Nikolaikirche (Wilsdruff)
The Wilsdruffer St. Nicolaikirche (often also: "Nikolaikirche") is located on the church square of the town of Wilsdruff , approx. 50 m north of the market square. Church and market are defining elements of the historic city center. A Nikolaikirche has probably existed in Wilsdruff since the early 13th century. An evangelical church service takes place there every Sunday.
Patronage
Like other Nikolaikirchen , the Wilsdruffer Nikolakirche has St. Nicholas as its patron saint . St. Nicholas is among other things the patron saint of merchants. Wilsdruff had a favorable position in the road and path network very early on. For example, the road connection between Dresden and Meißen led via Wilsdruff.
Building history
In 1572, the Nikolaikirche is said to have been "raised and lengthened the tower and walls". After the church escaped the city fire of 1584, it burned down to the surrounding walls in 1686. The restored church was consecrated in 1693. The last city fire in 1744 destroyed the wooden tower pyramid. The longhouse was saved by plugging all entrances with manure. In 1805 the tower was renewed, in 1852 it was given a wooden, slate-covered dome roof, and in 1889 a new gilded button. In 1883 the interior of the church was renovated. As early as 1893, the architect Th. Quentin in Pirna was commissioned to work out renovation plans because the interior of the church was found to be dilapidated and unworthy. Because the renovation costs were too high, a decision was made in 1894 for a completely new building, which the architect Woldemar Kandler personally managed in 1896/97.
A farewell service was held in the old Nikolaikirche on January 12, 1896. After that, it was canceled from January 17th to February 26th. The groundbreaking ceremony took place on March 17th. In the area of the former chancel, tombs were found in which members of the von Schönberg family had been buried. Removal of the tombs was inevitable, so the remains were collected to be united in a common tomb. On May 26, 1896, the foundation stone was ceremoniously laid (foundation stone with the year 1896 and a stonemason's mark on the outside next to the door to the sacristy). The construction progressed rapidly with the participation of several Wilsdruffer companies and craftsmen, so that the topping-out ceremony took place on September 23, and almost a year later, on September 20, 1897, the consecration took place (the year of the consecration in leaded glass windows under the picture “Jesus prays in the garden of Gethsemane ").
The hall church with its polygonal choir, which is characterized by neo-Gothic and neo-Romanesque style elements, was equipped with a Jehmlich organ , steam heating and electrical lighting. The construction of the church cost around 200,000 marks, with the city and the parish paying about half each. Among other things, 1123 m³ of quarry stones ( Syenit vom Wilsdruffer Kirschberg), 400 m³ of bricks (from the previous building), 400 m³ of sand, 121 m³ of lime and 25,000 masonry bricks were used; Window frames etc. were made from Rochlitz porphyry . The vault is held together by a 20 hundredweight keystone with the sign of the cross. Compared to the previous building, the new building is a little further away from the Meißner Straße passing by and is oriented at right angles to it.
From 1994 onwards, the church tower, the roof and the facade of the church were renovated in sections. This work could be completed at the Kirchweih 2001 with the completion of the windows in the chancel. The new leaded glass windows designed by Camillo Schulz replace the window strips that were destroyed at the end of the war and are successfully combined with the ones that were preserved from 1897. In 2006 the interior of the church was extensively renovated (including a new color scheme).
Finds when the church was demolished in 1896
In the crypt of Caspar Rudolf von Schönberg (died 1628) a gold bracelet, gold earrings and a heavy, gold chain of grace awarded by Elector Christian II (image in the local history museum of the city of Wilsdruff ), which were enamelled from a pendant, 30 Outlines and a lock. These valuables were sold to the Green Vault in Dresden in favor of the diaconate loan for 8,000 marks . Because the manor's owner and collator Egon von Schönberg had given the necessary approval for this, he was given two partially silver-plated crucifixes made of copper, which had been found in two other graves, out of gratitude.
Late Romanesque portal
Despite multiple damage, especially as a result of city fires, some remains of the original building had been preserved in the building that had existed until 1896. One of these remains, a portal probably created in the first quarter of the 13th century, was incorporated into the tower vestibule of the new building as an inner portal. Because the Nikolaikirche (together with this portal) was very likely first built at the time of the planned medieval city layout, which was largely preserved in its basic structure, this portal can probably be addressed as the most important material evidence of the Wilsdruffer city development.
altar
The older church inventory also includes an early Baroque altarpiece donated by Hans Heinrich von Schönberg, which the Pirna sculptor Caspar Klöpl (also: Klüppel) created from Elbe sandstone in 1631 . It stood in the old Nikolaikirche above the crypt of Caspar Rudolf von Schönberg (died 1628), so that the donor probably had it built in memory of his brother.
The figurative decoration of the altarpiece is made up of two donor figures (probably Hans Heinrich von Schönberg and his wife), three reliefs ("The Holy Communion", "Jesus prays in the Garden of Gethsemane", "The Sacrifice of Isaac"), two child angels and three female figures who Symbolize faith (lat. Fides ), love (lat. Caritas ) and hope (lat. Spes ). The town fire of 1686 does not seem to have left this altar without a trace, as a black discoloration of the sandstone came to light after the removal of oil paint. In the back wall of the altar table there is a sacrament niche, which is probably the same age as the late Romanesque portal.
organ
The present organ was rebuilt in 1969 by the Jehmlich Orgelbau Dresden company because the Jehmlich organ from 1897 was badly damaged at the end of the war. In 2006 a new coat of paint was given as part of the interior renovation.
literature
- Georg Ficker: Church Chronicle of Wilsdruff. Wilsdruff 1898
- Descriptive representation of the older architectural and art monuments in Saxony. Booklet 41: Administrative Authority Meißen-Land. Edit v. Cornelius Gurlitt , Dresden 1923
Web links
Coordinates: 51 ° 3 ′ 10 ″ N , 13 ° 32 ′ 15.7 ″ E