Nikolauskirche (Neuenstadt am Kocher)
The Nikolauskirche in Neuenstadt am Kocher in the district of Heilbronn in northern Baden-Württemberg is a Protestant parish church . The core of the building can be traced back to the castle chapel of Neuenstadt Castle , the parish church was expanded in 1481 and expanded to its present size in 1596. The crypt of the dukes of Württemberg-Neuenstadt is located under the church .
history
The history of Neuenstadt am Kocher is closely connected to the establishment of a manor house there, which was built in the 13th or 14th century, was the widow's seat of the Lords of Weinsberg in the early 15th century and was expanded to become a "new town" while the original settlement Helmbund was abandoned. The original parish church of the village, consecrated to St. Kilian , and the cemetery, which was used until the 17th century, were located in Helmbund , while the St. Nicholas Church dates back to the chapel of the manor house, which was consecrated to St. Nicholas . The patronage right of the Nikolauskapelle had been with Schöntal Monastery since 1289 , which was also in their possession until the Reformation in 1534. In 1481 the Nikolauskirche became the parish church for Neuenstadt, which came to Württemberg in 1504 , reformed in 1534 and expanded into a secondary residence for the Württemberg dukes in the late 16th century . In 1595, the church was essentially expanded to its present shape by the construction of the nave, the first baptism in the new church took place on January 1, 1596.
After the Thirty Years War from 1649 until it died out in the male line in 1742, the Württemberg-Neuenstadt branch resided in the city. The dukes had the church restored after 1650 and in 1664 a crypt was built under the sacristy , which in 1701 was expanded to include the choir . The crypt was closed after the burial of the youngest and most recently deceased daughter of Friedrich August in 1781 and was forgotten; it was only made accessible again during a renovation in 1891. During this renovation by Heinrich Dolmetsch , the gallery was also rebuilt, windows, stalls and altar were renewed and the choir ceiling was painted.
An organ was first purchased in 1653. The organ was initially located on a rood screen in the choir that no longer exists today . In 1741 the baroque organ that is still in existence today was donated by Duke Carl Rudolf. After the organ was rebuilt in 1855, the instrument was moved to the west wall in 1874 and has been rebuilt and restored several times to this day.
After the Second World War , the war damage to the church was repaired. In 1957 a comprehensive renovation took place, during which the neo-Gothic painting of the choir arch wall and the choir vault were removed and the historical tombs and epitaphs that are now in the choir were attached.
description
building
The oldest part of the church, the Gothic choir , which goes back to the castle chapel, faces east. The nave, completed in 1596, adjoins to the west and has a wooden gallery running around on all three sides. The north gallery has three floors, the third floor was donated by Duke Friedrich in 1680 . On the west gallery stands the organ of the organ builder Johann Adam Ehrlich , donated by Carl Rudolf in 1741 , to which a sub-positive was added in 1891, which has been built into the parapet as a reverse-positive since 1963. A sacristy is attached to the choir to the south , through which today's access to the Württemberg-Neuenstadter crypt is made.
The church does have a roof turret , but has no bells. The upper gate tower, located directly next to the church, functions as the bell tower.
A large sgraffito by Rudolf Yelin the Elder has been on the west facade since 1949 . J. with the motif of the archangel Michael, who fights against evil, which was often used after the Nazi and war times.
Choir
Several ornate tombstones and epitaphs are attached in the choir . The oldest grave slab is that of Anna von Weinsberg († 1413), the mother of Conrad IX. von Weinsberg , who had her widow's seat in the castle. The epitaph for Gottfried Limpurg, the son of the Württemberg bailiff Eberhard Schenk von Limpurg , and that of Sabina von Helmstatt, a daughter of a Württemberg bailiff from the family of the gentlemen von Helmstatt, come from earlier Württemberg times . The two ornate epitaphs on the wall on the left side of the choir date from the beginning of the 17th century and show members of the Lords of Gemmingen : Bernolf von Gemmingen-Bürg († 1609) with his wife Anna († 1607), who belonged to Neuenstadt until 1650 The neighboring town of Bürg ruled the land, as well as Schweikard von Gemmingen-Presteneck († 1617) with his wife Maria von Backha († 1631) who sat at Presteneck Castle in Stein am Kocher . An epitaph above the sacristy door commemorates Johann Philipp von Ehrenberg , who died in Neuenstadt in 1631. The latest grave slab is that of the Neuenstadt dean Johann Wolf from 1669.
The baptismal font from 1499 and the surround of the altar are from the pre-Reformation period. The altar cross made of sandstone with a Jesus body made of marble was donated by Duke Friedrich August in 1703. The neo-Gothic wooden pulpit on the right choir arch shows the four evangelists in relief carvings and was donated by the pharmacist's widow Marie Möricke on the occasion of the renovation in 1891. The Möricke family coat of arms can be seen in the middle of the rear wall of the choir.
There are also two old oil paintings in the choir. Further historical paintings and another epitaph can be found on the gallery. On one of the gallery posts is the coat of arms of Baroness von Wächter zu Lautenbach , from which three choir windows were donated.
Choir window
The glass paintings in the four choir windows from 1891 (birth of Christ; resurrection; outpouring of the Holy Spirit; Luther half-length portrait with Luther's motto) destroyed in the Second World War were replaced in 1950 by three works created by Adolf Valentin Saile (left window: above the prophet Isaiah and Micah; second row: birth of Jesus, three wise men; third row: Mary and Elisabeth, shepherds; below: Jesse and David. Middle window: Resurrection. Right window below: Emmaus disciples, unbelieving Thomas, above Pentecost, outpouring of the Holy Spirit)
Grave slab Anna von Weinsberg († 1413)
Epitaph for Sabina von Helmstatt († 1558)
Epitaph for Gottfried Limpurg († 1590)
Epitaph for Johann Philipp von Ehrenberg († 1631)
Grave slab of the dean Johann Wolf († 1669)
Donor coat of arms of the Baroness von Wächter zu Lautenbach
Crypt
Access to the crypt is through the sacristy. The "Inner Crypt" under the sacristy was laid out in 1664 by Friedrich von Württemberg-Neustadt and in 1701 under Friedrich August a larger part, the "Front Crypt" under the choir, was expanded. The barrel-vaulted building from 1664 was headed by the foreman Jakob Husband , and his master's mark is preserved on the southern longitudinal wall. The extension from 1701 was carried out by the Stuttgart builder Matthias Weiß . Both parts of the crypt are connected by a corridor that is dug under the southern plinth of the choir. Access to the crypt was once possible through a staircase from the choir. However, this access was later closed with old grave slabs on which the altar stands today.
In the crypt there are a total of 18 sarcophagi belonging to the Württemberg-Neuenstadt dukes and their wives and children. Six sarcophagi from the period from 1664 to 1680 are in the interior and twelve sarcophagi from 1680 to 1781 in the front crypt. The oldest sarcophagus is that of Princess Barbara (1663–64), a daughter of Duke Friedrich who died early , the youngest is that of Princess Friederike (1699–1781), the youngest and most recently deceased daughter of Duke Friedrich August . Except for Friederike's non-ferrous metal sarcophagus, the sarcophagi are made of zinc and are artfully decorated. Inscriptions name and describe the deceased and represent the gallery of coats of arms of their line of ancestors. Some of the sarcophagi are painted in color. In addition to depictions of coats of arms, portraits of the deceased can also be seen. a. Ferdinand Wilhelm (1659–1701) with the mark of a gunshot wound in the forehead, the consequences of which he died.
The coffins from the period up to 1670 mainly come from Centurio Mühlbeyer's workshop in Heilbronn. The coffins after 1680 were mostly made by Martin Pschorn in Öhringen. The older coffin paintings are probably by Siegfried Wolfgang Stichling (1640–1690), and from the late 1680s onwards by his son Johann Wolfgang Stichling (* 1666), who was court painter in Neuenstadt. He signed the coffin of Duke Adam († 1690) with his name. The paintings are carried out in the Hohenloher Sepulchral Culture as follows.
The coffins were never opened, and it is believed that they all contain the embalmed remains of the people named in the inscriptions in further inner coffins.
In addition to the 18 sarcophagi that have survived today, there were once more in the crypt. Two sarcophagi were melted down in 1706 during a grave robbery carried out by the tower keeper and musician Franz Dübner while still in the crypt with a melting furnace made of floor tiles, for which the captured robber was executed.
Children's sarcophagi of three daughters of Duke Friedrich who died early in 1664–70
Braunschweig-
Wolfenbüttel coat of arms of the mother on the sarcophagus of Prince Albrecht († 1670)
Children's sarcophagus from Friedrich Casimir († 1680), a son of Duke Friedrich August who died early
Children's sarcophagi of four sons of Duke Friedrich-August who died early 1684–90
Sarcophagi of Friedrich von Württemberg-Neuenstadt (1615–1682), behind, and his wife Clara Augusta von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel (1632–1700)
Sarcophagus of Princess Eleonora († 1751)
literature
- Description of the Upper Office Neckarsulm. Stuttgart 1881, p. 536ff. ( Digitized at https://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de )
- Eduard Paulus : The art and antiquity monuments in the Kingdom of Württemberg. Neckar district - inventory ; Stuttgart 1889, p. 448 f
- Memorial sheet for the inauguration of the newly built church in Neuenstadt am Kocher , ed. for the best of the Kirchenbaukasse, 2nd edition Weinsberg 1893
- Evangelical parishes in the district of Neuenstadt am Kocher (ed.): Our home, the church. Home book of the district of Neuenstadt am Kocher. Pictures from the Neuenstadt district . Stuttgart 1959, p. 22 f
- Harald Schukraft : The tombs of the House of Württemberg. Theiss, Stuttgart 1989, ISBN 3-8062-0582-5 , p. 123 ff.
- Ellen Pietrus: Heinrich Dolmetsch. The church restorations by the Württemberg builder ; Stuttgart 2008, page 281 f
Web links
Coordinates: 49 ° 14 ′ 14 " N , 9 ° 19 ′ 48.8" E