Martinskirche (Nierstein)
The Martinskirche is a Protestant church in Nierstein in the Mainz-Bingen district . The parish of Nierstein is part of the Deanery Oppenheim in the Rheinhessen provost of the Evangelical Church in Hesse and Nassau .
history
Under Roman rule, a vicus was formed in today's Nierstein district next to the already existing German village, which was later expanded into a fort. The place name at that time was "Buconica". The Romans who introduced wine culture in Nierstein, founded on the site of present-day Elector court on Fronhof to the market place through a Fiskalgut (state-owned property) under Emperor Valentinian I. This Roman Fiskalgut which had survived the turmoil of the Migration Period, was from the Franconian kings taken over as Franconian royal property and immediate imperial property.
The Franconian kings converted their royal estate into a royal palace or a large hall courtyard, the center of which was where the Martinskirche is today (document from Hausmeier Pippin the Younger from 752). The “little hall gate” still leads from the market square to the “Hinter Saal” area behind it. In the area bordering the Palatinate and the Saalhof, the Franconian kings built a church that Bonifatius consecrated as St. Peters Chapel. Before the consecration, the church was called Marienkirche zu Nierstein.
The Franconian caretaker Karlmann gave away the St. Mary's Church in Nierstein in 742. In a document dated November 17, 880, Emperor Ludwig III confirmed that his ancestors had donated the St. Peter Chapel with vineyards to the Salvatorkirche in Frankfurt am Main . This belonged to the diocese of Würzburg , which was founded at the instigation of Bonifatius. The church was located between today's Martinskirche and the Elector's Court with the blacksmith's shop that still exists today, i.e. between the Fronhof and the cemetery. When the Reformation was introduced, the St. Peters Chapel was converted into a hospital, i.e. “Gutleutehaus”, and demolished in 1817 because it was in disrepair.
Building history
Around the year 1000 the Palatinate or the Saalhof of the Carolingians no longer existed. The Martinskirche was built inside the walls of the Saalhof. In a fiefdom register from 1190, the "lower church of Nierstein" (Martinskirche) is mentioned, which belongs to the Archdiocese of Mainz . Its main church and the whole diocese were dedicated to St. Martin of Tours .
In the year 1370, the Martinskirche must have experienced an extension, renovation or new building. During renovations in the choir in 1782, a stone was found with the inscription: “In the month of May of 1370 the first stone was laid for this building. Gerhard Smutzel and Jakob Ruho were the builders. "
The Martinskirche from 1370 consisted of three parts:
- the tower (22 shoes long and 19 shoes wide)
- the choir, towards the market square (25 shoes long and 24 shoes wide)
- the ship, located in the direction of Fronhof (70 shoe long and 52 shoe wide)
The oldest part of the church is the choir tower , which was raised to four floors in 1563 by adding another floor with arched gables and round windows. Around this time the Reformation had prevailed in the Electoral Palatinate and church affairs began to be reorganized.
During the Thirty Years' War, the reformed pastor Benjamin Fabritius, who came from Danzig, worked in Nierstein. He held his office in Nierstein from 1622 and was deposed in February 1626 when the Spanish reintroduced the Catholic creed . From 1626 to December 1631, Catholic clergy again did their service in Nierstein. It was not until 1631 that Fabritius was called back to his post, which he then held until his death in 1635.
His successor Johannes Hartung fared little better at first. Because of a sermon given in Oppenheim in 1642, he was dismissed from his service, whereupon the Franciscans took over the care of the parish in Nierstein. Hartung was only able to return at the end of 1644 and stayed in Nierstein for twenty years after his reinstatement. During his term of office the repair of the church buildings, which were largely devastated by the effects of the war, also fell. In a detailed cost estimate dated November 14, 1653, the sum required for the construction work on the church and rectory is set at 360 guilders.
The church of St. Martin was badly affected, which was reflected in a cost share of over 200 guilders. The list of construction work shows that the church was in a rather desolate condition and could hardly be used.
As soon as the repairs were carried out, the Palatinate War of Succession in 1689 caused serious damage in the areas on the left bank of the Rhine. Pastor Johann Kasimir Beuthen, who came from Zweibrücken and had studied in Basel, reported on the situation in Nierstein, where he had been in office since 1690: “But the Schwabsburg community had neglected its bell and it was taken from them by the frantic they no longer have itzo. ”The warring parties tried to get hold of the bells in order to cast cannons from them. The church bells in Nierstein and Dexheim had been hidden and were still in their hiding place in 1696.
In addition to the members of the Reformed denomination, from 1686 the Lutherans were not only able to enjoy tolerance, but even recognition in Nierstein. But it was not until the 18th century that the Lutheran congregation built their own church buildings. Anna Sophia von Stockheim made land available on Rheinstrasse for this purpose. A Lutheran church was consecrated here on August 29, 1729. The church was named "Sophienkirche" after the generous donor. A Lutheran school house and a Lutheran rectory (1765) were also built. In the 18th century both Protestant denominations were in Nierstein.
Due to the fall of the empire and in the course of the reorganization in the early 19th century, Rheinhessen was added to the Grand Duchy of Hesse from the Palatinate suzerainty . On the Protestant side, attempts were made to overcome the denominational differences between Lutherans and Reformed. Pastor Johann Paul Wallot from Nierstein was one of the nine clergy in Rheinhessen who took the initiative to unify the church in 1817. He worked in a prominent position as a sponsor of the Rhine-Hessian Union , which was completed at the end of 1822.
As a result, all buildings of the former Lutheran congregation and the reformed schoolhouse in Nierstein were sold, although Wallot originally intended to convert the Sophienkirche into a school. Due to his death on December 29, 1824, his plan could no longer be realized. Instead, another building was purchased that served as a Protestant school until 1900. The stalls from the inventory of the Lutheran Sophienkirche were moved to the Martinskirche and the organ was sold to Schwabsburg. The bells were sold to the Catholic community in Gimbsheim in 1827.
The old and dilapidated Martinskirche was demolished in 1782 with the exception of the tower. After five years of construction, the construction of the nave was completed in 1787, while the choir and sacristy in the direction of the market square were not rebuilt. The organ, which was built in 1732 by Johann Friedrich Macrander from Frankfurt, had been restored and reinstalled . The new St. Martin's Church was consecrated on August 26, 1787.
Over the years, the existing Martinskirche became too small and on March 2, 1895, it was decided to undergo a thorough renovation with two side aisles and galleries and a choir on the west side, a new organ and new stalls, painted windows and a worthy spire of 27 meters high. The civil parish donated a tower clock with four dials.
After completion of the renovation work by the church builder C. Schwartze from Darmstadt, the Martinskirche was returned to its intended use in 1896.
Bells
Three bells made the ring: the middle bell was cast by G. Roth in Mainz in 1712, the small one in 1862 and the large one in 1886 by the Hamm company in Frankenthal. Two of the bells were in the last war in 1918 melted . On July 7th, 1922, the Martinskirche got a new bell again. Cast by the Hamm company in Frankenthal, the largest of the bells weighed 20 quintals, rang with the sound of "es" and bore the inscription: "A fortress is our God". The middle bell weighed 10 quintals, rang in "g" and had the inscription: "Come to me, all of you who are laborious and laden". The small bell weighed 6 quintals, rang in “b” and bore the inscription: “Out of deep need I cry to you”.
The large and middle bells were also melted down for war purposes only a few years later. On November 11, 1949, the Martinskirche received two new bells, cast by the Hamm company in Frankenthal. The big bell with 22 quintals, in the tone "es" and the inscription: "No one can lay any other foundation except that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ" (1. Cor. 3.11). And the middle bell with 11 hundredweight, in the tone "g" and the inscription: "Praise the Lord my soul and do not forget what he has done you good" (Ps. 183.2). The small bell from 1922 kept its place.
Interior
In 1973/74 the interior of the church was restored. The old paintings, chairs and lamps have been removed and modernized. The brightly painted lead-glazed windows donated by Nierstein citizens in 1896 are still in excellent condition today.
The baptismal font inside the Martinskirche probably comes from the 14/15. Century and stood until the renovation in 1973/74 in today's Kirchgarten opposite the main entrance on the tower. Until 1863, the lower, chalice-like part up to the table-like top was in an arbor in the Protestant parish garden, while the upper part, the baptismal font itself, was in the garden of the Dalberg estate, which is now the malt factory. Since the two gothically decorated parts originally belonged together, the Protestant pastor at the time had them put together foam and gave the stone its place in the church garden.
swell
- Archive for Hessian History and Antiquities, Dr. Walter, Darmstadt 1863, volume 10
- Baur Regasten, Volume III, p. 453 and p. 500.
- Hessian pastor and schoolmaster book for Rheinhessen, Wilhelm Diehl
- State Archives Darmstadt, certificate from Dienheim no.44, certificate no.573
- History of the Elector's Court of Nierstein, Heinz Seib, Nierstein, March 1965
- Jakob Dörrschuck, Nierstein
- Elli Fischer-Zimmermann, Nierstein
- Evangelical church newspaper from September 6, 1992
- Festschrift for the inauguration of the new church of the Protestant community in 1896
- Elli Fischer-Zimmermann worked with the source scripts.
- Evangelical church newspaper from September 6, 1992 (Martin Sauer), Mr. Dörrschuck, Heinz Seip (1965), commemorative publication for the inauguration of the new church of the evangelical community in 1896. Ernst Stephan had drawn up plans for the historic Martinskirche, the date is not known. The remaining fonts specified are source fonts.
Web links
Coordinates: 49 ° 52 '26.4 " N , 8 ° 20' 7.6" E