Ostheim fortified church

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South view of the Ostheim fortified church at the end of the 19th century - painting by Carl Maria Nicolaus Hummel
School building, school bell tower and Steinerne Gaden

The fortified church Ostheim is a fortified church in the Lower Franconian town of Ostheim vor der Rhön in the district of Rhön-Grabfeld . The local church of St. Michael is located within a double curtain wall that was built between 1400 and 1450 with an intermediate kennel . The double ring wall has five defense towers and is reinforced with six bastions halfway along the wall. The Protestant church, built in the Renaissance style on the foundations of a previous church, dates from the years 1615 to 1619. Within the fortifications there are 66 vaulted cellars with 72 gates , which served as protective housing during armed conflicts and in which the local residents safely kept their belongings in times of crisis . With a floor area of ​​75 by 75 meters, it is considered the largest and best preserved fortified church in Germany. Some of the vaulted cellars are used by the local population as storage cellars.

location

View from the south, around 1700 - drawing by Christian Junker

The fortified church is located on the northern outskirts of Ostheim. It stands on a level that is slightly inclined to the south towards the Streu , a right tributary of the Franconian Saale . Located at 310 meters above sea level, it towers over the place by around 10 to 15 meters. It stands in the border area between the former domains of the bishops of Würzburg in the south, the abbots of Fulda in the west and the counts of Henneberg in the north. During armed conflicts, the population found safe refuge in the fortified church. It stands directly on the already to the Celts used trade route , the Ortesweg , and on the High Street , the historic highway from Fulda to Bamberg .

meaning

With an area of ​​around 0.6 hectares, the fortified church is one of the largest fortified churches in Germany. Comparable facilities such as the fortified churches in the Thuringian towns of Walldorf and Rohr cover around 0.3 to 0.4 hectares. Like no other fortified church in Germany, it is surrounded by a double circular wall with an intervening Zwinger and several towers and bastions. The fortified church has been preserved except for the southwest side; all vaulted cellars and galleries are still accessible. The fortified church was declared a monument of national importance in 2003 .

history

Former churchyard school

Ostheim with its fortified church and the surrounding region were located in a territorially fragmented area with frequent changes of ownership. From 1409 on they belonged to the ore monastery of Mainz and from 1423 to 1433 to the bishopric of Würzburg . In 1433 the Counts of Henneberg-Römhild took over the Ostheim area, from 1548 the Counts of Mansfeld . The dukes of Saxony ruled there from 1555 and the dukes of Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach from 1741 . In 1920 Ostheim came to the state of Thuringia and 1945 to Bavaria. Since 1410 it is ecclesiastically independently and received in 1596 the town charter . The aristocracy was able to retreat to Lichtenburg , two kilometers to the north, during armed conflicts . The urban population in other places found protection behind a city ​​wall , while the residents of Ostheim were defenseless against the dangers of war. The Ostheimers therefore protected themselves by strengthening and expanding the church. The fortified church was built without the support of ecclesiastical or secular lords, and the later maintenance was carried out exclusively by the Ostheim citizens and farmers.

The first church of Beatae Mariae Virginis was completed in 1419. In terms of defense technology, it was in an unfavorable position because it was surrounded by level terrain. A first wall was erected around the churchyard from 1417/1418 to protect it. By 1450 a defensive wall was built with tall, slender defensive towers at the corners. At the time of the Hussite invasions in the 1430s, a kennel and another outer wall were built. In the years 1579 and 1580, the facility was further expanded due to the Turkish threat. A complete tower-reinforced outer wall was built with the kennel in between. Muzzle loops for hook boxes were made on the towers of the inner wall . The north side was reinforced by a further, centrally located round tower.

Eastern Gaden and Powder Tower

In the years 1589 to 1620 a new church was built in the same place as the previous one had become too small for the city's population. In 1634 armed conflicts broke out during the Croatian invasion in the Thirty Years' War . Ten citizens defended the fortified church with hook boxes, but had to hand over the castle to prevent the city from burning down. The fortified church was looted but not destroyed.

Cadastral plan from 1830/31

Inside the fortification walls there are storage houses ( Gaden ) with vaulted cellars underneath with predominantly arched doors, some of which are marked with dates. This means that individual Gaden can be dated to the years 1547, 1575, 1576, 1855 and 1864. By connecting the Gaden to the outside of the inner wall, an additional protective wall was created. Most of the alleys consist of brick cellars with barrel vaults and overlying, hut-like structures. The ground floors are mostly made of quarry stone, the upper floors are made of timber framing . Beets , fruit , cider , potatoes from around 1780 and some valuables were kept in the Gaden . Since the Gaden over time experienced numerous renovations and extensions that have ridges unequal heights and the roofs are covered differently. As part of building renovations and building maintenance, the Gaden were partially unified.

Since the fortified church had lost its military significance in the course of the 19th century, it was no longer expanded, only renovated. In the 19th century, a breakthrough was made in both wall sections in the north of the church as a further means of access. The fortified church was also damaged in the great city fire in 1878. In 1935 and 1936 the wooden tower rooms of the corner towers were renewed. Church renovations were carried out in 1960 and 1961. The ceiling painting was reconstructed in terms of color; the wall frescoes on the south and west sides were exposed. On the east side, two small galleries, one on top of the other, were removed and the painting of the parapets of the other galleries was renewed.

After the city of Ostheim acquired the Gaden, the fortified church was extensively renovated in 1982. Further thorough renovations of the fortified church and the church were carried out in 2002 and 2003. In summer 2008, the Living Fortified Church Museum was opened opposite the entrance gate. It shows the history of the Ostheimer Kirchenburg and other fortified churches in Franconia and Thuringia on three floors.

description

Fortified church, north view
Floor plan of the fortified church
1. Church
2. Churchyard
3. Main wall
4. School bell tower
5. Weighing
bell tower 6. Eight-hole tower
7. Powder tower
8. Shell tower
9. Gate		 10. Modern gate
11. Side gate
12. Zwinger
13. Zwingerturm
14. School
15. Steingaden
16. Gaden
17. Cemetery
18. Demolished components

The fortified church is surrounded by two rings of walls and has a rectangular floor plan. The inner area measures 60 by 60 meters and is enclosed by a six to eight meter high wall. At each corner of the wall ring there is an approximately 25 meter high corner tower. The two east towers are round, the two west towers have a rectangular floor plan. The towers are each 66 meters apart. In the middle of the northern boundary wall there is a round bastion as reinforcement. A 7.5 meter wide kennel runs around the inner wall . The outer wall is five meters high, has tower-like corner bastions and another bastion on each of the long sides. A round bastion on the east side of the outer wall is no longer preserved. There is a fifth defense tower on the southwest corner. A sixth defense tower at the southeast corner of the outer wall has also not been preserved. The foundations of this tower were found during construction work in 1911. The part of the east wall adjoining the tower was also demolished.

In the kennel there were battlements that are only preserved on the south side. The broken stone defensive walls are plastered in places. When the fortified church was built, bows and crossbows were used for fighting, so vertical slits were made for crossbowmen. Horizontal jaws were later used for the use of handguns. However, the military use of the facility faded into the background.

The partially preserved city walls adjoin the outer walls. The fortified church in the southeast corner was accessible through a round arched entrance gate with a portcullis. In front of it was a moat that enclosed the entire complex. In later years the trench was filled in and another access from the outside was broken through the northern parts of the wall.

The alleys of the fortified church are mostly close to the inside of the inner wall belt, in the northern and eastern parts they are also free. They have one to two floors and can be reached through narrow alleys and several stairs. To the south of the fortified church there are partially vaulted cellars, some of which are carved into the rock and extend to below the southern kennel. When attacks were imminent, the residents of Ostheim withdrew with their most important belongings and supplies and some of the livestock to the fortified church, where they found temporary protection. The cellars and gaden accommodated people, cattle and supplies. In peacetime, they were used to store supplies, with each family usually owning a gade with a cellar. Sometimes several families also shared a Gadenanlage. The temperatures in the cellars remained almost constant in summer and winter. This means that stored goods will stay fresh for a long time. After the harvest, grain , hay , must, beet or wine were stored. Wine and fruit went to the dark, evenly tempered cellars, hay and grain to the upper floors.

The parish church stands in the middle of the fortified church. Next to the gatehouse is the former churchyard school, which today houses a natural history museum. The entrance gate of the fortified church is located near the southeast corner point on the east wall within the Ostheim city wall. The arched gate is still in its original condition. It bears the year 1622 on an iron-clad gate wing, in which a small door opening for the passage of people is built in. Hook stones were used for a pull-up portcullis. The churchyard school was a Latin school in the 16th century , later a girls' school . The teacher's apartment was on the half-timbered floor. It is documented that the building was used as an Ostheimer school from the middle of the 16th century. The building was rebuilt several times in the 19th century. Around 1980 the building was rebuilt and completely renovated for the last time. Today changing exhibitions are shown there. The stone alley was added to the defensive wall in 1466 and 1467 and is part of the extensive alley and cellar facilities within the fortification. The building made of quarry stone has two arched portals and several slotted windows and was rebuilt in 1560 and 1664.

church

Interior panorama
Baptismal font by Hans Grüler
Choir with altar and organ from 1738
Ceiling painting by Nicolaus Storant

The old church from the 15th century, which was walled in in 1589 in the east, west and north, was demolished in 1615 except for the tower. The current church was built on the same site from 1615 to 1620. It is one of the earliest Protestant city churches in Central Germany. The tower on the east side, which sits on the nave, was built in 1579 and 1580 and replaced a previous one with a wooden top in the same place. The tower has one of the earliest French domes in the region, has pointed arched windows and towers above the fortification towers. Two cuboids on the southeast corner of the tower storey bear the year 1579 and the names of pastor Johann Schultheiß, who was in office from 1575 to 1591, and the mayor Conrad Zinn. Both are depicted facing each other in profile on the south facade of the church.

The rectangular building has a gable roof over three naves. In the beginning, the outer walls of the church were regularly plastered with ashlars. Inside, the west gallery was rebuilt several times and renewed in 1975 based on the historical model. Major restoration work was carried out in 1695. In 1738 the church received new windows; the galleries were painted white. After the town fire of 1878, the church was extensively renovated in 1881 and the last major restoration was carried out in 2002 and 2003.

The large barrel vault made of wood was furnished by Nicolaus Storant from Meiningen in 1619 with a ceiling painting, painted directly on the wood. It shows the heavenly throne of God as described in Revelation , chapters 4 and 5. A stone sacrificial box by Hans Markert also dates from 1619 . On the northern long side and on the rear side there are two lofts with chairs, one above the other and facing the pulpit with the four evangelists. The church interior, including the galleries, has 1,000 seats. The main entrance to the church on the south side from 1616 is splendidly decorated in the Renaissance style. The east portal, also in the Renaissance style with an obelisk , dates from 1615. On the south wall around the windows Christian scenes are arranged in gray painting, which show God's love, loyalty and care, Cain and Abel , David and Goliath . There are gravestones on the walls that were rearranged between 1961 and 1975. A Freiherr von Stein is buried in the crypt under the choir.

During the Thirty Years War, the older bells in the church were melted down. In 1645, wandering bell founders from Lorraine cast two bells for the town church, one with the town's coat of arms and the other with the names of the two clergymen Ostheims and the founder. In 1714 the big bell broke and was re-cast by Mattheus Ulrich. He worked in the names of the ruling Duke of Saxony as well as officials and clergymen.

organ

Organ by Johann Ernst Döring

The organ in the choir was made by Johann Ernst Döring in 1738. It stood from 1894 to 1975 on the extended west gallery. When it was moved back to the choir in 1975, two side-mounted tower structures from 1894 were removed from the housing . The organ has two manuals and a pedal with a total of 37 registers . The case has been redesigned and gold-plated with the previous color scheme. The organ was renovated as part of the relocation by master organ builder Otto Hoffmann and sons. In the middle is the ducal Saxon coat of arms with two gilded lions as coat of arms holder and above the Zimbelstern . Below is a trumpet angel with movable arms that was newly gilded during the renovation. The two large leaf tendril borders have also been re-carved. A special feature is that when the trumpet 8 'register is operated in the main work, a mechanism is set in motion through which the angel figure below the coat of arms puts the trumpet to his mouth. The choir organ can also be played from the organ.

I Hauptwerk C, D – c 3
Quintatön 16 ′
Principal 8th'
Dumped 8th'
Gemshorn 8th'
Viola da gamba 8th'
Octave 4 ′
Flauto dolce 4 ′
Fifth 3 ′
third 3 1 ⁄ 5  ′
Flageolet 2 ′
Mixture IV 2 ′
Cymbel III 1'
Trumpet 8th'
II Positive C, D-c 3
Praestant 8th'
Quintatön 8th'
Flauto traverso 8th'
Salicional 8th'
Principal 4 ′
Pointed flute 4 ′
Smalled up 4 ′
Octave 2 ′
Mixture III 1'
Dulcian 8th'
Pedal C, D – d 1
Principal bass 16 ′
Sub-bass 16 ′
Fifth 12 ′
Octave bass 8th'
Thought bass 8th'
Octave bass 4 ′
Mixture V 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
Trombone bass 16 ′

Towers

Eight-hole tower and northern kennel

There are four towers on the inner wall. The round school bell tower on the south-east corner with a high entrance on the second floor comprises five floors. Due to its location at what was once the only entrance, it was of greater importance. It was built in two construction phases. The tower shaft dates from 1417 and 1418. The upper tower room and the attic were built after 1426. The school bell, from which it takes its name, used to be in the tower. It has a height of 26 meters and with over five meters the largest diameter of all towers of the castle.

The eight-hole tower on the north-west corner takes its name from the eight windows on the half-timbered upper floor . It is 22 meters high and has six floors, of which the five lower floors are made of solid stone . There is one room on each of the floors that are accessible via a ladder. The lower floors with an almost square floor plan were built in 1417 and 1418. According to an inscription, the tower room was completed in 1666. In 1935 the half-timbered walls were renewed.

Libra bell tower with southern parts of the wall

The weighing bell tower with a rectangular floor plan and humpback blocks at the corners stands on the southwest corner. The external dimensions of the tower are around 4.5 by 4.8 meters. The lower five floors are made of quarry stone, the upper third consists of half-timbering . The half-timbered upper floor has a bell bay, the roof is octagonal. The year of construction of the tower is not known. The tower spire and the tower room date from after 1436. The tower used to contain the city scales, from which the name is derived. It is known from 1618 that the tower had a clock. An iron clock struck the bell every hour and the time was displayed on a large dial. The bell, which hangs in a hatch that was renewed in 1739, also served as a fire bell and as a signal that the city scales could be used. That is why the tower was previously called the Schlagturm. The weighing bell tower is the tallest in the fortified church with 26.5 meters and six storeys. It can be climbed as a lookout tower.

The round powder tower on the northeast corner is 16.5 meters high and around 4.5 meters in diameter. The massive tower is integrated into the inner eastern and northern kennel wall and accessible via a battlement. The different wall structure made of rubble stones over three floors is striking. As early as 1642, it was referred to as the Powder Tower in a city bill. However, there is no evidence that it served as a storage location for gunpowder . The year of construction is not known. The tower is said to have been rebuilt in 1664 after it was damaged in the Thirty Years War.

The round guard tower , also known as the Zwingerturm, is located near the weighing bell tower at the southwest corner of the outer wall. It is the only surviving tower on the outer wall and has a half-timbered upper floor and an octagonal tent roof . The tower has three floors and has a basement. Its height is 11.75 meters. Access is via a wooden staircase on the upper floor. Inside, another staircase leads to the second floor with two small rooms and a larger one that served as bedrooms and living rooms. The fire and night watchman lived there from the 17th to the 19th century . In the 20th century the tower was temporarily named Kißlingsturm after a man named Kißling who lived in it.

literature

  • Annette Faber: Fortified church St. Michael - Ostheim before the Rhön . 12th edition. Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 2005, ISBN 978-3-7954-4570-6 .
  • Edmund Zöller, Dieter Dietrich: Fortified churches and fortified churches in Lower Franconia: Steigerwald - Rhön - Spessart - Fränk. Wine country . Seehars, Uffenheim 1994, ISBN 3-927598-14-3 .
  • Klaus Leidorf, Peter Ettel, Walter Irlinger, Joachim Zeune: Castles in Bavaria: 7000 years of history in an aerial photo . Konrad Theiss Verlag GmbH & Co., Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-8062-1364-X .
  • Ursula Pfistermeister : Defensive Franconia . Hans Carl Verlag, Nuremberg 2001, ISBN 3-418-00386-9 .
  • Diethard H. Klein: Franconia's castles then and now . Druckhaus Bayreuth, Bayreuth 1991, ISBN 3-922808-31-X .
  • Wilfried Bahnmüller, Michael B. Weithmann: Castles and palaces in Franconia and the Upper Palatinate . J. Berg Verlag in CJ Bucher Verlag GmbH, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-7658-4114-5 .

Web links

Commons : Kirchenburg Ostheim  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Eva-Maria Wagner: Winding streets, humpback places . In: Die Rhön (= Merian , vol. 17 (1964), issue 4), pp. 19–24, here p. 24.
  2. ^ Annette Faber: Fortified church St. Michael - Ostheim before the Rhön . 12th edition. Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 2005, ISBN 978-3-7954-4570-6 , pp. 4 .
  3. ↑ Bavarian Land Surveying Office (ed.): L 5526: Mellrichstadt . Bavarian Land Surveying Office, Munich 1998, ISBN 3-86038-413-9 .
  4. ↑ a b c d Annette Faber: Ostheim vdRhön; Kirchstrasse 17; Field number: 349. (pdf file: 3.8 MB) In: List of historical monuments for the Rhön-Grabfeld district. Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation, accessed on March 16, 2009 .
  5. ↑ a b c d Annette Faber: Fortified church St. Michael - Ostheim before the Rhön . 12th edition. Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 2005, ISBN 978-3-7954-4570-6 , pp. 2 .
  6. ↑ Kleinostheim vdRhön; Fortified church; Field number: 281, 285-316 / 1, 320-351. (pdf file: 2.3 MB) In: List of historical monuments for the Rhön-Grabfeld district. Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation, accessed on April 19, 2009 .
  7. ^ Wilfried Bahnmüller, Michael B. Weithmann: Castles and palaces in Franconia and the Upper Palatinate . J. Berg Verlag in CJ Bucher Verlag GmbH, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-7658-4114-5 , p. 96 .
  8. ^ Diethard H. Klein: Franconia's castles then and now . Druckhaus Bayreuth, Bayreuth 1991, ISBN 3-922808-31-X , p. 64 .
  9. ↑ a b Klaus Leidorf, Peter Ettel, Walter Irlinger, Joachim Zeune: Castles in Bavaria: 7000 years of history in aerial photography . Konrad Theiss Verlag GmbH & Co., Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-8062-1364-X , p. 169 .
  10. ↑ Ursula Pfistermeister: Wehrhaftes Franken . Verlag Hans Carl, Nuremberg 2001, ISBN 3-418-00386-9 , pp. 97 .
  11. ↑ Kirchenburgmuseum Ostheim Rhön: Museum "Lebendige Kirchenburg". Rhoenline: discover the Rhön online !, accessed on April 19, 2009 .
  12. ^ A b c d Edmund Zöller, Dieter Dietrich: Fortified churches and fortified churches in Lower Franconia: Steigerwald - Rhön - Spessart - Fränk. Wine country . Seehars, Uffenheim 1994, ISBN 3-927598-14-3 , pp. 55 .
  13. ↑ Ursula Pfistermeister: Wehrhaftes Franken . Verlag Hans Carl, Nuremberg 2001, ISBN 3-418-00386-9 , pp. 96 .
  14. ↑ a b Annette Faber: Fortified church St. Michael - Ostheim before the Rhön . 12th edition. Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 2005, ISBN 978-3-7954-4570-6 , pp. 3 .
  15. ^ Annette Faber: Fortified church St. Michael - Ostheim before the Rhön . 12th edition. Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 2005, ISBN 978-3-7954-4570-6 , pp. 26 .
  16. ^ Ostheim vor der Rhön (ed.): Kirchenburg Ostheim / Rhön: A monument of national importance - the largest church castle in Germany! Ostheim / Rhön 2006.
  17. ^ Annette Faber: Fortified church St. Michael - Ostheim before the Rhön . 12th edition. Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 2005, ISBN 978-3-7954-4570-6 , pp. 29 .
  18. ^ Anne Krenzer: Fortified church in Ostheim (historical site). Rhön Lexicon, accessed on September 3, 2009 .
  19. ^ Kurt Pilz: Fortified church St. Michael - Ostheim . 9th edition. Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 1993, p. 10 .
  20. ^ Association of Evangelical Church Music in Württemberg eV: Thuringian organs - beyond Silbermann
  21. ^ Walter Förtsch: Pictures from the past and present of the city of Ostheim vd Rhön.

Coordinates: 50 ° 27 '34.3 "  N , 10 ° 13' 53.7"  E

This article was added to the list of excellent articles on September 21, 2009 in this version .