Orange Memorial Church (Wiesbaden)

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South side of the Orange Memorial Church
Aerial view of the Orange Memorial Church

The Orange Memorial Church is the second oldest of the five Protestant churches in the Wiesbaden district of Biebrich after the main church . It is located on the banks of the Rhine near the Biebrich Castle .

history

Building history

With the end of the Duchy of Nassau in 1866 and the emergence of new factories on the Rhine , the population of Biebrich grew rapidly. As a result, the space in the main church was no longer sufficient and a second Protestant church was needed. As early as February 1899 the search for a suitable piece of land was started. The area of ​​the (former) Rheinbahnhof, which belonged to the “Prussian hydraulic engineering department”, seemed to be most suitable for this purpose. Therefore, on February 25, 1899, the church council sent a petition to Kaiser Wilhelm II and asked for this property to be made available. This request was granted "by the highest decree". The community received the property for 2,000 marks , which is practically a gift, as the actual value at that time was around 75,000 marks . The groundbreaking ceremony took place on April 1, 1902 (Prince Bismarck's birthday ). The celebration was led by the first pastor of the parish Camill Gerbert . The foundation stone was laid on October 5, 1902, followed by construction.

The artistic site management was the architect Karl von Loehr , who also submitted the architectural drafts for the building. From the outside it can be clearly seen that neo-Gothic was chosen as the architectural style . The church should be visible with its 59 meter high tower and represent a Protestant bulwark on the “Catholic Rhine”.

The supervision of the construction management was entrusted to the senior building officer Prof. Carl Schäfer , the construction foreman Adolf Kieß from Tübingen was in charge of the technical management. The church consecration took place on May 15, 1905 , and the construction costs had almost doubled to 560,000 marks compared to the originally estimated amount.

The stained glass windows were created according to the catalog raisonné Otto Linnemann from Frankfurt . (These windows were irretrievably lost in World War II , even documentation material is not available.)

For the inauguration on May 15, 1905, Empress Auguste Viktoria had a precious altar Bible presented. In the same year, on May 24th, 1905, the imperial couple Biebrich and Wilhelm II visited the church and entered themselves in the golden church book.

Origin of name

The name Orange is derived from Wilhelm von Oranien , the most important representative of the Ottonian line, who opposed the Spaniards as a pioneer of Protestantism in the Netherlands . The epithet of the church, which was often called a Protestant bulwark on the Catholic Rhine , was a name that was supported by its elevated position over the course of the river.

First World War

Facade and entrance of the Orange Memorial Church

The First World War passed the church almost without a trace. Because of the protection of the emperor, not even the bells of the arms industry had to be sacrificed. The war memorial in the anteroom of the church, which was ceremoniously handed over in 1931 and bears the names of almost 600 fallen soldiers, commemorates this time.

Second World War

The bells of the Orange Memorial Church were melted down during World War II. During an attack on Biebrich from February 2nd to 3rd, 1944 , the church was also hit by fire bombs. Large parts of the roof structure and the vault were affected, and the church windows were also destroyed. The masonry and tower were largely preserved.

reconstruction

After the war it was rebuilt and in December 1952 the new organ was inaugurated. In 1956 the church received new bells.

In 1967, two side windows based on designs by Margret Thomann-Hegner were installed in the church. One shows Jesus Christ before Pilate , the other the Pentecost event (descent of the Holy Spirit ).

From January to May 1973 the interior of the church was renovated and from 1997 the facade was extensively renovated, which was financed with the help of a support association founded in February 1997.

Bells

Four bells were planned for the church, cast by the Franz Schilling , Apolda company and delivered on August 22, 1904. They had the following names:

With the exception of Johannes Calvin , the three remaining bells were lost in World War II and had to be replaced. The congregation's request for new bells was crowned with success. On August 12, 1956, three new bells were delivered. The bells, which were cast in Bochum , are matched to the tones acde and now have a total weight of only 130 quintals. They have the old names:

  • Wilhelmus of Nassau (56 quintals)
  • Martin Luther
  • Kind regards Zwingli
  • Johann Calvin (old)

organ

The organ of the Memorial Church was built in 1905 by the organ building company E. Friedrich Walcker & Cie. (Ludwigsburg) built. In the 1950s and 1960s, the romantic instrument was permanently changed according to the sound ideals of the time. In 2003 and 2008, some registers were added later, instead of the historical registers that were replaced in the course of the "Baroqueization". The plan is to restore the organ to its original romantic state. The Kegelladen instrument has 42 registers on three manuals and a pedal (2780 pipes ) and is one of the largest organs in Wiesbaden. The actions are electro-pneumatic.

I Hauptwerk C – g 3
Principal 16 ′
Principal 8th'
Wooden flute 8th'
Viola di gamba 8th' N
Gemshorn 8th'
octave 4 ′
Reed flute 4 ′
Fifth 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
octave 2 ′
recorder 2 ′
Mixture III-IV
Trumpet 8th'
II breastwork C – g 3
Quintad 16 ′
Horn principal 8th'
Concert flute 8th'
Wooden dacked 8th'
Principal 4 ′
Night horn 4 ′
Schwiegelpfeife 2 ′
Sesquialtera II
Sharp Cymbal IV
Krummhorn 8th'
III Swell C – g 3
Bourdon 16 ′
Principal 8th'
Pointed flute 8th'
Dumped 8th'
Aeoline 8th' N
Vox celeste 8th' N
octave 4 ′
Lull dolce 4 ′
Mixture IV
oboe 8th' N
tremolo
Pedal C – f 1
Principal bass 16 ′
Violon bass 16 ′
Sub bass 16 ′
Dacked bass 16 ′
Quintbass 10 2 ⁄ 3  ′
Octave bass 8th'
Flute bass 8th'
Choral bass 4 ′
trombone 16 ′
Trumpet 8th' N
  • Coupling : II / I, III / I, III / II, I / P, II / P, III / P
  • Playing aids: three free combinations, one free pedal combination, crescendo roller, tongue holder, tutti
  • Annotation:
N = subsequently (2003, 2008) added register in the course of the return after the changes in the 50s and 60s

Church affiliation

The parish belonging to the Evangelical Dean's Office Wiesbaden united in 2017 with the neighboring Gustav Adolf Church in the Wiesbaden suburb of Mainz-Amöneburg to form the Orange Memorial Congregation, which previously belonged to the Evangelical Dean's Office in Rüsselsheim . The congregation belongs to the Evangelical Church in Hesse and Nassau (EKHN).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ An architecture competition was announced for the construction of the church. A total of 122 completed designs were submitted. The jury then decided in favor of the design by Loehr, which (with small changes) was then also implemented.
  2. ↑ More information on the Walcker organ

literature

  • The Orange Memorial Church through the ages. Edited by the church council of the Evangelical Orange Memorial Church Congregation. Wiesbaden-Biebrich 1981.
  • 100 years of the Orange Memorial Church 1905–2005 (a house of God through the ages). Evangelical Orange Memorial Church Congregation, Wiesbaden-Biebrich 2005.

Web links

Commons : Orange Memorial Church  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 50 ° 2 ′ 11 ″  N , 8 ° 14 ′ 19 ″  E