Market Church (Ortenburg)
The Marktkirche Ortenburg (formerly also called Frauenkirche ) is a former pilgrimage chapel and today's Evangelical-Lutheran parish church in Ortenburg in Lower Bavaria . From the introduction of the Reformation until 1805 it was the burial church of the imperial counts of Ortenburg . In terms of art history, it is very important due to its numerous grave monuments from that time.
history
Today's market church can boast a varied history. At first it was a small chapel and thus a branch church of the large Laurentiuskirche in nearby Steinkirchen . The building at that time was probably a larger chapel. It is assumed that this comprised the scope of today's choir room.
The church was mentioned for the first time in 1359 as a pilgrimage chapel " To our dear women in front of the market". At that time it was not in the Ortenburg market itself, but a few hundred meters outside. It was then that the Counts of Ortenburg donated a benefit to the small chapel for the first time . Even later, the church received several awards from the counts. Parts of these estates, which were located near the church, were given names that were based on the name of the chapel. So these fields in Ortenburg were called Frauenfeld . Today these former fields are cultivated, but a street name reminds of their historical name. In addition to other buildings, the Protestant secondary school in Ortenburg also has the address Frauenfeld .
Ortenburg was pillaged several times during the Landshut War of Succession . In December 1504 the market and the chapel were looted again.
At the beginning of the 16th century the church was extensively rebuilt and restored. It is believed that it received its late Gothic form here . Older masonry is said to have been used for this work. Finally, it was by on June 20, 1518 Bishop Bernhard of Passau consecrated .
In 1557 the incumbent Count Joachim von Ortenburg publicly confessed to the Protestant faith for the first time. After his attempt to allow both denominations in Bavaria had failed, he decided to introduce the Reformation in his immediate imperial county. On October 3rd, 10th and 13th, 1563, the first evangelical preaching services took place in the imperial county, but not yet publicly, but in the castle chapel of St. Ulrich at Neu-Ortenburg Castle, which was only accessible to the count's family and their servants . A week later, on October 17, 1563, the first public church service took place in the Marktkirche. Since then, this day has been considered the foundation day of the Evangelical Lutheran community of Ortenburg. The first Evangelical Lutheran pastor at that time, until his expulsion by the Bavarian duke (February 20, 1564), was the theology professor Dr. Johann Friedrich Celestine .
This step led to decades of conflict between the counts and the Bavarian dukes about the imperial immediacy of the county. As a compromise, the Protestant services in the Marktkirche were suspended in 1564 until the outcome of the trial before the Imperial Court of Justice. Preaching was only allowed at Neu-Ortenburg Castle. After the successful outcome of the trial on March 4, 1573 for the Ortenburgers, Count Joachim immediately closed and redesigned the church. The side altars and some pictures in the church were removed. The tabernacle was broken out and walled up. In the middle of the choir room a stone table was erected as a new altar, based on the Calvinist model. The count's crypt was built below the choir and in parts of the nave . On May 24, 1573, the first service after this work was completed. However, this day was overshadowed by the unexpected death of Joachim's son Anton von Ortenburg . He died on May 23, 1573 on the way to his office on a boat trip on the Danube. Anton was buried on May 31, 1573 in the crypt built by his father. He was thus the first of the count's house to be buried in the market church. On the same day, regular evangelical services began to be held in the Marktkirche. On May 25th, Joachim had the Catholic St. Laurentius Church in Steinkirchen blocked, which meant that fair reading was stopped.
Due to persistent space problems in the market church, Countess Amalia Regina decided in 1703 to redesign the church. The renovations lasted until 1706. In the nave, a new double gallery was built based on the Franconian-Saxon model. The nave was extended by stairs and the church tower was moved to the new entrance portal. Parts of the nave were renewed, a new baroque altarpiece and today's pulpit were installed and a new church organ was installed. The two large bells of the St. Laurentius church were transferred to Ortenburg. The total cost of the renovation was 1080 guilders . The church tower was so expensive that only Count Karl III. , Amalia Regina's grandson, was able to finish the construction work in 1751. The spitz tower was removed and a new, still existing onion hood was put on. The cost of this work was 870 guilders.
In 1812 a boys' gallery was built in the choir behind the altar for the confirmands of the congregation. Even then, this installation was not considered to be a beautification of the church interior.
The Protestant kindergarten was founded in 1852 , one of the oldest in Lower Bavaria.
In the course of the 19th and 20th centuries, the Marktkirche became the mother parish of the Protestant parishes of Passau (1834), parish churches (1896) and Vilshofen (1933).
To celebrate the three hundredth anniversary of the Reformation, the church was extensively renovated and whitewashed in September 1863. Two years later, parts of the tower had to be renovated and rebuilt, with a new church clock being installed.
In 1883 there was another major renovation of the market church. It lasted from June 19th to October 19th. The church was re-paved. When the stalls were lifted off, two memorial plaques were discovered, which were then set into the side walls. The wooden floor in the nave was also replaced. In order to improve the incidence of light below the gallery, two rosettes were broken from the rectory and provided with slug panes.
In 1902 a new church organ was purchased from Steinmeyer & Co from Oettingen for 5,000 marks . The old organ, which probably came from the time of Amalia Regina, was overhauled by this company and brought to St. Laurentius.
On September 20, 1937, the long-planned renewed restoration work began in the church. The boys' gallery was removed again. Sagging foundations were stabilized. In addition to the electrification carried out in 1913, a heater was installed. The crypt slab, which had been temporarily parked since 1883, was embedded in the back of the choir wall. A year later the exterior of the church was renovated.
In 1980 an electrically controlled clock for the chime was installed.
In 1997 the entire church was closed and fumigated due to heavy woodworm infestation. Four years later it was found that the double galleries made of wood had sunk. According to a structural engineer, a general renovation was inevitable because the galleries were no longer stable under full load. This started in July 2005. The double galleries were lifted from the ground and received new wooden feet and new foundations. The floor of the church was re-tiled with Jura marble slabs. The interior was redesigned, new pews were built in and space for wheelchair users was created in front of the choir. The church walls were whitewashed. In 2006 the work was completed.
Building
In terms of art history, the Marktkirche is very important. The single-nave church is a late Gothic building. A net vault runs through the entire nave, including the choir. On the sides and in the choir there are pointed arched windows decorated with fish bubble tracery.
The western windows of the nave are not drawn down as far as the others in the room. This is taken as an indication of the assumption that a gallery was already there in Gothic times.
The nave is determined today by the mighty double wooden galleries, which offer enough space for the community. The artistic simplicity of the church is particularly noticeable in the Lower Bavarian region; it stands in contrast to the magnificent churches in Sammarei or the numerous Asam churches in the area. The numerous epitaphs from different epochs of the count's family as well as the two richly decorated grave monuments in the choir emphasize the art-historical importance of the building.
altar
The altarpiece shows the crucifixion of Jesus, it was probably made shortly after 1700. It is framed by columns covered with vine leaves. Above the altarpiece you can read:
- “Jesus, you noble pelican, take care of my soul. Sprinkle them with dear blood. Give me life, strength and courage. "(Rhyming translation from Adoro te devote )
The following words are attached under the picture:
- "I did not believe that I knew anything among you without Jesus Christ crucified alone" ( 1 Cor 2 : 2 Lut )
The altar was designed as a table in 1573, according to Joachim's Calvinist inclination. Associated with this was the abandonment of a crucifix and a chandelier. These were only attached to the altar later, after a foundation from Passau citizens from 1831.
pulpit
The pulpit is on the right of the choir arch. It was built in 1706. The sound cover is crowned by an eagle, which protects young birds among itself. The golden pulpit body is decorated at the lower end with a pine cone, this has symbolized eternity since ancient times.
Choir and funerary monuments
Since the redesign initiated by Countess Amalia Regina at the beginning of the 18th century, the choir has been covered by the altar from the nave. This is dominated by the two grave monuments erected by Count Joachim. Directly behind the altar is the tomb of the count himself, which was built by Hans Pötzlinger from Regensburg and the stonemason Christoff Stiber from Petersdorf in 1576/77. Joachim, however, is not lying in this tomb, but in the tomb he built in the nave. So this is a cenotaph . This represents the count praying on the marble slab in full armor. He is turned towards the community. To the left of this cenotaph there is a Latin inscription in the choir above the door, which depicts the Count's life. Next to the tablet is the epitaph of his second wife, Countess Lucia geb. Imperial Freiin of Limburg attached. Directly opposite, on the wall to the sacristy, is Countess Adelheid's epitaph. She was wife of the Rhine and Wildgrave Karl von Limburg and mother Lucias von Limburg. Adelheid died on October 4, 1580.
On the left north wall of the choir room, Anton's cenotaph is in the side wall. It was built in 1574/75 by Hans Pötzlinger on behalf of Joachim. Count Anton is depicted half erect and resting under a triumphal arch. There are richly decorated sarcophagi below both cenotaphs. Both tombs also have a death shield , which shows the coat of arms of the Counts of Ortenburg in the form of the 16th century. These are located on the eastern slope of the choir. The furnishings of the two high graves are comparable to the imperial graves of that time.
Other graves of members of the count's families are not in the church, but in the crypt under the nave. Nevertheless, numerous epitaphs adorn the nave.
To the right of the pulpit at the end of the nave is the epitaph of Henry VII (named Henry X on the epitaph), who died on July 4, 1603.
On the same wall, a little offset, is the splendidly decorated, rococo- style epitaph of Count Johann Georg . He died on December 4, 1725.
On the north-western corner of the nave is the epitaph of Georg Reinhard . In 1662 he succeeded in ending the pledge that had lasted for decades. Four years later, on September 4th, he passed away. Georg Reinhard was not buried until 13 years later due to a family dispute. In the market church only his sham burial took place, he himself is in the Catholic Sixtus chapel next to the Passau cathedral . The epitaph is largely covered by the gallery built between 1703 and 1705.
At the southeast corner of the nave is the epitaph of Count Ulrich III. , a cousin of Joachim. He died on July 4, 1586. The epitaph also commemorates his two wives Katharina von Degenberg, who died on October 4, 1570, and Katharina Truchsessin von Waldberg, who died on November 12, 1590. Directly below is a memorial plaque for five Ortenburgers who died in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71 .
There are two more epitaphs on the south side wall of the nave. The red marble slab is reminiscent of Countess Jakoba, who died in 1550, the second slab to Erasmus Ernreytter zu Hoffreit, keeper of Söldenau , who died on September 18, 1571.
In 1574 Joachim brought two glass paintings with coats of arms into the panes in one of the southern windows . They remember his deceased parents, Count Christoph and his two wives Anna von Holub and Anna von Firmian.
In the middle of the vault of the nave is the death shield of Countess Amalia Regina. At first it was thought that it had this exposed space because of the extensive redesign of the nave that she had initiated. After the rediscovery of the entrance to the count's crypt, however, it turned out that her death shield is directly above the entrance. Countess Amalia Regina died on April 15, 1709.
Glass window for Count Christoph von Ortenburg and his wives Anna Holub zu Mattighofen and Neudeck and Anna Freiin von Firmian from 1574
Count Anton von Ortenburg's cenotaph from 1574/75
Cenotaph Count Joachim von Ortenburg from 1576/77
Epitaph for Count Ulrich III. von Ortenburg and his two wives
Epitaph for Countess Lucia of Limburg
Detail from the epitaph for Lucia of Limburg
Epitaph for Count Heinrich VII von Ortenburg
Partly visible epitaph for Count Georg Reinhard
Epitaph for Count Johann Georg von Ortenburg
Death shield for Count Anton von Ortenburg
Death shield for Count Joachim von Ortenburg
Death shield for Amalia Regina von Zinzendorf
Count's tomb
The count's crypt was laid out between March and April during the great redesign by Joachim in 1573. From 1573 to 1805 it served as a burial place for the Protestant members of the house. The crypt replaced the Sixtus Chapel on Passau Cathedral, which had been used mainly as a burial chapel since the 13th century.
It can no longer be clarified whether Joachim already had the crypt laid out in its present form or whether only the rear chamber was built under the choir during his time. The passage from the second chamber below the nave speaks for the first assumption. The crypt is two barrel vaults that extend from the center of the nave to the altar.
The former cover plate made of white marble is now on the eastern choir wall. The inscription is in Latin and translates as follows: “Isn't touching wrong? See, here I sleep in safe hope. ”Further letters on the plate form a chronogram and represent the year 1702, the year of death of Count Georg Philipp .
During the renovation work in 1883, the crypt was opened on June 23rd in the presence of Count Friedrich zu Ortenburg-Tambach , his wife Charlotte and their son Franz Carl. Finally, the entrance was covered with floor tiles. It was forgotten over time.
On August 3, 2005, during the general renovation of the church, the benches and the pavement were removed. A heavy marble slab was found in the middle of the nave. After they were lifted, the workers stood in front of the entrance to the crypt. After consultation with the Bavarian Office for the Preservation of Monuments, this was measured, provided with an oak lintel and closed again. In today's pavement of the church, the entrance to the crypt is marked by a border.
Between 1573 and 1805, 42 people from the count's family were buried in the crypt.
legend
In his book published in 1863 for the 300th anniversary of the Reformation, pastor Carl Mehrmann mentions a legend of his time about the crypt. In the second half of the 18th century, a countess is said to have opened the crypt and had some coffins removed. Allegedly she was looking for a heavy gold chain that had been placed in Count Joachim's grave. One of the coffins appeared to be made of pewter, whereupon the countess sold it to a local citizen. However, it turned out that the coffin was actually made of silver. The citizen has acquired such a fortune. It cannot be determined whether the legend is based on a true story.
Rectory
The church is surrounded by three buildings, the northwest of which is the rectory with the rectory and apartment of the evangelical pastor. To the south is the cantor's house , today it houses the Protestant kindergarten. To the west is today's parish hall. It was built in 1810 as a new school building. After the renovation in 1976, it took over its present task. All three buildings frame the Protestant market church and form the so-called parsonage.
The church on a painting over the Ortenburg market by Count Friedrich Casimir from 1620.
Again it was Friedrich Casimir who drew this "aerial view" of the place and the church around 1625.
literature
- Poscharsky, Peter: The Protestant Churches in Ortenburg and Steinkirchen , 3rd edition, Ortenburg 2012.
- Evangelical Parish Office Ortenburg: Evangelical Market Church Ortenburg 2006 , Ortenburg 2006.
- Markt Ortenburg (Hrsg.): Citizens' publication of the Marktgemeinde Ortenburg - published on the occasion of the inauguration of the converted town hall on the Ortenburg market square and at the end of the restructuring of the Marktgemeindeverwaltung , Ortenburg 1994.
- Working group for local history of Ortenburg (ed.): Steinkirchen - The grave monuments in the evangelical burial church of the former imperial county of Ortenburg / Lower Bavaria (= Ortenburg local history - contributions to the history of Ortenburg, issue 1), Vilshofen 1991.
- Gertraud Dinzinger: Hans Pötzlinger and South German Sculpture in the 2nd Half of the 16th Century , Dissertation at the University of Regensburg, 1985.
- Hausmann, Friedrich : Archives of the Counts of Ortenburg. Documents of the family and the county of Ortenburg. Volume 1: 1142-1400 . Neustadt an der Aisch 1984.
- Schellnhuber, Hans : The Reformation in the imperial county of Ortenburg published in: 400 years evang.-luth. Kirchengemeinde Ortenburg , Ortenburg 1963 (pp. 6–42).
- Schubert, Heinz Hans Konrad: Ortenburg after Joachim's death published in: 400 years evang.-luth. Kirchengemeinde Ortenburg , Ortenburg 1963 (pp. 43–48).
- Mehrmann, Carl: History of the Evangelical Lutheran Community of Ortenburg in Lower Bavaria - memorandum for the anniversary celebration of the 300th anniversary of the introduction of the Reformation there on October 17 and 18, 1863 , Landshut 1863. ( digitized version )
Web links
Coordinates: 48 ° 32 '34.8 " N , 13 ° 13' 35.6" E