New Johanneskirche (Mußbach)

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Catholic Church of St. John Baptist

Basic data
Denomination Roman Catholic
place Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, Mußbach district, Germany
diocese Diocese of Speyer
Patronage John the Baptist
Building history
Client Jakob Blum
architect K. Butz, W. Blum
construction time 1957-1959
Building description
inauguration August 9, 1959
Architectural style concrete
Furnishing style Side chapel with stained glass window
Construction type rotunda
Function and title

Parish church of the Catholic parish of St. Johannes Mußbach

Coordinates 49 ° 22 '5.7 "  N , 8 ° 10' 16.5"  E Coordinates: 49 ° 22 '5.7 "  N , 8 ° 10' 16.5"  E

The new St. John's Church in the wine-producing village Mußbach on the wine route , in 1969 as a district for Neustadt an der Weinstraße ( Rhineland-Palatinate was incorporated), is derived from the mid-20th century church building of Catholics .

Geographical location

The new Johanneskirche is at 143  m above sea level. NHN in the south-eastern area of ​​the historic manor ; One access is from the north (Herrenhofgasse) , one from the south ( Landesstrasse 516 , An der Bleiche) . The manor had belonged to the Order of St. John since the 13th century , later renamed the Order of Malta . In the north-west of the site is the old St. John's Church . The canalised Mußbach flows north of the new church .

history

In the High Middle Ages built old St. John's Church was 1707 as a result of the Reformation , like many other churches with a dividing wall between the choir and the ship been provided to Catholics and Protestants as Simultaneum to serve. In particular, the choir used by the Catholics suffered considerable defects and damage over time, so that a replacement building was planned in the vicinity after the Second World War .

In the late 1950s, under Pastor Jakob Blum, who was in office from 1949 to 1961, the new church was built as a round building made of concrete . The foundation stone was laid in June 1957. Like the old church, the new one was dedicated to John the Baptist , the patron saint of the former Order of St. John. The consecration was carried out by Isidor Markus Emanuel, Bishop of Speyer, on August 9, 1959. On November 21, 1958, a large acrylic glass dome was placed on the highest point of the hemispherical copper roof with the help of a helicopter of the US Air Force Round windows to serve. In the style of an Italian campanile , a 30 m high tower was erected next to the rotunda without any structural connection . He wore a round hood covered with copper and was ringing four bells . The so-called “lower church” in the basement of the building was set up for meetings and events; it also enables small church services.

Johanneskirche without tower (2004–2015)

Since December 2004 the new Johanneskirche has been missing the tower. This had to be demolished only 45 years after completion, because the concrete used had not withstood the vibrations of the bells and cracks had appeared. Once the financing was secured, the tower was to be rebuilt as a steel structure. The bells, two cast from iron and two from bronze , were temporarily stored on the site of the local nurses' house until 2010, after which it was sold right next to the church.

On April 22, 2015, the two bronze bells weighing 355 and 513 kg, the material value of which was € 10,000, were stolen during the day . While an architect and several workers with the preparations for the planned in May 2015 construction of the steel structure were employed, drove two men with a 4.5-ton light trucks , including truck-mounted crane before and said they would temporarily relocate the bells. To carry out the theft, they even borrowed a forklift from a wine-growing company next door . According to witnesses, the stolen bells were seized by the police on May 6, 2015 in the local community of Westheim in the south of the Palatinate , where they had been sold.

In June, seven weeks after the theft, the almost 17 m high steel girder tower was finally erected; it reaches 1.70 m into the ground. On July 20, 2015, the two bronze bells, which are consecrated to John the Baptist and the Apostle Andrew , were hung in the oak yokes .

Furnishing

  • Interior view of the main room

  • Window by Michael Hubert Schmitz: Cardinal Johannes von Geissel

  • Signature "Michael Hubert Schmitz" (1858)

In the right side chapel there is a historic stained glass window that comes from the old Johanneskirche and depicts Cardinal Johannes von Geissel , who was baptized there in 1796. The window was painted by Geissel's protégé Michael Hubert Schmitz and is signed Schmitz 1858 on the lower right . In the background it shows an interior view of Cologne Cathedral . A carved knee bench with Geissel's coat of arms, marked 1858 , is also part of the furnishings of the Johanneskirche. Two Messkaseln with his coat of arms, also donated for the Mußbacher church, are meanwhile in the Stiftskirche Neustadt .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Catholic parish. The history of the Catholic parish in Mußbach St. Johannes. mussbach.de, accessed on May 12, 2015 .
  2. ↑ a b Kathrin Keller (kkr): Church bells stolen . In: The Rheinpfalz , Südwestdeutsche Zeitung . No. 96 . Ludwigshafen April 25, 2015, p. 13 .
  3. ↑ a b Wolfgang Kreilinger (wkr): Neustadt: Police are looking for blue trucks . In: Die Rheinpfalz , local edition Pfälzer Tageblatt . No. 100 . Ludwigshafen April 30, 2015, p. 26 .
  4. ↑ a b Petra Depper-Koch: Incredibly good faith . In: The Rheinpfalz , Südwestdeutsche Zeitung . No. 101 . Ludwigshafen May 2, 2015, p. 12 .
  5. ↑ Steffen Gall: From bells and thieves . In: Die Rheinpfalz , supplement real estate market . No. 70 . Ludwigshafen March 23, 2018, p. 5 .
  6. ↑ Kathrin Keller (kkr): Bells theft: Police in Westheim found what they were looking for . In: The Rheinpfalz , Südwestdeutsche Zeitung . No. 105 . Ludwigshafen May 7, 2015, p. 12 .
  7. ↑ Anke Herbert: The bells are ringing again . In: The Rhine Palatinate . Ludwigshafen July 22, 2015 ( online ).