Mauritius Church (Schenklengsfeld)
The Protestant Mauritius Church in Schenklengsfeld is the mother church of the Schenklengsfeld parish. The oldest part of the church, the tower with the sacristy, dates from the 12th century. The nave was built in the 18th century. The current tower top dates from 1822.
Tower and previous buildings
At the location of today's church there was originally a chapel, which also included the still-preserved brick part of the tower. This building was dated to the year 1232 during an investigation in 1831. More recent research, however, is based on 1141, since the chapel is already mentioned in documents at this time as the mother church of the Landecker Amt .
After the Landeck office was pledged in 1525 from the Imperial Abbey of Hersfeld to Landgrave Philip I of Hesse , the Reformation was introduced in 1526 and the Schenklengsfeld Church became Protestant.
Nave and tower in their current form
Building history
Nave
The old chapel was demolished in 1741 and today's baroque nave was built in its place . On the southern inner wall there are inscriptions that indicate the construction time from 1742 to 1744. The nave was attached to the west side of the existing tower with the old sacristy. It closes on five sides (polygonal) on the west side. The interior is spanned by a mirrored barrel vault. The mansard roof is covered with plain tiles.
Entrances are on all three outer sides of the nave, with the main portal on the west side opposite the chancel. The north and south sides are each interrupted by three windows. In 1914 a lightning rod was installed after a fire caused by a lightning strike.
inner space
The church has two-story galleries on the north and south sides. On the west side there is a gallery above the main portal, on which the organ from 1888 is also located. The interior has been gray and white since the restoration in 1962.
The pulpit, which originally stood in the middle of the sacristy behind the altar, has been on the right side of the triumphal arch since 1832 .
sacristy
In the sacristy at the base of the tower there are still paintings of the former Catholic high altar. The room is spanned by a pointed arch, at the intersection of which there is a capping stone with a lamb above the altar. In 1955 the sacristy received three stained glass windows depicting the sacraments.
tower
Up until 1822 there was an octagonal pointed helmet attachment with four corner turrets on the brick church tower. Due to dilapidation, the old tower top was demolished and replaced by a new tower hood. It is built in the imperial style with three domes one above the other.
Bells
Until the 19th century, the church initially had three bells and later four. The three big bells were dismantled during the war in 1939 and later melted down. After two new bells were installed as early as 1949, the church received its complete ringing again in 1951 with the Christ bell. This largest of the four bells weighs 1539 kg and measures 1.35 m in diameter.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Rosskopf 1964, p. 146.
- ↑ The Mauritius Church ( Memento of the original from April 29, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the private website www.schenklengsfeld.info
literature
- Peter Rosskopf: The Landecker Amt in the Hersfeld district. Bad Hersfeld 1964.
Web links
- Parish Schenklengsfeld on the website of the Evangelical Church District Hersfeld
- Mauritiuskirche Schenklengsfeld on the website of the community Schenklengsfeld
- The Mauritius Church on the website Schenklengsfeld.info
Coordinates: 50 ° 49 ′ 4.5 " N , 9 ° 50 ′ 37.8" E