaler Halter, Bern, was installed in the front window of the ship. In 1964 the wooden bells were replaced by steel ones. The bell chamber was reinforced by a reinforced concrete ceiling and an eclectic bell was installed. Until then, the bells were rung by hand using ropes. In 1967 the wooden choir floor was renewed. In 1977 the hearing aid system was renewed and pillows were procured for the hard pews. In 1985, the church roof was renovated and new copper channels were installed for CHF 80,000. In 1989 the new Goll organ was inaugurated. It has 14 registers and two manuals and cost CHF 231,000. In 2002 the first loudspeaker system was installed in the church . In 2012 the defective choir floor had to be replaced. At the same time, the benches in the choir were removed. As a result, the old electric heating had to be replaced by modern infrared heating . At the same time the lighting was renewed and the interior walls of the church were repainted. In 2013 the Goll organ was revised.

Furnishing

Three choir windows of the Gerzensee church: left, women's window; middle, angel window; right, St. John's window

Leaded glass window

The three leaded glass windows in the choir were made in 1919 by the glass painter Rudolf Münger. They were donated by Berthold von Erlach-von Wattenwyl.

  • Woman's window with words from the Bible from Romans 13:10 and Proverbs 14:25: Love is the fulfillment of the law. / Wherever you work, there is enough. / But wherever one deals with words, there is want.
  • Angel window with Bible verse from Isaiah 32:17: And there will be peace of righteousness / fruit.
  • John window with Bible verse from John 1:17: The law was given through Moses / - grace and truth came through / Jesus Christ.
  • Jesus window: It was replaced by the angel window for aesthetic reasons and is located in the parsonage screed. It was made in 1893 by the glass painter R. Giesbrecht.

organ

Goll organ, Gerzensee 1989
This is how the Goll organ sounds in the Gerzensee church

The Goll organ was inaugurated in 1989. The housing is made of solid larch wood. The carvings were made by Franz Ledergerber, Bühl. It is equipped as follows:

I main work C – f 3
Principal 8th'
Hollow flute 8th'
Octave 4 '
Fifth 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
third 1 3 ⁄ 5  ′
flute 2 '
Mixture IV 2 '
II Positive C – f 3
Dumped 8th'
Pointed Gamba 8th'
Reed flute 4 '
Principal 2 '
Dulcian 8th'
Pedal C – d 1
Sub bass 16 '
Bourdon 8th'
Trumpet 8th'
  • Change step for trumpet 8 '

Bells

Full ringing of all four bells of the Gerzensee Church sounds in F major: f 'a' c f
Largest bell in the Gerzensee church tower

The tower is 30 m high. The bell chamber is at a height of 15 m. The four bells were cast in the H. Rüetschi bell foundry and sound in an F major chord.

No.
  		Surname
  		Casting year
  		Mass
(kg, approx.) 		Percussive
( HT - 1 / 16 ) 		inscription
1 1892 1024 f 1 Come hear the good news, / Christ from my honorable mouth!
Love is the bond of perfection.
Sabbath peace / Already down here / Sabbath rest / According to earthly burden!
2 1860 523 a 1 Himmelan / Take the train. / My sounds / calls: Narrow / Is the gate, narrow the path: / Soul flee the advice of evil!
Faith / is the victory that overcomes the world.
3 1860 290 c 2 Hope / does not turn to shame.
My tone floats upwards. / After him, son of earth. / Up the heart / In joy and pain!
4th 1892 140 f 2 Glory to God alone!

literature

  • Franz Vollenweider: Gerzensee , Paul Haupt Publishing House, Bern 1972, Berner Heimatbücher 111, ISBN 3-258-02076-0 .
  • Jürg Stuker: 750 years of Gerzensee , Stämpfli & Cie AG, Bern 1978.
  • Hans Ulrich Schäfer: Ängel uf Ärde , Fischer-Media-Verlag, Münsingen 1998; ISBN 3-85681-384-5 .
  • Rudolf Tschannen: Gerzensee , Gerzensee municipal administration, Gerzensee 2000.

Web links

Commons : Church Gerzensee  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 46 ° 50 '14.7 "  N , 7 ° 32' 33"  E ; CH1903:  607 923  /  187 368