Church of Our Lady (Hadamar)
The Liebfrauenkirche is a late Gothic church in Hadamar (Hesse). It is located directly on the banks of the Elbe stream .
description
It is an east-facing, low hall church with three naves. The original building comprised the first five nave bays and the retracted west tower. In 1446 another yoke was added and the central nave was raised. The net vault that characterizes the interior today was also drawn in at this time. The transition between the structure from the 14th century to that from the 15th can also be seen in the pillars: the older ones are round with services , the younger ones are octagonal without services. The choir has two bays and is closed with a star vault.
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Important building details are the particularly artistic fish bubbles on the windows and galleries on the west side, various figural stone carvings on the vault and the remains of the late Gothic clay slab floor. The design of the ridge is more recent and has changed several times in the history of the building. The roof now has the raised shape it received shortly after 1612 to accommodate grain stores.
The sacristy is possibly the fabric of the previous chapel , which was incorporated into the larger church building.
The current interior dates from 1630 to 1750 and is in the late Renaissance and Baroque styles . The painting is from 1891. Numerous tombstones and epitaphs inside the church increase the cultural and historical significance. In the outdoor area, a particularly well-made crucifix from 1698 stands out next to the entrance.
The high altar was created in 1738 in the local school of the "Hadamar Baroque", as were the evangelist pictures on the pulpit from 1743. The statues of the high altar were created by the Franconian sculptor Martin Volk. The right side altar can be dated to 1631 and was donated by Mayor Johann Theodor Jung. Like the one on the left (Foundation of the Hungrichhausen family), it shows a scene of the sufferings of Christ.
The Marienbell, which still exists today, with the Hadamar pilgrimage sign, was cast in Dillenburg in 1451. It is one of the oldest still ringing bells in Germany.
history
The Liebfrauenkirche is located to the right of the Elbe stream below the Mönchberg. In the 12th century at the latest, the core of the later city, of which nothing is left today, was located below the castle built on this mountain and the associated church of the Aegidia. In the Middle Ages, however, the city center shifted to the opposite side of the stream.
Shortly before 1379, the Hadamar town pastor had the first chapel, consecrated shortly afterwards, built to the place of the later church from a wayside shrine on the Elbbach consecrated to the Holy Cross . In 1446, the city lords, Count Johann IV of Nassau-Dillenburg and Philip I of Katzenelnbogen , enlarged the church to roughly its current dimensions. The expansion was part of a rapprochement policy between the two royal houses at the time. With her at the latest, extensive pilgrimages to this church began.
Around 1450 the Liebfrauenkirche became the center of a priestly brotherhood, which however never grew into a collegiate monastery . Relatives were the eight altarists of the church and several pastors from the surrounding area. The altarists lived in houses in the town that were owned by the church. It is possible that the first Latin school in Hadamar emerged from this community in the 15th century . Most of the altars were not donated by the two city lords until 1479.
With the Reformation in 1546, the pen-like structure of the Liebfrauenkirche was abolished. The sovereigns largely confiscated the goods and valuable church furnishings and converted some of them into foundations for the training of theologians and civil servants. The foundation of an elementary school was anchored in the church ordinance of 1546 . It was also equipped from the altar benefices of the Liebfrauenkirche, as was the parish of Oberweyer, newly founded in 1566 .
In 1572, Hadamar, which had meanwhile completely passed into Nassau-Dillenburg ownership, changed hands with its ruler, Count Johann VI. to Calvinism . For this reason, most of the interior of the Aegidien and Liebfrauenkirche was removed and sold or destroyed. The high altar came to Münstermaifeld . Hardly anything has survived from its original design. It is possible that the statue of Mary that stands today in the chapel on the Hadamarer Herzenberg is the statue that originally stood in the Church of Our Lady at the center of the veneration of Mary. According to tradition, she was brought to safety in Koblenz. In 1676 the Jesuits brought them to the Herzenberg. The statue is very similar to the images that can be seen on the bell of the Church of Our Lady, created in 1451.
In 1624 the entire church was renovated and the floor of the choir was raised to create a crypt for the royal family underneath. In 1629 Count Johann Ludwig converted to Catholicism again. In 1637 he designated the Church of Our Lady to the Parish Church of Hadamar instead of the Church of the Aegidien. The latter was given to the Franciscans. The churchyard of the Aegidien Church initially remained the cemetery for the Hadamarians. In 1658 the cemetery north of the Liebfrauenkirche began to be occupied, which was expanded again to the north after 1900 and was used until the second half of the 20th century. In 1647 a fire destroyed part of the church roof.
In 1818 the function of the parish church changed to the former Jesuit church in the city center. In 1835 the 19 princely coffins were moved from the Liebfrauen- to the crypt of the Aegidien Church on the Mönchberg. From 1818 the Liebfrauenkirche was mainly the church of the dead in the adjacent cemetery.
Today a registered association supports the parish in maintaining and maintaining the Liebfrauenkirche. The association organizes regular tours and financed, among other things, the installation of an organ in 2009. The Liebfrauenkirche is open to the public on Sundays and public holidays from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. Since 1984 the Liebfrauenkirche has been performing the "Liebfrauenkonzerte" (Liebfrauenkonzerte), a series of events organized by the Hadamar cultural association with three classical concerts annually in the summer months.
The church facade has been illuminated at night with spotlights since 2003. In 2004 the Liebfrauenkirche, which at that time was temporarily used again as a parish church due to the renovation of the Nepomuk Church, received heating for the church interior for the first time. In 2013, the church tower and the belfry of the Marienglocke were renovated after they had not been rung since 2008 due to the damage found. Investigations for a comprehensive renovation of the roof structure began in summer 2010, but their implementation has not yet started.
In addition to being protected as a historical monument, the Church of Our Lady has been granted protection in the event of war under the Hague Convention .
View through the nave to the altar
High altar
pulpit
Left side altar
Right side altar
organ
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literature
- Karl Josef Stahl: Hadamar. City and castle. A home story. Hadamar City Council, 1974.
Web links
- State Office for Monument Preservation Hessen (Hrsg.): Liebfrauenkirche In: DenkXweb, online edition of cultural monuments in Hessen
Coordinates: 50 ° 27 '4.4 " N , 8 ° 2' 41.4" E