Nikolaikirche (Reutlingen)
The Nikolaikirche is a church building in Reutlingen on Nikolaiplatz / Wilhelmstrasse.
history
The Nikolai Church in Reutlingen was built in 1358 as a token of thanks and atonement after the great plague of 1348. It was probably built by the builder Peter von Reutlingen, who probably also built the sacristy of the Marienkirche.
Reutlingen guilds had the chapel consecrated to St. Nicholas . He is regarded as the protector of seafarers and travelers, takes care of the poor in foreign countries and is considered a friend of children. As such, he is depicted on the outer wall of the choir of the Nikolaikirche in a sculpture created in 1914.
The most drastic event in Reutlingen, the devastating city fire in 1726, the Nikolaikirche survived almost unscathed. Although the fire broke out nearby and destroyed four fifths of the city center, the Nikolaikirche was almost undamaged in a circle of rubble. Only the roof and the belfry were destroyed.
Since the Marienkirche also fell victim to the fire, the Nikolaikirche initially served the Reutlingen people as the main church. Instead of the destroyed bells, the church was called with the drum. Every year on September 23, a "sermon on fire" commemorated the conflagration.
After the Marienkirche was rebuilt, the Nikolaikirche remained without use and served as a warehouse until 1823. At the royal request, the Nikolaikirche was given to the growing Catholic parish in 1823. With the consecration of St. Wolfgang Church in 1910, the Nikolaikirche came into the possession of the Evangelical General Church Community, to which it still belongs today.
The Nikolaikirche burned down completely in the bombing raid in early 1945, but was rebuilt and has been in service again since October 1950. In front of the new buildings of the Cross and Resurrection Church (consecrated in 1957) it relieved the Marienkirche as an additional place of worship for the Protestant population. Children's services were celebrated here regularly until 1973. During the interior renovation of the Marienkirche 1985–1987, the Nikolaikirche served the Marienkirche community as a replacement church. The early morning services took place here until 2001.
Since the “Missionary Year” in 1980, the youth used the small church in the pedestrian zone for their “Nikolaitreff” and “FlaminGo youth service”; For reasons of space, the latter is now taking place in the Matthäus-Alber- Haus
The Greek Orthodox congregation was a guest in the Nikolaikirche until 1991 . As a monthly place of worship it served until 2005 for worship services, services of the Berneuchen movement and the SELK as well as for special services.
Since 1998, the Nikolaikirche has housed the Reutlingen Vesper Church in January and February , which distributes food there for five weeks each year to those in need and those who eat solidarity. The offer is taken up by over 300 people every day.
In June 2005, the Protestant and Catholic general parish in the Nikolaikirche started the “City Church Reutlingen”. Since then, the City Church has been a meeting place for people directly in the city center, where the churches set an example for God's hospitality with the offers of conversation, information, pastoral care, breathing space and events.
The Nikolaikirche continues to be used as a place for special ecumenical services. Every second Saturday of the month, the ecumenical deaf service of the entire parishes takes place.
Artistic design
pulpit
The relief shows a work by the sculptor Ulrich Henn from 1957: the flood with ark and rainbow around Noah .
Relief above the south entrance: Christ accepting the children.
Choir window
The colored glass windows by the Stuttgart painter Christian Oehler , installed in 1962, deal with the cornerstones of Christology, the teaching of Jesus Christ. The left choir window explains four Old Testament motifs under the motto "The Promised One": the Son of Man (Daniel 7, 13-14), the star promise of Abraham (Genesis 15: 1-6), the serpent (Numbers 21), the three men in the fiery furnace (Daniel 3). The central window explains three scenes from the life of Jesus (healing of the blind man, communion and resurrection) under the theme “The Coming One”. The right window of the choir explains under the heading “The Coming One” the end times of the world and the dawn of the kingdom of God (The transfigured Son of Man Revelation 1; quarrel of the angel Michael with the dragon Revelation 12, 7-12, the last judgment Revelation 20 , 11-15).
Keystone
The sculpture in the tympanum of the west portal (= arched field above the lintel) by Ulrich Henn addresses “human misery”. The idea: Man seeks to determine his own life (Adam and Eve), which leads to selfishness, guilt and repression (Cain, who kills his brother Abel). Christ leads out of this guilt, he looks at people from the Gothic arch.
Web links
Coordinates: 48 ° 29 ′ 37.5 ″ N , 9 ° 12 ′ 35.1 ″ E