Church Seedorf BE

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Seedorf Church from the north (2015)

The Seedorf Church is the Reformed village church of the Seedorf community in the Bernese Seeland . The parish of Seedorf includes the villages of Baggwil , Frienisberg , Frieswil , Lobsigen, Ruchwil, Dampfwil, Seedorf, Aspi and Wiler. In its oldest parts, the church has existed since the 12th century. Together with the rectory from 1547, the pfrund barn from 1613 and the old parish hall from 1880, it forms an ensemble that is visible from afar on the elevated location with retaining walls .

history

For the first time in the founding deed of the Cistercian Abbey of Frienisberg from 1131 a people priest Meffried von Seedorf and 40 years later a secular priest Burchard von Seedorf were mentioned. This means that the existence of a church in Seedorf can be assumed even before the monastery was founded. The parish of Seedorf with the villages of Lobsigen, Baggwil and several hamlets belonged to the founder of the Frienisberg Abbey, Count Udelhard von Saugern (Soyhières near Delsberg) , around 1131 . He had probably inherited the property from his mother, the Chunizza of Burgundy, the daughter of Regina von Oltigen . His grandsons Rudolf, Sigmund and Heinrich, Counts von Thierstein , sold the property, the court and the church set in Seedorf to the abbey in 1267 for 300 marks gold and silver. The church was incorporated into the monastery in 1320 . The abbot of Frienisberg, Otto von Münsingen, sold the church set from Seedorf to the city of Bern in 1380. In 1386 the villages of the parish came under the jurisdiction of the Landvogtei Aarberg with the castle rights contract. After the Reformation and the secularization of the abbey in 1528, the property and court ownership in the parish Seedorf fell to Bern with the parish and was administered by the Vogtei Frienisberg until 1798. Together with Meikirch, Seedorf formed the “monastery court” in the Zollikofen district court. With the introduction of the new Bern constitution, Seedorf was divided into the community, parish and resident community. The school remained under the direction and supervision of the Church until 1833. A state school inspectorate, in which the pastors and teachers officiated, was converted into a school inspectorate in 1856 and thus freed from the duties of the pastor.

Building history

The first Romanesque church probably replaced a smaller previous building and was built in the 12th century over an early and high medieval burial ground and had a nave of 17 × 8.7 m and a square choir room, each separated by a round arch, each 1.6 m retracted 5.2 m edge length.

During the excavations in 1976/1977, the archaeologists found graves from two different older eras under the church longhouse. No grave goods were found that would allow conclusions to be drawn about the exact time of burial.

In February 1858 excavations in the area of ​​the old parish hall uncovered a stone sarcophagus from the 7th or 8th century, which is now placed next to the tower. The Bernese antiquity researcher Albert Jahn describes this find in an article as a roughly hewn shell sandstone block with a separate cover that broke during the recovery and disappeared. Its age cannot be determined, but it is much older than the church. Other burial sites vaulted into the rock were repeatedly found and carelessly destroyed.

The former main entrance to the church was on the western front. Two of the Romanesque windows on the north wall and four on the south wall are still preserved today.

In the 14th century the west side of the nave was renewed. The main portal was moved south from the central axis. Today it is walled up and visible from the outside next to the later tower with the pointed arches. The still existing arched portal with a width of 1.5 m and a height of 2.4 m in the middle of the south wall was probably built during this time. Most of the wall paintings also date from the 14th century. Instead of the west portal, the new entrance on the west side of the south wall was created in the 16th century. Two coats of arms with the Bernese bear and the year 1584 are chiseled over the portal.

The late Gothic baptismal font from 1582 bears the biblical words in Greek script "After his mercy he saves us through the bath of rebirth". On the base it bears the coats of arms of the von Mülinen family , two Bern coats of arms , the Frienisberg monastery and the Cistercian order. Today it stands with a modern brass lid by the pulpit in the choir area.

Church with rectory (1824)

In 1640 the 37 m high tower on the west wall of the nave was built with shell sandstone, presumably from the nearby Schallenberg near Allenwil. Its baroque gable roof was replaced in 1862 by today's helmet roof with a cross and weather vane. With the renovations at the beginning of the 18th century, the church was adapted to the baroque style of the time. The wall to the choir was opened and the arch removed. Instead of the square one, an octagonal choir was created, with three high windows, the same width and height as the nave. The Romanesque windows in the upper storey were bricked up and two large arched windows were built in, as well as a third entrance on the south side next to the pulpit staircase to the choir room. Wheel windows were broken out over the two younger doors. The baroque ceiling was designed to be polygonal to avoid hard transitions.

The painter Ernst Linck , who had painted the Bern fountain and designed the choir window with the figure of Christ for the church in Kirchlindach, was commissioned to color the interior walls in 1924, allegedly not imposing any restrictions on his artistic freedom.

In 1976/1977 the church was completely renovated. An attempt was made to restore the original status as much as possible. When the layers of paint were removed, the bricked-up Romanesque windows came to light again. Then the high windows from the 18th century were bricked up and the window openings in the upper aisle were restored. The paintings from the window reveals are mounted on panels on the north wall. Fragments of medieval frescoes were made visible again and the walls were painted a bright white. The ceiling was freed from baroque ornaments and paneled with wooden boards, as was customary in the 16th century. For practical reasons, the baptismal font has been moved to the side of the pulpit to make room for concert performances in the church. Outside the two gates to the ship were covered with a long canopy.

Furnishing

The pulpit from 1715 is designed with the same baroque style elements as the choir stalls. In addition to the three elevated choir courts, five chairs for the godparents are enclosed in the so-called "Gottengestuhl". The widow of Johann Rudolf von Steiger, the last bailiff of Frienisberg, who died in 1758, had a “monument to her pain” erected on the northern wall of the choir. A black marble tablet with inscriptions is surrounded by a sandstone frame. Above that is a decorative helmet and a curved arch with two weeping putti and a cone-like vase. Under the writing plate the coat of arms of the Steiger with the ibex.

Murals

During the restoration work in 1976/1977, paintings from the 14th century were discovered under several layers of plaster. Of the frescoes from earlier epochs, an even older, tall figure of St. Christopher without head and feet is faintly visible on the north wall. Only a few beard and head hair and remains of a halo and a skirt and coat decorated with diamonds and circular ornaments have been preserved. A tree of life with naked figures and traces of other portraits and ornaments can be seen on the south wall. Further floral elements can be found in the Romanesque window and door walls.

Coats of arms

The importance of the church of Seedorf next to Frienisberg as the seat of a bailiff was emphasized in 1716 by the foundation of glass paintings by members of the Bern government. These are the coat of arms of the Venner Albrecht von Erlach, 1679 to 1685 Landvogt zu Frienisberg and the coat of arms of Niklaus Tscharner, current Venner. In the middle under the coat of arms of the city of Bern, the coat of arms of Burckhart Engel, 1712 to 1718 Landvogt zu Frienisberg and of the bag master Gabriel Thormann, 1654 to 1716 In the right window are the coat of arms of the Venner 1636 to 1719, Carolus von Büren, Freiherr von Vaumarcus and Ludwig Lerber, bailiff from 1656 to 1662. In the wheel window is that of the preacher David Hug von Seedorf. The coats of arms are under monument protection.

  • Coat of arms of the Venner Albrecht von Erlach, from 1679 to 1685 Landvogt zu Frienisberg and the coat of arms of Niklaus Tscharner, current Venner

  • Coat of arms of the city of Bern, the coat of arms of Burckhart Engel, 1712 to 1718 Landvogt zu Frienisberg and the bag master Gabriel Thormann, 1654 to 1716

  • Coat of arms of the Venner 1636 to 1719, Carolus von Büren, Freiherr von Vaumarcus and Ludwig Lerber, governor from 1656 to 1662

  • Coat of arms of the predicant David Hug von Seedorf

The coats of arms were removed in 2017 following a resolution by the parish assembly without the consent of the monument preservation authorities of the canton of Bern, in order to protest against the deletion of parish posts. It is also planned to replace the coats of arms with religious symbols in the long term.

Organs

In 1836 Seedorf received its first organ on the newly constructed gallery. The Wahli brothers, organ builders on the Ferenberg, received money from the community chancellery. The total price was CHF 2,370.50. It is said to have been a work with 12 registers. Before that, typical singing colleges and eight musicians provided musical support for the Sunday sermon.

In 1925 Goll built a new organ, presumably in the old case, which was in use until 1963. The modern organ from Kuhn AG, Männedorf was installed on the gallery in 1964. The main work and the Rückpositiv are operated with two manuals and a pedal as well as 19 registers and an extract. The cost of the organ and the redesign of the gallery amounted to 96,000 francs.

Bells and tower clock

The two old bells were taken from the tower in 1950 and placed at the northern entrance to the church. Johann Witzig from Biel cast the larger one in 1723 as a casting around the split predecessor and provided it with the names of the donors. The smaller one dates from the 15th century. It bears the slogan: O rex glorie veni nobis cum ave maria gratia. A casting pit that fits her was uncovered with a second during excavations in the church. To replace the weak two-part bells, a voluntary collection in 1949 raised the amount of 46,388.85 francs. With it you could buy an electrically operated bell. The four new bells were cast on February 24, 1950 in the presence of many community members by H. Rüetschi AG, Aarau, and brought from the Suberg train station to the Seedorf church by four horse-drawn vehicles. They were raised on May 6, 1950. Actual costs: 56,000 francs The bells bear the names of the evangelists and each have a matching Bible verse: The St. John's bell weighs 1,600 kg, tone D. Everyone will recognize that you are my disciples if you love one another . The Matthew bell weighs 1050 kg, tone F. Your is the kingdom and the power and the glory . The Luke bell weighs 800 kg, tone G. Glory to God on high and peace on earth and a pleasure for people . The Markus bell weighs 400 kg, tone A. Heaven and earth will pass, but my words will not pass . The tower clock with its four dials is still in its original condition from 1899 and has so far been running without major repairs.

literature

  • Anne-Marie Dubler : Seedorf (BE). In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
  • Robert Aeberhard, Ernst Pfeifer: Churches in the Seeland , Verlag W. Gassmann, Biel 1980, pages 79-81
  • Alfred Studer et al .: Seedorf then and now , illustrations: Gertrud Iseli, Emil, Bärtschi, Fritz Baumgartner, Seedorf Culture Commission, Seedorf BE community council, 1976

Web links

Commons : Kirche Seedorf BE  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Seedorf sarcophagus (PDF 2.0 MB)
  2. ↑ Jana Tálos: Seedorf - Protest against the authorities. In: bernerzeitung.ch . Tamedia , May 14, 2017, accessed June 7, 2017 .
  3. ^ Hans Gugger: The Bernese organs , pages 477, 478
  4. ↑ Peter Fasler and co-authors: Seedorf Ref. Church, Orgel Profile Bern, Part 4. In: Orgelverzeichnis Schweiz und Liechtenstein. Retrieved April 2, 2017 .
  5. ↑ Information on the bells from the brochure of the parish, Der Turm der Kirche Seedorf

Coordinates: 47 ° 2 '3.3 "  N , 7 ° 18' 40.6"  E ; CH1903:  five hundred and ninety thousand three hundred and twenty-one  /  209255