Marienkirche (Hanau)

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Choir of the Marienkirche from the east
View from the northwest from the tower of the old Johanneskirche

The Marienkirche was originally consecrated to Maria Magdalena and is predominantly Gothic today. It is the parish church of the Evangelical Marienkirche community in Hanau.

location

The Marienkirche stands in a central location in the old town of Hanau , directly at the German Goldsmith's House , the former town hall of Hanau's old town, near the old town market . Centrally located in medieval Hanau, the tower and church could be seen from afar. The Marienkirche is oriented to the east.

middle Ages

Origins

Epitaph of Countess Adriana von Nassau

When Hanau was made a town in 1303 , the place already had a Romanesque chapel , much smaller than today's church. When the chapel was built is unknown. In any case, it was first mentioned in a document in 1316. At that time it was a branch church of the older parish church of Our Lady in Kinzdorf , south of what was then Hanau. The pastor of Kinzdorfes had the spiritual responsibility for his local parish church, St. Mary Magdalene's Chapel in the city of Hanau, the Martin's Chapel in the castle Hanau and the Elizabeth Chapel in Old Hanauer Hospital in the first Hanauer suburb. He and his chaplains formed a community of priests for the Hanau parish . Five chaplains are recorded for 1364.

Parish church

The relationship of dependency on the Kinzdorf mother church did not change until 1434: Count Reinhard II obtained parish church rights for the Maria Magdalena chapel. He issued a service order for the clergy, who, among other things, attended daily masses and vespers at the numerous altars . With this, the church's focus had shifted from Kinzdorf to Hanau. In addition, the count better equipped the priests and stipulated this in a newly created order of presence . Every priest who regularly performed the worship duties at the altar assigned to him (that is, was “present”) received a fee for this. The income of the presence - in kind or money - was managed by a presence administrator. The presence still exists today, owns properties from old beneficiaries and maintains the Marienkirche structurally with their income.

First expansion phase

Reinhard II enlarged and beautified the main church of his royal seat and chose it as the new burial place for his family, whose members had previously been buried in the Arnsburg monastery . Reinhard II was the first of the count's family to be buried in it in 1451. From 1451 to 1612 the choir was the burial place of the Hanau Count House . The graves were sunk into the ground under the floor slabs of the choir. From 1612 burials took place in a crypt built in 1602 , which is also located under the choir. Count Reinhard II had the church, which had previously been single-aisle, extended to three aisles. The nave was then given its present size. The renovation of the ship began in 1449. A corresponding inscription is located above a bricked-up pointed arch door on the outside of the south wall of the south aisle. The work was completed in 1454. The latter is indicated by a year above the door on the north side. The apse was also enlarged. In 1448 construction began on the tower that is still in existence today. He received the first big bell (36 quintals) in 1480 . It was made in Schweinfurt at a price of 360 guilders .

  • Building inscription on the south wall from 1446

  • Crypt of the Hanau Count's House

  • Coffin of Count Philipp Ludwig II.

Late Gothic choir

The most formative change to the church today was made by Count Philip I , the younger. In 1485 he came home from a trip to the Holy Land with many suggestions on the way. He commissioned a choir with astonishing dimensions, which towered over the adjacent nave. The choir has a length of 22 m, a width of 10 m and a height of 16.4 m. It is made up of four yokes and a 5/8 end . The bases and consoles of the services in the choir catch the eye . They correspond to the corner buttresses on the outside. Formerly richly chiseled, they were partially destroyed in 1945 and replaced by non-designed stones (bosses) during the reconstruction. Ten rising pilasters take up the net-like unfolding ribs that adorn the vault and converge in a star at the eastern end. Its keystone shows the church patroness Maria Magdalena kneeling before the risen Christ as the alleged gardener, the Noli me tangere scene. The remaining keystones are carved and painted coats of arms of the builder's family, Count Philip I, the Younger, and his wife Adriana von Nassau-Dillenburg (1449–1477). The coat of arms of his father, Count Reinhard III, is also shown. and his grandfather, Count Reinhard II. and a coat of arms of the Palatinate for his mother, the Countess Palatine Margarethe von Pfalz-Mosbach . The lateral points of the vault ribs decorate smaller coats of arms from the relatives and the aristocratic environment of the House of Hanau, including those of the Counts of Wertheim , Rieneck and Solms . Painted tendrils, flowers and rays fill the fields in the network of vaulted ribs. The overall design was probably by Siegfried Ribsche , the execution by Master Martin and the sculptural work - at least in part - by the master stonemason Hans Merckel from Babenhausen . Presumably the choir was only intended as the first phase of construction. Due to the Reformation, which soon began, the nave was no longer extended accordingly.

  • Reticulated vault choir

  • Philip I, the Younger, from Hanau-Munzenberg

  • Marienkirche Hanau: Choir window with St. Nicholas, Christ as a gardener and Maria Magdalena]]

When the magnificent choir was completed in 1492, it housed five altars, the church a total of nine. The high altar was consecrated to Mary Magdalene and carried a panel with her picture by the painter Sebald Fyoll (lost today). In 1496 the choir stalls were donated. Four choir stalls from him are still preserved today. The northern show Count Reinhard IV (1473–1512) and his wife Katharina von Schwarzburg-Blankenburg (1470–1514), the only surviving southern Count Philip I, the Younger, - with the construction inscription - and a fragment of one on the inside Saint George . The colored, late medieval windows in the choir, most of which are attributed to Master WB , also date from this period . In parallel to the structural expansion, the church was elevated to a collegiate monastery with a total of twelve clergy under the leadership of a dean . Count Philip I, the younger, died in 1500. No fewer than 214 clergymen are said to have attended his funeral in the church he renewed and enlarged.

Laurentius Chapel

Marienkirche Hanau, Laurentiuskapelle: Heiliger Laurentius, fresco

At the same time as the choir, the small chapel dedicated to St. Lawrence was built on its south side . The saint is depicted in the keystone. It originally served as the chapter house of the collegiate clergy, today as a sacristy. It is adorned with frescoes that were only rediscovered after the destruction in 1945 when they came to light under peeling whitewash. They represent the martyrdom of St. Lawrence and the doctors and Saints Cosmas and Damian . Another fresco shows the three wise men and two holy deacons .

The chapel is probably to be seen in connection with an (ultimately unsuccessful) purchase of relics by Count Philip I, the younger. Like many great men of his time, he collected relics. From the Seligenstadt Monastery , which was in financial distress, he bought all of its relics, including the head of St. Laurentius. The chapel was probably intended as a repository for the relics. However, the Archbishop of Mainz objected to this purchase and so Count Philipp I, the younger, had to return the relics to Seligenstadt. As compensation, he received the monastery income from the villages of Nauheim , Eschersheim and Ginnheim .

reformation

First Reformation

The time as a pen did not last long. The 16th century brought the Reformation. As early as 1523, Pastor Adolf Arborgast was included in the chapter of the monastery, who declared on his appointment that he wanted to have as little as possible to do with the daily mass and Vespers because he intended to devote himself much more to preaching the Gospel . His successor, Magister Philipp Neunheller , is Hanau's actual reformer. Under his influence, the innovations gained more and more ground, both in the ranks of the canons and among the parishioners. The Catholic collegiate service was never officially canceled. With the departure of clergymen whose positions were no longer filled, the number of altarists continued to decrease. In 1537 the chapter still consisted of eight clergymen, in 1548 there were only four, in 1550 the mass service in the Maria Magdalena Church ceased. There were now two and later three pastors working at the church who felt committed to the Reformation.

Structural consequences

The next stage in the building history of the church is shaped by the requirements of the new form of worship. In the Protestant service, the sermon in front of the assembled congregation is the focus. Therefore, Count Philip III ordered. In 1558 the nave of the church was converted into a hall church . The three-aisled subdivision was removed, the outer walls significantly increased and the height of the church roof matched that of the choir. On the long sides, multi-storey galleries were built for the men, while the women took their places in the ship. For professors, civil servants and councilors there were chairs on the ground floor, which were barred to protect themselves from the community. The stately chair was on the front of the first gallery. The flat ceiling of the room was supported by pillars that also had to carry the weight of the attic. There the taxes in kind from the benefices were stored. The renovation work was completed in 1561. This is evidenced by the double coat of arms of the client and his wife, Count Palatine Helena von Pfalz-Simmern, attached above the main entrance . The tower was then raised to its current height. The year 1568 in a window frame indicates its completion. A watchman's room was set up in it, in which an observer sat constantly, reporting fires in the city, the direction of which was indicated by a flag during the day and a lantern at night. At the same time, in such a case, the storm bells rang. The guard room was occupied until 1896.

Second Reformation

Philip Ludwig II.

The Reformation in Hanau was originally more Lutheran . In a "second Reformation", the denomination of the County of Hanau-Münzenberg was changed again. Count Philip Ludwig II , turned to the Reformed branch of Protestantism, made use of his right of “ cuius regio, eius religio ” as sovereign and enforced this version of the Reformation as binding for the county.

Structural consequences

As an outward sign of this change of denomination, the medieval altars were torn down in 1595, and pictures, jewelry and works of art were removed from the church. At least some of them were sold. One of the medieval altars, the Wörther Altar (today it is in the Catholic parish church of St. Nikolaus in Wörth am Main ) has been preserved. The carved parts of the choir stalls, the grave monuments and part of the stained glass windows in the choir are the last remaining remnants of the medieval furnishings that have been preserved in the church.

In the now very empty choir, a choir stage , a gallery closed in the basement , was built in in 1570 , which separated the eastern half of the choir. The basement was separated from the church with glass windows and housed the library and archive materials . More than 100 years later, the Hanau organ builder Valentin Markart built a baroque organ on the choir stage. The richly carved case was initially made entirely of white and gold and was later given a brown tint. The organ as the dominant piece of equipment shaped the choir until it was destroyed in 1945.

In 1602 a crypt was laid out for the Hanauer Grafenhaus and expanded in 1642. Members of the House of Hesse-Kassel , including Landgrave Maria , wife of Landgrave Friedrich II of Hesse-Kassel and Elector Wilhelm II of Hesse , were later buried there. In 1709 the church received new bells (the 65 hundredweight weight is still there today).

Hanau Union

The church called itself after the Reformation "High German Reformed Church". It has only been called Marienkirche again since 1818. On the occasion of the unification of the Reformed and Lutheran congregations in the “ Hanauer Union ”, the congregations abandoned the denominations used up until then and the two old town churches were renamed: The presbytery of the formerly Reformed Church , today's Marienkirche, wanted the name Paulskirche . However, the sovereign, Elector Wilhelm I of Hesse, intervened and decreed that it should be called Marienkirche in memory of his mother, Princess Maria of Hanover (1723–1772) . The former Lutheran Johanneskirche was named after the Elector Johann Georg I of Saxony (1611–1656), who once laid the foundation stone .

From 1847 to 1849 the church was completely restored without regard to its historical appearance. Elector Wilhelm II of Hessen-Kassel was buried here in 1847 . It was the last funeral within the church.

Another renovation of the church took place in 1929.

Destruction in World War II

Drawing of the grave monument of Count Philipp Ludwig I von Hanau-Münzenberg by Karl Gruber, which was destroyed in the Second World War

Various air raids, but above all the devastating destruction of March 19, 1945 , laid the entire city of Hanau and the church in ruins. The ship was burned out to the surrounding walls, as was the tower, from which the bells tumbled melted. Only the vault of the choir held up, although the burning roof collapsed on it. In this way, this architectural treasure could be saved from complete destruction and later restored.

In 1946, archaeological excavations by Hugo Birkner took place in the destroyed church . Most of the grave slabs that were recovered were embedded in the walls of the nave.

reconstruction

According to the plans of Professor Karl Gruber , the choir (1951), the tower (1954), the nave (1956) and finally the steep roof over the choir (1961) were restored. The canopy over the entrance portal in the west was added in 1963. During the reconstruction, the interior of the ship was designed without the surrounding galleries, so that the original three-aisle structure is recognizable in the nave. The ship received a flat ceiling over concrete pillars that disguise themselves as sandstone pillars. The organ was set up on a gallery on the west side, so that the choir can again work freely in its architectural beauty - as originally intended. The few preserved works of art, church windows and choir cheeks were reinstalled and the tombs restored. As a precautionary measure, Pastor Georg Göckel had seized all works of art and most of the old church registers that existed from 1593 during the Second World War and thus saved them from destruction.

Renovations

The first post-war renovation took place in 1975.

The unsatisfactory condition of the organ, which was built in 1956/57 and 1964, was the reason for the last renovation of the church in 2002/03. The organ gallery has been completely redesigned, especially enlarged, in order to be able to place a choir or an orchestra there. For the new, higher prospectus of the new organ, the flat roof of the nave was replaced by a Gothic vaulted ceiling - probably the first Gothic ceiling of the twenty-first century.

Interior

Marienkirche interior to the west

In addition to the aforementioned, the interior is remarkable:

  • On the right of the choir arch is the epitaph of Adriana von Nassau-Dillenburg (1449–1477). She was married to Count Philipp I, the younger, von Hanau-Munzenberg. The painted late Gothic sculptural work shows the countess praying facing the high altar, which is no longer preserved.
  • The altar of the church is not a monolithic block of stone, rather it is designed as a table. This indicates that St. Mary's Church was a Reformed church from the end of the 16th century to the beginning of the 19th century. There the classic altar has been replaced by the "Lord's Table", the table at which the congregation celebrates the Lord's Supper together.
  • On the northern wall of the choir , from left to right, there are grave monuments:
  • Next to the console of the Hegern tomb you can see the foundation stone of the church choir (1585), the inscription of which, however, has been destroyed beyond recognition.
  • On the southern wall of the choir , two Renaissance tombs created by Johann von Trarbach for Count Philipp III. (1526–1561) and his wife, Countess Palatine Helena von Pfalz-Simmern (1532–1579) Platz.
  • To the west of it are four empty consoles. On it was the epitaph of Count Philip Ludwig I (1553–1580), an important epitaph of art history , an important creation of the High Renaissance. After its destruction in the Second World War, only a few fragments remain, which are kept in the Hanau Historical Museum .

organ

The organ was built in 2004 by the organ building company Gerhard Grenzing (El Papiol, Montserrat). For this instrument, two new galleries were built in the church and the ceiling was raised. The organ has 48 registers on three manuals and a pedal . The game actions are mechanical, the stop actions mechanical and electrical.

I Hauptwerk C – g 3
1. Principal 16 ′
2. octave 8th'
3. Fl. Harmonique 8th'
4th Reed flute 8th'
5. Viol 8th'
6th flute 4 ′
7th octave 4 ′
8th. Fifth 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
9. octave 2 ′
10. Mixture IV-V
11. Cornet V 8th'
12. Trumpet 8th'
II Positive C-g 3
13. Principal 8th'
14th Unda Maris 8th'
15th Dumped 8th'
16. octave 4 ′
17th Reed flute 4 ′
18th octave 2 ′
19th Sesquialter II 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
20th Larigot 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
21st Scharff III
22nd Cromorne 8th'
Carillon
Tremulant
III Swell C – g 3
23. Bourdon 16 ′
24. Principal 8th'
25th Double flute 8th'
26th Aeoline 8th'
27. Voix Celeste 8th'
28. Covered 8th'
29 octave 4 ′
30th Flauta Octaviante 4 ′
31. Nazard 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
32. Octavin 2 ′
33. Tierce 1 3 ⁄ 5  ′
34. Progression III-V
35. Basson 16 ′
36. Hautbois 8th'
37. Tr. Harmonique 8th'
38. Voix Humaine 8th'
Tremulant
Pedal C – g 1
39. Bourdon 32 ′
40. Violon 16 ′
41. Sub bass 16 ′
42. Principal 8th'
43. cello 8th'
44. octave 4 ′
45. Dacked bass 8th'
46. trombone 16 ′
47. Trumpet 8th'
48. Clairon 4 ′

Bells

The Marienkirche has the largest and deepest bell in the city of Hanau. The overall bell sounds according to the motif: Wake up ... The caller from 1709 is one of the oldest and largest bells in the Hanau area. It came back in 1945 from the Hamburg bell cemetery via Hanau harbor and can be heard alone every Sunday at 9:30 a.m.

No.
  		Foundry, casting location
  		Casting year
  		Weight
(kg) 		Nominal
 
1 Bell foundry brothers Rincker , Sinn 1954 3500 a 0
2 Johannes and Andreas Schneidewind, Frankfurt am Main 1709 2632 cis 1
3 Bell foundry brothers Rincker, Sinn 1954 1450 e 1
4th Bell foundry brothers Rincker, Sinn 1954 950 f sharp 1

Todays use

The parish of the Marienkirche has been a district of the Evangelical City Church Community of Hanau since January 1, 2014 .

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See on this: Lübbecke, p. 93f.
  2. ↑ a b Lübbecke, p. 94.
  3. ↑ This structural condition is shown in a cross-section by Lübbecke, p. 90, Fig. 49.
  4. ^ Margret Lemberg: The burial places of the Hessian Princely House = publications of the Historical Commission for Hesse 71. Marburg 2010, p. 179ff.
  5. ↑ Kathrin Ellwardt: "... to consult about the names of the buildings and institutions, which at that time bore the name Lutheran and Reformed ..." The Hanau Union of 1818 and the naming of the churches . In: New Magazine for Hanau History 2017, pp. 94–112.
  6. ↑ More information about the organ of the Marienkirche

Web links

Commons : Marienkirche Hanau  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 50 ° 8 ′ 12 ″  N , 8 ° 55 ′ 7 ″  E