Michaelskirche (Fechheim)
The Evangelical Lutheran St. Michael 's Church is in the Upper Franconian town of Fechheim in the Coburg district .
Parish
The parish of Fechheim was established in the 9th century . Next to the parish of Meeder, it was the second original parish in the Coburg region . The area of the large parish comprised the area between Seidmannsdorf in the west and Mupperg in the east, Ebersdorf near Coburg in the south and Sonneberg in the north. The first church, originally an own church of the Würzburg bishop , was consecrated to the Franconian apostle Kilian . Presumably in 1002 when the Haug monastery in Würzburg was founded, the church passed to the monastery. In 1309 it was added to the Langheim monastery . The boundaries of the large parish and the Fechheim Centgericht were then identical.
The first Protestant church visitation by Electoral Saxony took place in 1528/29. At that time, there were 25 branch communities in the parish. By then, seven new parishes (Seidmannsdorf, Mupperg, Gestungshausen , Ebersdorf, Großgarnstadt , Neustadt an der Haide and Sonneberg ) had arisen from the subsidiary communities, and two more followed ( Einberg , Hofstädten ). The incumbent pastor was retired after the first visit and a Protestant pastor was appointed. At the fourth visit in 1554, 14 villages were still parish in the parish of Fechheim. In addition to Fechheim, these are still Aicha , Bieberbach , Birkig , Blumenrod , Boderndorf , Horb , Kemmaten , Mittelwasungen , Oberwasungen , Plesten , Unterwasungen and Wellmersdorf . Wörlsdorf was re- pastured to Hassenberg in 1950 , while Fürth am Berg , formerly part of the Mupperg parish, came to Fechheim in 1948 as a result of the inner-German border . In 2012 a total of around 1500 inhabitants lived in the 14 locations.
The rectory from 1635 was replaced by a new building in 1935. The neighboring farm estate was acquired by the community in 1988 and converted into a parish center by 1991.
church
The late Gothic choir east of the tower and chancel was built in the late 15th century in place of a semicircular Romanesque apse in irregular floor plan of a half-octagon and is equipped with three different sized windows, two pointed windows with tracery . The dilapidated cross vault above the choir was replaced by a flat wooden ceiling in 1874. Wall paintings, a picture of the crucifixion from the late Gothic around 1500 and a picture of the resurrection from the early Renaissance period (1576) decorate the choir.
The nave, built between 1702 and 1704 according to plans by the Coburg master carpenter Hans Friedrich Weinlein, is a rectangular hall building with three split windows and three-story galleries on the north and south sides as well as two rectangular and oval windows above, the main door and a two-story gallery on the west side.
86 painted parapets of the galleries depict scenes from the Old and New Testaments. The fresco on the wooden flat ceiling with scenes from the Revelation and pictures of the four evangelists was created by the Coburg court painter Johann Schuster. The sacristy and the stair tower were added in 1704.
After the construction work was completed, on September 29, 1704, the church, which was previously called St. Kilians Church, was renamed St. Michaels Church. The rustic baroque interior of the church includes a richly carved and painted epistle chair and a pulpit with pictures of the evangelists. The font with the shape of a heavy chalice dates from the late 18th century. In the choir there is a tunnel chest with five wrought iron locks, which is dated to the 15th century. A three-part Kilian plaque, painted in 1480, hangs next to the pulpit.
The first organ was built by the Falkensteiner organ builder Tobias Dressel in 1677. In 1704 the instrument was relocated. The organ, made by the organ builder Friedrich Wilhelm Holland from Schmiedefeld , was inaugurated on July 26th, 1874. It was equipped with a main work, upper work and pedal as well as 18 stops and a neo-Romanesque, five-part brochure. In 1956 you got an electric blower . In 2011 the organ was restored and has 1242 pipes. The basic mood of the original was restored.
Major repair and renovation work was carried out in the years 1872 with the renovation of the choir, 1911 with local foundation reinforcements, 1947 to 1953 with a renovation of the interior, 1977 to 1979 with a stabilization of the church building and in the 1990s with the renovation of the foundation walls of the nave carried out. After parts of the plastering on the ceiling fell off, St. Michael's Church was closed in September 2013. The renovation of the church should last until 2018 and cost around 1.4 million euros.
tower
Fechheim's landmark is the 48 meter high church tower, which was built at the beginning of the 13th century. Double windows with round arches and round arch friezes are available as Romanesque elements. The tower was probably part of a fortified church. There was probably originally a baptistery on the first floor of the tower. A fourth floor was added at the end of the 15th century. The spire with the four turrets was put on in 1601.
Since 1951, three different sized Eupon bells have been hanging in the church tower , which were cast in the Carl Czudnochowsky bell foundry . A small, donated bell followed in 1966. The iron bell cage and the electric bell are from the same year.
literature
- Ingrid Schellhorn: Fechheim 1162–2012 Chronicle of the parish and parish Fechheim in the district of Coburg .
Individual evidence
- ^ Richard Teufel : Architectural and art monuments in the district of Coburg . E. Riemann'sche Hofbuchhandlung, Coburg 1956, p. 58
- ^ Hermann Fischer, Theodor Wohnhaas: Old organs in the Coburg country . In: Yearbook Coburger Landesstiftung 15, 1970, p. 101
- ^ Sound experience with 1242 pipes , in Neue Presse, December 12, 2011
- ↑ Peter Nistl: No services : Do not enter Fechheim Church! . www.infranken.de, September 13, 2013
- ↑ Martin Rebhan: Five construction phases are to save Fechheim's Michaelskirche . www.infranken.de, November 26, 2015
- ^ Rainer Axmann: From the turn of the millennium to the Reformation . In: Working group of the deanery with Eckhart Kollmer (ed.): Evangelical parishes in the Coburg region . Verlag der Ev.-Luth. Mission, Erlangen 1984, ISBN 387214202X , p. 157
Web links
Coordinates: 50 ° 16 '23.7 " N , 11 ° 7' 11.8" E