Nikolaikirche (Elmshorn)
The Nikolaikirche is a Protestant church in Elmshorn .
The brick building with its neo-Gothic tower rises in the center of the town of Elmshorn. The Nikolaikirche is a single-aisled, essentially Gothic hall church. The furnishings also date from the Baroque period, as does the southern extension.
The church was important beyond the city limits of Elmshorn: from 1726 to 1882 the respective main preacher of Elmshorn was also provost of the Rantzau provost. In 1966 the provost's official seat for the parish of Rantzau was relocated from Glückstadt to Elmshorn after the new community center in Elmshorn was completed.
Building history
- Around 1360 a separate church was built for the village of Elmshorn on a Geest hill north of the Krückau. It is dedicated to St. Nicholas, the protector of traders, fishermen and boatmen. The forerunner was a wooden chapel south of the Krückau, which was looked after from Barmstedt.
- In 1657 Elmshorn was cremated by the Swedes, who were at war with Denmark, and the church was not spared.
- In 1660, Count Christian zu Rantzau called on the population to support the rebuilding of the church with collections.
- In 1661 the people of Elmshorn build a new, this time towerless church on the foundation walls of the old church.
- In 1733 the church was extended with a baroque southern extension. This southern extension was called the New Church or the Schifferkirche because the boatmen had their seats here.
- In 1881 the church tower was built in neo-Gothic style based on a design by Rudolph Eberhard Hillebrand .
- In 1912/1913 the church was rebuilt and restored after it was initially planned to be demolished.
- In 1960 the spire, which originally had a sandstone spire, was changed and covered with copper.
- In 1971 the organ was renewed.
- from 1978 the interior of the church is gradually being renovated
construction
The rectangular brick building, which was still Gothic in its core, was extended in 1733 with a southern extension. The neo-Gothic west tower from 1881 and was designed by Rudolph Eberhard Hillebrand . In 1912 the eastern extensions were added and the outer skin renewed. The connection between the old nave and the southern extension gives the building its spacious interior. The main room is covered by a wooden barrel, the south building has a flat ceiling. Galleries run around the interior.
Tower - bells - clockwork
From 1661 to 1881 the Nikolaikirche had no tower. A particularly large roof spanned the remains of the old tower, which was not rebuilt. When Elmshorn was promoted to town in 1870, the community representative Kahlcke founded a tower building fund. The foundation stone was laid on May 25, 1880, and less than two years later, on October 3, 1881, the completed structure was removed. The Elmshorn architect Gottlieb Berghahn from Hanover had the tower built in neo-Gothic style according to the plan of the church builder Hillebrand.
Three bronze bells struck in the triad ce g. The bells had to be delivered during the First World War . They were replaced in 1925 by the three cast steel bells that still hang in the tower and ring with the tones hdf.
The clockwork of the church clock from 1881 is still in its original state. It is the only known work in Schleswig-Holstein by the Ungerer Freres company from Strasbourg, which also built the Strasbourg cathedral clock.
Interior and equipment
ceiling
The ceiling of the main room is a lengthwise plank barrel, which is slightly narrower than the nave. This leaves two narrow strips of a flat ceiling on the long sides. The ceiling painting comes from Professor August Oetken from Charlottenburg. It was carried out in 1912/1913 as part of the renovation of the church.
Stalls
Due to a lack of funds in the construction of the new church after the Thirty Years War , the stalls were only gradually brought in. Therefore there are different dates on the chair cheeks (1667, 1668, 1699). When the stalls were replaced in 1913, the old cheeks were used.
organ
The Hamburg organ builder Arp Schnitger received the order for the Elmshorn organ in 1684, which Joachim Richborn had started but not finished. It had 23 sounding registers . The organ was rebuilt several times, so that today only the case is original. The company Weigle -Stuttgart undertook a complete renovation in 1971. The organ now has 2328 pipes in 33 registers.
chandelier
The two chandeliers date from 1725 and were donated by the Diestel family. On the shaft we see the figure of Zeus riding an eagle. From the inscription: IN ANNO 1725 STEFFEN DIESTEL WONDERED THIS CROWN OF THE ELMSHORN CHURCH / TO HONOR GOD AND THE CHURCH TO CYRATH.
altar
The altar dates from the time after the church fire in the war year 1657. The altar table stands between two benches for the Lord's Supper. The structure shows three reliefs that are arranged one above the other.
The upper one depicts the prayer fight in Gethsemane. Three sleeping disciples sit in a rocky landscape, above the praying Christ kneels.
The middle relief is flanked by two twisted columns. It shows the crucifixion on Golgotha. In the foreground we see soldiers playing dice and at the foot of the cross John and the women.
The sacrament relief in the lower area shows the excitement of the disciples, which was triggered by the words of Jesus about the future traitor.
pulpit
The pulpit probably dates from 1642. The evangelists are depicted on the parapet and grotesque masks are in the base. It is possible that the court sculptor Jürgen Kriebel from Glückstadt created the pulpit. It was only slightly damaged in the fire in 1657. Therefore it was taken over into the new church. There were additions in the form of a lower pulpit closure and a pulpit cover.
baptism
The baptism was originally made around 1730. It consists of the base and the baptismal lid. While the baptismal lid is original and shows the Baroque formal language, the substructure was redesigned in 1912/1913 after the original wooden baptism was rotten.
Pastors
swell
- Art Topography Schleswig-Holstein, Neumünster 1982, ISBN 3-529-02627-1 .
- Jan Eilhard Pauls: St. Nikolai, Elmshorn, Eine kleine Kirchengeschichte, Elmshorn 1981.
- K. Struve: The history of the city of Elmshorn, Elmshorn 1935–56.
- R. Maaßen: The Church of St. Nikolai zu Elmshorn, Elmshorn 1961.
- Uwe Barghaan: CD-ROM Elmshorn and Klein Nordende (2001).
literature
- The St. Nikolaikirche , contributions to the history of Elmshorn, Vol. 15, Elmshorn 2002, ISSN 0937-3403 , [1]
Web links
Coordinates: 53 ° 45 ′ 11.7 " N , 9 ° 39 ′ 10" E