Martinus Church (Frankfurt-Schwanheim)
The Protestant Martinus Church is a church in the style of Romanesque Revival in Frankfurt District Schwanheim . It is named after the reformer Martin Luther and is a listed building .
history
Schwanheim belonged to the Electorate of Mainz and thus remained Catholic after the Reformation . In the middle of the 19th century the first Protestant Christians came to Schwanheim in the course of the establishment of industry in the neighboring towns. In 1880 there were around 90 Protestant Schwanheimers who belonged to Griesheim's church and had to take a boat across the Main to attend church services . Following the desire for their own place of worship, a chapel was built , which was inaugurated on July 26, 1885. The neo-Gothic building stood on a plot of land on which the parish hall is located today. The chapel included a church service room for approx. 100 people and a teacher's apartment on the upper floor. In 1888 the independent Martinus community was formed as a subsidiary community of Griesheim.
In 1910 the community had 1185 members, which is why a new church was planned. With financial help from the Gustav-Adolf-Verein and the Carl von Weinberg family, who belong to the community, construction could begin in October 1910. The foundation stone was laid on December 4, 1910. According to plans by the architect Otto Bäppler , the church was completed in the historicism style and inaugurated on November 19, 1911. From then on the chapel was used as a kindergarten. An explosion at the chemical plant in Griesheim in 1917 and bombing raids in 1943 destroyed the church windows. On June 6, 1954, the repaired church and the restored bells were rededicated. A new kindergarten was built in 1960 and the chapel was demolished in 1963. The parish hall was built in 1966 and the church was renovated in 1976 and 2004. It is a cultural monument according to the Hessian Monument Protection Act .
architecture
The Martinus Church is located on the northeastern edge of the historic town center at Martinskirchstrasse 52. The north-facing hall church is around 27 meters long and 14 meters wide. The entrance is in the south opposite the confluence with Wilhelm-Kobelt-Straße. The building ensemble consists of the rectangular nave, the bell tower in the northwest and the parsonage adjoining to the west along with the connecting structure. The church has typical neo-Romanesque design elements. The brightly plastered outer walls are structured with arched windows and buttresses . The choir in the north is designed as an apse . The main portal in the south is designed with two apses that accommodate the stairs to the organ gallery, as well as round arches on columns with cube capitals . There is a rose window in the middle of the gable wall . The gable roof is covered with slate . The tower on a square floor plan rises as part of the church building. Its edges are partly designed as a bosswork with natural stone. A gold-plated cross stands on the slate-covered helmet . On the east side a staircase leads to the Weinberg box , a seating niche in the east wall of the choir.
A staircase and a vestibule lead into the interior between two portal lions. The organ loft in the entrance area also rests on columns with decorated capitals. A flat coffered ceiling closes off the room at the top. The design of the interior takes up old Christian symbolism. The ceiling of the choir room is painted with a starry sky that came out again during the renovation in 2004.
Furnishing
Numerous figures such as the portal lions and the angels making music on the ceiling were designed by the artist and sculptor Johann Belz . He also made the pulpit out of oak according to the architect's plans, while the ornamental wooden panels were carved by Peter Vater. Most of the works were carried out by artisans from Schwanheim. The plasterer Anton Helfenbein created the ten angels. The lions were carved on site by Johann Herber. The capitals of the portico were created by Johann Gastell. The figure of Christ behind the altar comes from Martin Heinrich. The altar by Georg Grossmann is horizontally divided into three levels and decorated with motifs of the vineyard. The font comes from Ravenna . The five stained glass windows in the apse were made in 1949 based on designs by Lina von Schauroth . In the middle they show the risen Christ surrounded by the four evangelists . Further windows on the east side show the reformers Luther and Melanchthon . The two windows on the west side symbolize the diakonia . On the western wall there is a plaque with the names of the victims of the First World War. This memorial also goes to the victims of the Second World War.
organ
The organ on the rear gallery comes from the organ builder Karl Schuke and was made in 1990 according to a plan by the cantor MH Hoffmann. The prospectus resembles that of the previous organ from 1928 by the organ builder Weigle and takes into account the round window in the gable wall. Today's organ has 21 stops with mechanical action and stop action and the following disposition:
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- Coupling : II / I, I / P, II / P
Peal
The church has four bells.
| No. | Nominal | Dimensions | Surname | year | foundry | inscription |
| 1 | d 1 | 1400 kg | Luther bell | 1954 | Erdinger bell foundry | A Mighty Fortress Is Our God |
| 2 | f 1 | 750 kg | Evening bell | 1954 | Erdinger bell foundry | Lord stay with us, because evening will come and the day has come to an end |
| 3 | g 1 | 550 kg | Morning and peace bell | 1954 | Erdinger bell foundry | Graciously grant us peace, Lord God, in our times |
| 4th | a 1 | 480 kg | Baptismal bell | 1924 | Rincker bell foundry | Let the little children come to me, peace and joy be my bells, love for love |
local community
The Evangelical Martinus Congregation belongs to the Evangelical Church in Hesse and Nassau . Your pastors were:
| Period | Pastor |
| 1876-1898 | Karl Fabricius |
| 1898-1936 | Paul Weber |
| 1936-1965 | Wilhelm Lohfink |
| 1965-1977 | Waldemar Lerch |
| 1978-1982 | Bettina Oguro-Opitz |
| 1982– | Burkhard Sulimma |
| Renate Dienst |
Photo gallery
Southwest view
portal
ensemble
Organ loft
altar
Web links
- State Office for Monument Preservation Hessen (Ed.): Martinskirchstraße 52 In: DenkXweb, online edition of cultural monuments in Hessen
literature
- Joachim Proescholdt, Jürgen Telschow: Frankfurt's Protestant Churches through the ages, Societäts-Verlag, Frankfurt a. M. 2011, ISBN 978-3-942921-11-4
- Festschrift for the inauguration of the Martinus Church on November 19, 1911 in Schwanheim , Frankfurt a. M.
- Church council of the Protestant Martinus parish in Frankfurt-Schwanheim Ev. Martinus Community Frankfurt-Schwanheim . Festschrift on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of Martinus Church on November 19, 1986
- Church council of the Protestant Martinus parish in Frankfurt-Schwanheim Ev. Martinus Community Frankfurt-Schwanheim . Festschrift on the occasion of the inauguration of the new organ in June 1990
- Heinz Schomann, Volker Rödel, Heike Kaiser: Monument topography city of Frankfurt am Main. Revised 2nd edition, limited special edition on the occasion of the 1200th anniversary of the city of Frankfurt am Main. Societäts-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1994, ISBN 3-7973-0576-1
Coordinates: 50 ° 5 ′ 13.5 ″ N , 8 ° 35 ′ 5.5 ″ E