Martinskirche (Lauffen am Neckar)
The Martinskirche is a Romanesque - early Gothic Protestant church in the historic town center of Lauffen am Neckar in the Baden-Württemberg district of Heilbronn . The building with its mighty tower was the church of the Lauffener Städtle until it was profaned at the end of the 18th century as the Nikolauskapelle . Due to a mix-up with the forerunner of the Regiswindis Church, the chapel was re-consecrated in 1884 as St.
history
Around 1200, the town of Lauffen, first mentioned in 1219, emerged from the village to the left of the river on the right of the Neckar . The origins of the chapel are obscure, but it can be assumed that it was built as part of the founding of the city. The tower's thick walls indicate that it could have served as an escape and observation tower. It is possible that the observation tower was built at the current location of the New Heilbronner Tor at a later time.
Saint Nicholas was the patron saint . Since the city was founded by secular rule, i.e. by the Counts of Lauffen or their successors, the church structures did not change through the foundation. The parish for the village and town of Lauffen remained with the Regiswindiskirche, so that the town only had a chapel. Since the city had fewer inhabitants than the village in later centuries, this situation has persisted to this day. Before the Reformation , the chapel was richly wealthy despite its minor importance: From 1446 a courtyard in the city belonged to their property, in 1466 and 1495 it was expanded. At that time there were two benefactors in the chapel , one for a St. Nicholas altar and one for a St. John's altar.
The Reformation put most of the chapel's assets to the church administration of the district and a small part to the poor box of the village and town of Lauffen. Only the pastor and the deacon of the Regiswindis Church were responsible for the chapel , services were rarely held, not at all during the Thirty Years' War . On June 19, 1652, a lightning strike severely damaged the tower, which was then replaced. In 1779 the church received a new clock, in 1792 the half-timbered structure of the tower had to be demolished due to the risk of collapse, it was replaced by a lower structure. During the First Coalition War , the KK artillery depot requested the chapel as a magazine in 1795 . The last service took place on St. John's Day 1795. With the military use the stalls became unusable. Since then the chapel has served as a barn. The tower clock fulfilled an important function for the city and was still in use regardless of the desolate general condition of the chapel.
Since the original name of the meanwhile profane church had been forgotten in the course of time, local historians in the 19th century erroneously assumed that the chapel in the small town was the old Martinskirche, first mentioned in the 8th century. This old Martinskirche was a predecessor of the Regiswindiskirche. After a request from the local gymnastics club that was rejected in 1881 and wanted to use the church as a practice room, the parish tried to restore the church as such from 1882 onwards. Thanks to numerous donations, this was achieved on St. Martin's Day in 1884. In return, the church received new stalls and an organ . In 1897 the community took over an organ from Bönnigheim , which was built in 1752 , previously a harmonium served as a makeshift. In 1905 there were 18–20 services per year in Martinskirche on Sundays and public holidays , as well as twice a Lord's Supper , and every third Bible study was held there in winter . The church could be heated, from 1906 there was gas light. The tower was renovated in 1911.
In 1934 the municipality renovated the facade and the tower of the building. After the air raid on Lauffen on April 13, 1944, the residents stored salvaged household items in the church. When the Allies took Lauffen, shell hits severely damaged the church. The stalls, gallery, organ and pulpit were destroyed. On October 9, 1949, the regional bishop Theophil Wurm was able to rededicate the church. Comprehensive renovation was necessary from 1977 to 1978 because the framework showed rotting and damage from the longhorn beetle .
description
Martinskirche is a simple and largely unadorned church in Romanesque and early Gothic styles. The tower of the choir tower church has thick walls, which indicate its possible function as an escape and observation tower . Other signs are removed during the renovation 1883-84 shooting chart window . The choir has a barrel vault .
The altar in the choir was once dedicated to St. Nicholas. There were also two side altars with cibories on the east wall of the nave : one was dedicated to John the Baptist , the other to Saint Catherine . The consoles of the altar vault can still be seen today, and the foundation stones came to light during construction work. After the Reformation, St. Martin's Church was given a pulpit . To do this, the southern side altar was removed, and a breakthrough in the choir had to be made to reach the pulpit from there.
Two grimace consoles on the inside of the west door and one on the left side altar have been preserved. The sacrament house on the north wall of the choir is also located in a wall niche with a frame made of a triangular stone slab roofed over with a cornice . The frame is decorated with reliefs on the side, a figure can be seen on the left.
Murals
The wall paintings in the choir are the most important decoration of the Martinskirche . They were whitewashed during the Reformation and reappeared in the 19th century at the latest. During the renovation of the church in the 1880s, the responsible state curator Eduard Paulus and the building inspector Heinrich Dolmetsch spoke out in favor of restoring the wall paintings; the state and an association promised funding for this. Since the parish of Lauffen was interested in a quick reopening of the church and did not recognize the value of the paintings, the paintings were again whitewashed and damaged during the renovation.
Investigations revealed a total of six layers of paint on the walls, the oldest layer being from the Romanesque period. Among the Secco paintings , the second layer is particularly outstanding, which extends at a height of two to four meters over the north, south and east walls. It possibly dates from the period after 1400. The Twelve Apostles with their symbols are depicted on the south wall and various scenes with Saint Nicholas on the east and north walls. As far as the paintings are still preserved, the pictures can be interpreted as a grave , a distress , an execution and a dream scene. Both this unusual selection and the detailed depiction suggest a Lorraine or Dutch painter.
Bells
The oldest surviving bell for St. Martin's Church was cast in 1594. She is tuned to the tone a sharp 1 and weighs 520 kg. Their inscription reads: " In the name of God I am directed to anyone who hears that who is free to go to sant Nickclas, I am called 1594 ". Below the saying is an acanthus frieze . The saying refers to the fact that the bell once rang in the town at morning, noon, Vesper and evening time. The bell had to be given to the armaments industry during the Second World War , but it was found again in the bell store of the Hüttenwerke Kayser in Lünen and came back to Lauffen in 1947. It has been hanging in the Regiswindis Church since 1949.
In addition, two other former bells from the Martinskirche have survived: Heinrich Kurtz from Stuttgart delivered a 205 kg bell in 1884, which was given in during the First World War and was lost. As a replacement, the Bachert bell foundry in Kochendorf supplied a bell weighing 252 kg in 1920, which fell victim to armaments production in World War II.
Today's ringing consists of three bells and sounds in the diatonic triad h 1 - c sharp 2 - d flat 2 . It is attuned to the bells of the Regiswindiskirche.
- The h 1 bell comes from the Regiswindiskirche. It was cast by Bachert in 1920 as a replacement for a bell delivered during World War I and weighs 260 kg. Her saying is “ Lord, make us free! In 1920 by Albert Mugler as a replacement for the bell from 1566, which was sacrificed to the fatherland during the war, in the Regiswindiskirche in Lauffen a./N. donated. Cast by Gebr. Bachert in Kochendorf. “It adorns a neck frieze with grapes and vine leaves, the temple bears angel heads. The bell came to St. Martin's Church in 1949 in exchange for the bell from 1594.
- The c sharp 2 bell was cast by Kurtz in 1955. It weighs 229 kg and bears the inscription: “ Seek the Lord, and you will live. Martinskirche Lauffen a. N. 1955. “It bears the symbols of the cross and snake.
- The dis 2 bell was also cast by Kurtz. It weighs 162 kg and bears the inscription: “ Put on the new man, who was created after God. Martinskirche Lauffen a. N. 1955. “It is adorned with a dove, a cross and a fish. The bell followed a bell cast by Kurtz in 1949, which was commissioned as a dis 2 bell, but was delivered as a d 2 and was then re-cast six years later.
literature
- Albrecht Kottmann, Gudrun Kottmann: Evangelical churches in Lauffen am Neckar. Regiswindiskirche, Regiswindiskapelle, Martinskirche . 2nd Edition. Schnell & Steiner, Munich 1980.
- Otfried Kies: 750 years first city mention . In: Heimatbuch on the occasion of the city festival in 1984 . City of Lauffen aN, Lauffen aN 1984, p. 119-133 .
- Hermann Ehmer: The Martinskirche, a testimony to Lauffen history. For the 110th anniversary of the re-inauguration . In: Lauffener Heimatblätter . No. 12 . Lauffen am Neckar 1995.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Source for the section bells : Norbert Jung: Gott rufet noch . A contribution to the history of bells in the city of Lauffen am Neckar. Heilbronn 2001, ISBN 3-934096-10-7 .
Coordinates: 49 ° 4 ′ 33 ″ N , 9 ° 9 ′ 45 ″ E