Walldorf fortified church
| Walldorf fortified church | ||
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 View of the fortified church from the northeast, 2004 |
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| Creation time : | before 1000 | |
| Castle type : | Hilltop castle | |
| Conservation status: | largely preserved | |
| Standing position : | Ministerial of the Würzburg Monastery, church from 1542 | |
| Place: | Walldorf | |
| Geographical location | 50 ° 36 '47 " N , 10 ° 23' 17" E | |
| Height: | 296 m above sea level NN | |
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The fortified church Walldorf was a hilltop castle in the Middle Ages and is now a church in Walldorf an der Werra , a district of the town of Meiningen in southern Thuringia .
History and architecture
Well before it was first mentioned in a document in 982 in a deed of donation to the Petruskirche in Aschaffenburg , what is now Walldorf's fortified church was founded as a royal court . The rock protruding from the valley floor was ideal for building a fortification. The fortification was on the northern border of the former Franconian Empire at the Werra crossing on the old trade route from Frankfurt a. M. to Gotha and Erfurt (Frankfurter Strasse). The place Walldorf later developed around the royal court.
In 1008, the Würzburg Monastery took over Walldorf with its castle hill. The Würzburg people expanded the fortifications and converted them into an episcopal fortress. A first chapel was built, which was later followed by a church. Romanesque window openings from that time are still visible today. The complex only became the actual church in the late Middle Ages.
The church building "To our dear women", as it used to be called, was erected in its present form in 1587, destroyed in 1634 except for the masonry, and rebuilt between 1648 and 1651. Charred beams from that time can still be found today, and a few years ago there was even a person buried just behind the archway at the entrance to the castle complex.
The tower of the church, originally built as the keep of a castle complex , probably also dates from the late Middle Ages . The church was added to the east side of the existing keep, which resulted in the main room being attached to the tower at an angle. It is possible that the walls of a former bower were used, although nothing is reported about a castle within the fortress square of the church hill. The high keep suggests residential buildings of a lord of the castle or a ministerial , not just a fortified farmyard.
The castle hill owes its isolated location in part to artificial rock work. The deep trench on the north side is a manually dug neck trench . This separates the terrain from the adjacent hill. The entrance is on the southwest side. The church stands firmly on a sandstone rock, which with its circular walls, five bastion towers, numerous loopholes and remains of the old battlements still seems very defensible. The floor of the church is eleven meters above the level of the village street. Other buildings in the 150-meter-long and 65-meter-wide terrain around the church are the old church school from 1646, which was enlarged in 1838, as well as three joined gates , which can give an impression of how the people of Walldorf once protected their belongings from robbers and Used to hide from looters.
The high stone ring wall, which still completely encloses the church today, has five round towers and is four to eight meters high. The thickness varies between one and 1.30 meters. There are clear traces of battlements and various loopholes , some on several floors above each other. As is customary with fortifications, the entrance is laid out in such a way that the unprotected side of the attacking party faces the defenders. Within the wall, every farm had a yard , that is, a shed or a small cellar for storing supplies in times of siege. The large cellars under the Kirchenberg also served this purpose. However, Walldorf's refuge never had its own well. Because of the moderate defensive value, the inhabitants tended to use the neighboring castle Landeswehre , built by the Würzburg bishops , where the Landsberg Castle (Meiningen) now stands.
The art eras Romanesque , Gothic and Renaissance left their traces on the outside of the church . This can be seen from the floor plan of the church, partly bricked up Romanesque windows and later window openings. Several extensions and conversions from later times can also be clearly seen.
A fundamental restoration of the complex began in 1991 with an international youth camp and local ABM workers as preparation for construction. This was followed by the drainage of the system and an extensive restoration of the defensive wall, as well as the static protection of the cavities in the castle hill. The Gaden were also saved from complete disintegration and the church school was completely renovated. The church roof was replaced and the interior of the church was completely restored in 2006 and 2007.
Major fire in 2012 and reconstruction
The historic fortified church in Walldorf burned down on April 3, 2012; The organ and altar were completely destroyed. The roof of the nave collapsed and the bell tower was in great danger of collapsing.
Reconstruction soon began under the direction of Meiningen architect Karsten Merkel. In the fall of 2013, could steeple cap be lifted onto the tower shaft again. On November 30, 2014, the First Advent, the four new bells were consecrated. They sound in the tones g 'b' c 'es "and are named with faith , hope , love and joy . Like the bells of the Evangelical City Church in Walldorf , Walldorf's twin town, they were cast in the Albert Bachert bell foundry in Karlsruhe . The The new organ installed in November 2018 was inaugurated on December 7th, 2018. Seven years after the fire, the complete reconstruction was completed, with the interior of the church being designed according to the most modern aspects. Pastor Heinrich von Berlepsch carried out the official and solemn rededication of the church numerous guests of honor on May 11, 2019.
Furnishing
Interior
The interior was kept uniform in the Renaissance style after 1650 until the major fire in 2012 . Only the organ front was baroque , the organ itself was a new building from the workshop of Rudolf Böhm from Gotha from 1965. Inside the church there are also tombstones and coats of arms of former patron saints, some of which are taken from the tombs under the church that were walled up in 1906.
The interior of the church, which was new after the reconstruction, has colored glass windows and doors, underfloor heating fed with geothermal energy and a cinema screen. The motifs of the glass windows include Adam & Eve, a cross made of charred beams, Christian motifs and friendly color patterns. The former fire site with charred beams is depicted on a glass door. The windows were created according to designs by Julian Plodek from the Derix glass workshop in Taunusstein .
The new organ is electronically supported. Three of the stone grave slabs destroyed by the fire found their place on a wall in the church after a restoration. The altar consists of a round metal plate that rests on charred beams from the fire. The church also has an oven and nesting areas for birds.
Peal
| No. | volume | Surname | Weight (kg) | Diameter (mm) | inscription |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | G' | Faith | 700 | 1050 | Believe; Christ speaks, whoever listens to you hears me |
| 2 | b ' | love | 420 | 880 | Love; God is love and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him |
| 3 | c " | hope | 320 | 800 | Hope; Let us hold on to the profession of hope and not waver |
| 4th | it" | joy | 190 | 670 | Rejoice; I want to rejoice in the Lord and be happy in God |
All the bells were cast by the Albert Bachert bell foundry in Karlsruhe on August 29, 2014 . The first ring took place on November 30, 2014. The bells result in the Parsifal motif.
Church archive
The church archive has treasures that bring the building history of the fortified church to life, e.g. For example, an old blueprint for changing the Walldorf church into a baroque building or the documents about the highly accurate measurement of the cavities in the castle hill, which the GDR Ministry for State Security commissioned.
Ground monument
The Walldorf fortified church is not only an architectural monument, its value as a ground monument has also become clearer with the restoration work in recent years. Among other things, a flint tool from the younger Stone Age and a hook spiral from the Bronze Age were found . (Hook spirals occur more often in Thuringia and are considered to be ornaments that were worn on the head.) The flint proves that the Walldorf rock was used as a living or hunting ground a few millennia ago. The archaeological finds, especially from the Middle Ages, weigh around 250 kg, including a jug from the 12th century, amber chain links, buttons, a clay chamber pot, a fragment of an old beer bowl, coins, human skeletons, several handfuls of grain from the 12th to 14th centuries . Century, which was surprisingly well preserved in the grain tower.
Nature conservation significance
In addition to its value as a building and ground monument, one of the sandstone layers of the castle hill is also of particular geological interest. There is also a function as a bat winter quarters. A specially optimized roof offers nesting and protection options for the nocturnal animals native to the region. In 2006 jackdaws raised their young on the church tower for the first time . Kestrels , a swift colony and numerous other birds have made the Walldorf fortified church their home. Nesting facilities were consciously created during the construction work. A colony of bees living in the church wall also ensures that the old farm garden in the fortified church bears fruit and that the planted wall crown is preserved. Therefore the church is also called "biotope church".
literature
- Bettina Vaupel: [ https://www.monumente-online.de/de/ Ausgabe/ 2012 /4/als- christus-vom- kreuz-fiel.php When Christ fell from the cross in Monuments , August 2012
Web links
- Website of the Walldorf Fortified Church
- Interior and window pictures at derix.com
Individual evidence
- ↑ History and building description can be read in: Lehfeldt / Voss: Building and Art Monuments of Thuringia, Duchy of Saxony-Meiningen I. Volume 1. Department Meiningen district. District court districts Meiningen (The city of Meiningen and the rural areas), Jena, Verlag von Gustav Fischer 1909, pp. 556–570. The other material comes from the archive of the parish Walldorf (Werra).
- ^ Neue Presse Coburg , accessed on April 3, 2012.
- ↑ wiwa-lokal.de - Internet newspaper
- ↑ in Südthüringen.de / organ will be welcomed on December 7th. Released November 16, 2018.
- ↑ a b Meininger Tageblatt : Seven years after fire: newly built church consecrated . Released on May 13, 2019.
- ↑ Kirchenburg Walldorf derix.com
- ↑ A video of the consecration of the bells and the first chime: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDX13rJpYUw
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