Margaret Church (Methler)
The Margaretenkirche in Methler (city of Kamen , district of Unna ) is a late Romanesque hall church from the 13th century. It stands on the foundation of a church building that is believed to have been built in the year 1000.
history
It is surrounded by half-timbered houses in the old village center of Methler. If you look at its north and west side, you get the impression of a very simple and compact structure. From the greenish sandstone erected walls of the region had to gray because of the strong weathering überschlämmt be. The 37 m high tower with its pointed copper helmet is made of a harder stone and is not plastered. The unadorned tower with only a wicket door on its west side is the oldest part of the current church. It was probably built around 1250. The current three-aisled nave with the choir on the east side can be dated to the same time.
By means of dendrochronological investigations in 2004 it was found that the timbers built into the roof structure of the church over the main aisles, side aisles and choir were felled around 1250. The oak wood of the inner structure of the tower and its pointed roof was dated around 1340. The church thus has the oldest known roof structure in Westphalia. The spire is the second oldest in Westphalia, only that of the Patroklikirche in Soest is older.
The face of the church is the south wall. The main portal, decorated with columns and arches , with a rose window above it, is embedded in the two little gabled houses that have been pulled forward . The adjacent gable is decorated with a three-part group of windows above a smaller entrance gate. Today's church building is not the first at this point. When restoration work was being prepared in 1986, the archaeologists came across the previously only suspected old foundations of an earlier church. The remnants of the wall in the front church, dating from around the year 1000, roughly match the current dimensions of the central nave and the choir. From its angular basic shape, the experts concluded that it was an earlier half-timbered building, as it was easier to make rectangular constructions in wood than the round stone choir rooms that would later become common.
During the excavations carried out by the Westphalian State Office for the Preservation of Ground Monuments, the archaeologists also found the remains of a former ossuary and the stone foundations of a complex that was assigned to a large baptismal font. But the church not only has treasures to offer under the floor, which is now equipped with heating. The five bells of the church, which was once consecrated to St. Margaret , are also one of the Westphalian specialties. The Margaret Bell, which has a very beautiful sound, was cast in 1483 as a masterpiece by the bell founder Johannes von Dortmund . It bears the inscription on a finely decorated circumferential band:
"S. MARGARET SO BYN YCH GENANT BORN VAN DEN HEYDEN, WAN YCH ROPE SO KOMTZ TO HAND DAT MY VAGODE NOT ENSCHEYDE; ANNO MCCCCLXXXIII. "
It was not until 1994 that it was discovered during tower work that the time bell, hanging on the outside of the tower, was one of the 5–10 oldest bells in Westphalia . It has been beating the hours for the old parish of Methler for over 800 years . In earlier years this also included the surrounding villages of Westick , Wasserkurl , Husen , Ober- and Niederaden , Weddinghofen , Lanstrop and Kurl . Methler himself is mentioned as "Metlere" in a document as early as 898. In 1318, Count Engelbert II von der Mark transferred the patronage of the parish to the Cappenberg monastery . According to the latest findings, the Reformation moved into the parish around 1560. This is the beginning of the history of today's Evangelical Lutheran parish of Methler.
Necessary renovations and alterations changed the appearance of the interior. Galleries that were previously drawn in were removed and the pulpit repositioned so that the rediscovered wall and ceiling paintings could be seen. After the installation of a new organ in the west gallery, opportunities for musical events opened up.
Hidden
If you enter the Protestant parish church of St. Margarethen in Methler today, you will see a painting in the choir vault that depicts the “enthroned judge of the world”.
The mandorla that surrounds Christ is held by two angels . In the remaining vault caps there are two more figures. Saints John, Mary , Catherine with the wheel and Magdalena with the ointment vessel and two bishops appear on a blue background studded with gold stars. The church ceiling is dominated by the colors blue, red, green and gold. The life-size figures above the cornice of the chancel include the windows, as it were, in the composition. The bottom row is occupied by the twelve apostles , above the viewer sees an annunciation scene and various saints , among them also Saint Margaret, who gave the church her name, with the dragon, her symbol (Margaret, who comes from Antioch and as a martyr below the Roman Emperor Diocletian suffered and died in the fourth century, is one of the 14 helpers of the Roman Catholic Church). The faces and robes of the figures are drawn with strong lines and are reminiscent of Byzantine models. This style was particularly cultivated in northern Germany in the middle of the 13th century . Accordingly, the pictures were taken shortly after the church was built. The fact that they can still be seen today is thanks to the Dortmund-born art historian Wilhelm Lübke . In 1851 he found remains of wall paintings under the whitewashing, which were later exposed and restored several times. They have been shining in their current splendor since 1952.
Steinernes
The church in Methler is a three-aisled hall church with a square choir and two apses . The bases of the pillars that support the vault are richly decorated. The capitals are particularly striking .
They are deeply hollowed out and show almost filigree-looking mythical creatures: dragons, lions and griffins, many of which are intertwined. Grinning masks seem to make fun of the visitor.
Carved
The church also houses remarkable wooden figures. The sculpture of St. John, created around 1250, is only 68 cm tall. The body is erect, the head slightly inclined. The clothes are tight and make the figure appear very slim. The arms hold a book, the symbol of John the Evangelist. On the other side of the altar is the counterpart: Saint Margaret .
The statue of Our Lady, which was made around 1500, is one of the so-called "Beautiful Madonnas", which are characterized by their special grace. (The silver crown was added later). Maria wears a dress that reaches to her toes and over it a cloak that falls from her shoulders. The rich folds emphasize and conceal the body at the same time. In her left hand she holds a flower, with her right she supports the child sitting on her knee reading a book. Questioningly and trustingly, it looks up to its mother. The presentation is considered to be unusually stylish. The high, round forehead, the small eyes, and the delicate formation of the nose and mouth correspond to the ideal of beauty of the time. Similar representations can also be found in Konrad von Soest , z. B. in Fröndenberg . It is not known which artist designed the Madonna in Methler.
Web links
- www.margaretenkirche.de Official website
- 360 ° panorama picture of the Margaretenkirche in the Kulturatlas Westfalen (requires Flash-Player )
Footnotes
- ^ Oldest roof structure discovered in Westphalia , Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe, January 19, 2005
Coordinates: 51 ° 34 ′ 54 ″ N , 7 ° 36 ′ 43 ″ E