Matthäuskirche (Backnang)
The Matthäuskirche in Backnang (Baden-Württemberg) is a Protestant community center, which was built as one of the first community centers of the Württemberg regional church in the early 1960s, with its 36 meter high tower, it has a defining effect on the cityscape and is used by the Matthäus parish for their parish life .
The large nave in the form of a tent is structurally connected as a “Sunday Church” with the parish rooms, the so-called “everyday church”, and offers space for 700 people when the retractable partitions to the parish hall are opened.
history
In the east of Backnang , new settlements arose in Plaisir, Taus and on the Plattenwald after World War II. Initially, the activities of the Protestant St. Matthew parish were held “under the most modest possible conditions in a school room and living room”. In order to build an appropriate center for the growing community, the property was acquired in 1952 and an architectural competition was announced in 1959. The architectural office Rall received the planning order. The laying of the foundation stone took place on May 8, 1960 and on May 11, 1962, the Matthew Community Center was inaugurated. In 1963 the neighboring rectory and the free-standing bell tower followed.
After the church services were accompanied by a small positive organ for 20 years , in 1982 “the instrument designed and made by master organ builder Reinhart Tzschöckel was put into service”, which was installed in the gallery. Until 1990 the annual Waldheim camps took place during the summer holidays in the Matthäus community center, until 1991 the Evangelical Waldheim in Fautenhau in Aspach was completed. The mini golf course on the green area has been renovated by students from the neighboring community school in the Taus since October 2015.
architecture
Architect Heinz Rall writes about the importance of church construction: “The diverse tasks of congregational life require a differentiated spatial program in addition to the church, which (...) includes a congregation hall, club rooms for young people, (...) and apartments for church employees. The interweaving of church institutions with public life is documented here, above all in the social field and increasingly also in leisure activities. "
From the wide forecourt you enter the nave through the wide portal , the interior design of which is “developed over a wide rectangular ground plan”. “The inside of the tent-like gable roof is covered with narrow reddish-brown pine boards. The main light source (...) is the large glass surface made of mirror tube glass on the entrance side. The eastern outer front was given a continuous three-meter-high concrete glass window. ”Chairs instead of benches are used as seating. "The warm wood of the huge tent roof and the reddish-brown brick wall of the almost windowless front face convey a sense of concentration and security." The altar in the center of the front face is made as a "communion table made of warm sandstone".
“The community hall and rooms for community work are grouped around an intimate courtyard that is closed off from the outside world. All of these rooms have an exit to this garden courtyard. ”All rooms are on one floor, supplemented by a kitchen, two stages and sanitary facilities. “The location of the church on the slope made it possible to accommodate three youth rooms and a sacristan's apartment in the exposed basement. The apartment and the youth rooms were given their own entrance and well-sunlit open spaces. "
The 36 meter high church tower is constructed like the building ensemble and the connection is " visible through the uniform cladding with Dutch clinker bricks (...) and the load-bearing elements in concrete." The four clocks and four bells are located on the top of five floors . “They were all cast in 1963 in the Bachert brothers' bell foundry in Karlsruhe. All of them have inscriptions from the Gospel of Matthew. "
| Surname | Chime | Weight in kg |
inscription |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dominica | f ′ | 1094 | See, I am with you every day. |
| Prayer bell | as ′ | 660 | Come to me all. |
| Cross bell | c ′ ′ | 348 | Seek the kingdom of God first. |
| Baptismal bell | it'' | 223 | Follow me. |
“A small platform, above which the four load-bearing concrete pillars come together like a crown, closes the tower at the top.” It is one of the highest points in the city of Backnang - apart from the ridges around the incorporated villages - with a wide panoramic view.
art
- Crucifix by Karl Hemmeter
- Main portal by Ulrich Henn : a net cast in bronze over four door leaves
- Glass concrete wall over the entire east side with the title "Matthäus-Evangelium" made of colored glass blocks by Luitgard Chountras-Müller and Gisela Sternstein-Feucht. They also created “the small square window above the font. The blue base tone indicates the baptismal water. "
- Cross and crown of thorns in the gable triangle by Ulrich Henn
- Paraments by Robert Eberwein
- Large bronze chandelier by Karl Hemmeter
- Oak wood sculpture "End of the war" by Karl Hemmeter
"The Matthäusgemeindezentrum in Backnang is a positive example of the fact that the connection between church and parish rooms can lead to an artistically convincing solution."
literature
- Dieter Eisenhardt: Evangelical Matthäusgemeindezentrum Backnang. Art and church guides. 1st edition. Schnell + Steiner publishing house, Munich and Zurich 1986.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Dieter Eisenhardt: Evangelical Matthew community center Backnang (= Small Kunstführer . No. 1603 ). 1st edition. Schnell and Steiner, Munich Zurich 1986 ( dnb.de [accessed January 7, 2018]).
- ↑ Eisenhardt 1986, p. 2
- ↑ Eisenhardt 1986, p. 8
- ↑ Helmut Bomm: Backnanger Stadtchronik 1990 and 1991, p. 176. Retrieved on January 9, 2018 .
- ↑ Sleeping Beauty ends: Miniature golf course Matthäuskirche is kissed awake . October 5, 2015 ( matthaeuskirche.de [accessed January 7, 2018]).
- ↑ Sealed mini golf course - church television reports . July 18, 2017 ( matthaeuskirche.de [accessed January 7, 2018]).
- ^ Architect Rall, quoted from Eisenhardt 1986, p. 3
- ↑ Eisenhardt 1986, p. 5
- ↑ Heinz Rall after Eisenhardt 1986, p. 3
- ↑ Eisenhardt 1986, p. 12
- ↑ Eisenhardt 1986, p. 14
- ↑ Eisenhardt 1986, p. 8
- ↑ Eisenhardt 1986, p. 15
Coordinates: 48 ° 57 ′ 14.1 ″ N , 9 ° 26 ′ 50.5 ″ E