Martinikirche (Siegen)

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The Martinikirche in Siegen, view from the south
The Martinikirche from the west on a city view by Jakob Scheiner , watercolor from 1899, depicting the state from around 1850. Left behind the church the Lower Castle, right in front of it the ruins of the Great Bulwark . In the foreground the river Sieg with Victory Bridge

The Martinikirche is a pseudo-basilica dedicated to St. Martin in Siegen , which has existed in its current form since the 16th century, and whose history goes back to the 8th century. Its oldest surviving documentary mention comes from the early 14th century. The church is located on the western rocky spur of the Siegberg on the edge of the medieval core city of Siegens, immediately west of the Lower Castle . The Martinikirche is the oldest still preserved sacred building in the city and has been a Protestant church since the Reformation .

history

Portal of the Martinikirche
The high medieval floor mosaic under the current floor of the church
Central nave with pulpit, behind the choir with chancel and church organ

The Martini Church was first mentioned in a document on June 3, 1311. The document documents the provision of the parish church with income, including income from the "Mashütte uf der Weste" , a hut on the river Weiß , as well as from gardens in front of the northeastern one City gate Siegens, the Marburg Gate .

From archaeological finds it is concluded that a previous building was built on the site of the church as early as the Frankish- Carolingian period, probably around the middle of the 8th century - the castle chapel of a border and street festival. The dating to the middle of the 8th century marks a time of increasing tensions between the Franconian Empire and the Saxon area of influence bordering the Franconian Siegerland to the north . During this time the Franks began to expand their fortified positions and royal courts south of the Rothaargebirge (→ Saxon Wars of Charlemagne ).

The location on the spur of the victory the mountain, in the valley victory near the mouths of rivers Alche and White location was strategically appropriate place to a fortress from which it previously contained ford over the victory to a portion of the old route later Cologne Marburg ( Called Brabanter Straße ). The street names Kölner Strasse and Marburger Strasse , which have been preserved on the Siegberg in Siegen's upper town, testify to the past of this road connection, as do the preserved place and street names Kölner Tor (historic city gate on the western spur of the Siegberg, location of the Martinikirche) and Marburger Tor (historic eastern city gate of Siegen).

This place is therefore also regarded as the likely origin of the city of Siegen - centuries before the city was first mentioned in a document in 1224. The remains of a settlement known as “aldestat” (“old town”) at the western foot of the Siegberg were only demolished in 1527 for strategic military reasons.

Proof of the existence of a castle chapel before the Martini church was built is a floor mosaic uncovered during excavations under the north aisle, which dates back to the 10th century. The ornamentation of the mosaic made of different geometrically shaped tiles made of red and black clay shows, among other things, sun wreath and cross laying symbolism, which indicate a sacred building. From the size and the elaborate execution of the mosaic it is also concluded that this is an “above-average” mansion. Traces of wear and tear on the tiles indicate long-term use. A fire strip was found on the east side of the mosaic, which indicates that the associated building was destroyed in historical times. This destruction of the Franconian building is interpreted as the reason to build a successor building on the same site in the 11th century. The mosaic discovered and excavated in 1959/60 is 92 cm below the current floor of the building. Similar mosaics were in Bochum district Stiepel and Dom Minden discovered.

In the 16th century, the Martini Church lost its role as the parish and main church of Siegen, as the city center had shifted over time from the foot of the Siegberg to its summit. The new parish church of the city was the Nikolaikirche, which was built there in the 13th century around 1527 . The construction of the Lower Palace in the 17th century cut off the church even more from the city center and lost its importance until it was only used for funeral services and funeral services in the 18th century and the building finally fell into disrepair. In times of war and emergency, the Martini church served both as a military hospital and as an armory, for example during the Revolutionary Wars from 1794. During the period of secularization from the early 19th century, the building was severely damaged. A threatened demolition was only prevented by a donation from a Siegen merchant for the restoration, which took place from 1833 to 1838. From the re-inauguration on June 17, 1838, the Martinikirche could again be used for church services. Another renovation took place in 1911/12, in the course of which the external walls made of quarry stone were freed from plaster in accordance with the taste of the time. The interiors were painted in a historical style . In the Second World War , the church was destroyed down to the outer walls and restored in the following years until 1949. The re-inauguration took place on October 31, 1949. The Martinikirche is now a listed building and was last completely renovated in 1991.

Plan of the Martini Church in the early 20th century
Interior view, looking south-west. Photograph by Albert Ludorff , 1897
East side of the central nave with pulpit and choir, after renovation in 1911/1912

architecture

Previous building from the 11th, reconstruction in the 13th century

In the course of its existence the church building was rebuilt several times. For the 11th century, a late Romanesque collegiate church with five towers and a large-sized westwork is assumed. This is said to have had two square towers at the corners of the east facade, two round towers on the west side and a large square central tower in the westwork. Of these towers, only the trunk of a round stair tower, today provided with a pointed roof, has been preserved at the north-west corner of the building; archaeological findings confirm the previous existence of a counterpart on the south-western corner of the building. The loopholes of the tower body obtained give an indication of the erstwhile military character of the church building.

It is believed that this collegiate church was largely destroyed by fire or armed forces towards the end of the 12th or beginning of the 13th century. Around 1230, the Martinikirche was rebuilt in the same place, including the remains of the collegiate church - according to a document from 1311, it was located outside the Siegen city fortifications at that time. A construction seam that extends over the entire height of the right half of the west facade is a clearly visible trace of the reconstruction in the 13th century.

Appearance since the 16th century

Since a renovation between 1511 and 1516, the Martini church has had the current appearance of a three-aisled late Gothic pseudo-basilica with three bays . All the outer walls of the building are made of jointed quarry stone masonry . The external plaster that existed in earlier centuries was removed in the course of restoration work at the beginning of the 20th century and has not been reapplied since then.

The long walls of the church on the north and south sides are each supported by five pillars, between which there are two-part Gothic pointed arch windows and a side portal in the north facade. In the course of the renovation at the beginning of the 16th century, the north aisle was widened by about one meter, so that the aisles of the church have been unevenly wide since then. A wooden gallery was built into the north aisle in the 20th century . Since the reconstruction after the Second World War, all three naves have had flat ceilings with visible strong beams instead of the earlier Gothic net vaults , with the central nave having a significantly higher ceiling height than the two aisles. The attic above is said to have been used as a Latin school in earlier centuries. Instead of a church tower, the building has a bell tower with a roof turret, which sits above the choir on the east side of the gable of a roof that is only very slightly hewn . In the east wall of the choir , which protrudes about 1.5 meters from the central nave, there is another Gothic lancet window, in three parts and with Gothic tracery . An identical counterpart is embedded in the west wall above the main portal.

organ

The organ was built in 1951 by the organ building company Emanuel Kemper & Sohn (Lübeck) according to the planning of the organist Helmut Winter . In the years 1985 to 2003 the instrument was revised by the organ building company Mebold , whereby a large part of the pipe material was replaced. The pocket store instrument has 39  stops on three manuals and a pedal . The actions are electric.

I Hauptwerk C – g 3
Drone 16 ′
Principal 08th'
Wooden flute 08th'
octave 04 ′
recorder0 04 ′
Fifth 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
octave 02 ′
Mixture IV
Trumpet 08th'
Tremulant
II Rückpositiv C – g 3
Drone 08th'
Quintad 08th'
Principal 04 ′
Reed flute 04 ′
Nasat 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
Gemshorn 02 ′
Fifth 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
Sesquialtera II0
Sharp III
Krummhorn 08th'
Tremulant
III Swell C – g 3
Transverse flute 08th'
Viol 08th'
Beat0 08th'
Pointed flute 04 ′
Whistle 02 ′
clarinet 08th'
bassoon 16 ′
oboe 08th'
Trumpet 04 ′
Tremulant
Pedals C – g 3
Pedestal 32 ′
Principal 16 ′
Sub bass 16 ′
octave 08th'
Covered bass0 08th'
octave 04 ′
Night horn 02 ′
Mixture V
trombone 32 ′
trombone 16 ′
Trumpet 08th'
  • Coupling II / I, III / I, III / II, I / P, II / P, III / P; I / I and III / III as sub-octave coupling

Martini Cemetery

A text board on the facade of the church indicates that the earliest detectable burial place of Siegen, the Martini churchyard, is located in the area surrounding the church. This cemetery, which was converted into an urban green area in 1882, is said to have been used by around 60,000 burials by 1843. This area was included in the fortress-like extension of the city walls at the beginning of the 16th century, together with the ossuary that existed there between 1420 and 1691. From 1502 to 1511 the large bulwark of the Siegen city fortifications was built at the end of the churchyard on the valley side . After this collapsed in 1846, it was finally removed by demolition in 1893. As a further access to the churchyard, the "New Gate" was located in the southern city wall at the Obergraben from 1504, called "Holy Gate" from 1850.

literature

  • Wilhelm Güthling (ed.): History of the city of Siegen in demolition . Vorländer, Siegen 1955
  • Wilhelm Ochse: Church local history - chats with young and old in Siegerland . Regensbergsche Verlagsbuchhandlung Münster (Westf.), 1946. Book on the church history of the Siegerland
  • Manfred Seifarth: The Martinikirche in Siegen . Booklet on the history of the building, published by the presbytery of the Evangelical Martini parish in Siegen, 1999
  • Walter Thiemann: On the history of the Siegen Martinikirche . Reprint from the Siegerland district church supplement to the Sunday paper Our Church . Siegen, 1976
  • Various authors: "ecclesia extra muros" - 1311–2011, 700 years of Martini church in Siegen . Anniversary Festschrift, published in the series Siegener Posts - Yearbook for Regional History . Special volume 2011, Vorländer, Siegen 2011 ISSN  1435-1412

Web links

Commons : Martinikirche  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Houses of God: Martinikirche Siegen
  2. ↑ the first written mention of the Martini Church
  3. ^ Güthling: History of the City of Siegen in Demolition , p. 23
  4. ^ Gerhard Scholl: From castles and palaces in Siegerland . In: Siegerland between yesterday and tomorrow , p. 25 ff. Vorländer, Siegen 1965
  5. ^ Thiemann: On the history of the Siegener Martinikirche, p. 3
  6. ^ Güthling: History of the City of Siegen in Demolition , p. 7
  7. ^ Hermann Kellenbenz, Jürgen H. Schawacht: Schicksal einer Eisenlandes , p. 24.
    Published by the Siegen Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 1974
  8. ^ Güthling: History of the City of Siegen in Demolition , p. 10
  9. ↑ Seifarth: The Martinikirche in Siegen , p. 13
  10. ↑ Thiemann: On the history of the Siegener Martinikirche, p. 4 f.
  11. ↑ Seifarth: The Martinikirche in Siegen , p. 6 f.
  12. ↑ a b In the footsteps of Nassau and Orange in Siegen - brochure of
    the Gesellschaft für Stadtmarketing e. V., Siegen. Without date or author.
  13. ↑ Seifarth: The Martinikirche in Siegen , p. 13 f.
  14. ↑ Article about the Martinikirche on helmut-langenbach.de (with pictures)
  15. ↑ Seifarth: Die Martinikirche in Siegen , p. 17
  16. ↑ Seifarth: Die Martinikirche in Siegen , p. 19
  17. ↑ Seifarth: Die Martinikirche in Siegen , p. 8 ff. With an illustration of an attempted reconstruction of the building
  18. ↑ Seifarth: Die Martinikirche in Siegen , p. 9 ff.
  19. ↑ “Ecclesia parochialis Sancti Martini extra muros oppidi blessing” - “Parish Church of St. Martin of Siegen outside the city walls.” Quoted from Seifarth: Die Martinikirche in Siegen , p. 11
  20. ^ Friedrich Weber: Walk through history - Martinikirche . In: Siegen - history, sights worth seeing, p. 25. Vorländer, Siegen 2008
  21. ↑ Seifarth: The Martinikirche in Siegen , p. 4
  22. ^ Friedrich Weber: Walk through history - Martinikirche . In: Siegen - history, sights worth seeing, p. 30. Vorländer, Siegen 2008
  23. ↑ Seifarth: The Martinikirche in Siegen , p. 12
  24. ^ Friedrich Weber: City Guide Siegen . Vorländer, Siegen 2008
  25. ↑ Seifarth: Die Martinikirche in Siegen , p. 2, p. 17
  26. ↑ Seifarth: The Martinikirche in Siegen , p. 2
  27. ↑ More information on the organ ( Memento of the original from August 12, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bachchor.de
  28. ↑ Text board at the Protestant Martini Church in Siegen

Coordinates: 50 ° 52 ′ 25.7 ″  N , 8 ° 1 ′ 13.6 ″  E