Pankratius Church (Böckingen)
The Pankratius Church in the Heilbronn district of Böckingen is a Protestant parish church , the oldest parts of which date back to the 13th century. The church was supplemented by a stair tower in 1610 and received its present form through a comprehensive expansion under Heinrich Dolmetsch around 1900. On the northern side of the Pankratiuskirche, the old Böckinger Friedhof closes , which was not least due to the noise of the Heilbronn marshalling yard in 1905 new cemetery on Heidelberger Strasse was replaced.
history
8th century basilica
On August 11, 795, a basilica for "Betchingen" (Böckingen) is mentioned for the first time in a donation from Kochergau Count Morlach to the Lorsch Monastery , which was probably located in the same place as today's Pankratius Church.
The church is located on a hill north above the historic center of Böckingen. To the east, to the bed of the Neckar, whose main arm flowed past Böckingen until 1333, the terrain was once steeply sloping. The major changes in the settlement structure and in the landscape, especially since the railway was built in the 19th century, only give an idea of the church's once exposed location "on a rock above the Neckar".
Gothic choir tower church from 1291
In a deed of foundation from 1291 the church is mentioned as "sancte Pancratien". The church, consecrated to Pankratius , was probably built in the 13th century as a Gothic choir tower church on the foundations of the basilica mentioned in 795 (or a successor building that has since existed). The church faced east with the choir and tower. The tower was designed as a short, massive defensive tower with narrow, loopholed windows. A cycle of secco paintings in the tower dates back to the 13th century, but was painted over for a long time and was only exposed again during the renovation around 1900: the vaulted areas show the four evangelist symbols , on the inner walls there is also the annunciation scene, a man of sorrows Depicted Nativity and the Magi.
Renaissance
The crucifix in the Pankratiuskirche, which used to hang in the choir arch, dates from 1525. It was revised in 1750 and placed on the altar table in 1960. It is made of limewood and is almost life-size.
Even after the Reformation , the name "Pankratiuskirche" was retained. In 1610 the church was rebuilt. A gallery was drawn into the west wall of the nave. The Mayor of Heilbronn, David Kollenberger , who was also Vogt zu Böckingen, had the octagonal stair tower built in the Renaissance style , which led to the gallery. The portal of the stair tower shows the coat of arms of David Kollenberger (Hape flanked by grapes), below it can be read:
- 1610 DK
- David Kollenberger currently Vogt here
The baptismal font in the old choir of the church also comes from the renovation in 1610.
Baroque
The ornate epitaph of Christina von Berlichingen from 1770 in the tower dates from the Baroque period in the 18th century. A historical chalice is kept in the rectory, which was also built by Johann Christoph Keller in the 18th century.
Neo-Gothic extension 1900
After the industrialization, the population of Böckingen grew strongly, so that Dean Lechler suggested an expansion of the structurally well-preserved church as early as 1881. The Württemberg building officer Heinrich Dolmetsch planned the extension in the neo-Gothic style from 1899 . Dolmetsch created a new nave in a north-south direction, whereby the choir and the western front of the old church were preserved. This gave the church a cross-shaped floor plan. Additional seats were created through several spacious wooden galleries, so that at times the church had over 900 seats. The church received a neo-Gothic wooden pulpit and a trapezoidal, richly decorated wooden ceiling in the Swiss house style that was current at the time, which imitates the painted ceiling construction of alpine houses. The massive fortified tower from the 13th century was raised in the neo-Gothic style and provided with bells. In addition to numerous other installations, a new baptismal font was installed in the choir in 1901. Contrary to the neo-Gothic design language of the building, numerous elements of the furnishings from 1900 already showed features of Art Nouveau .
During the renovation work, a grave slab of a woman from the von Böckingen family who died in 1288 was found, which is one of the oldest preserved grave slabs in the city and is now in the city's lapidarium in the old milk farm .
Pankratiuskirche from the south in the building plan from 1900 with a representation of the condition of the church since 1610 (right)
Floor plan from 1900. Black the historical components, red those supplemented by the renovation
Renovation in 1960
After the damage from the Second World War had been repaired, the church had to be renovated in 1960. The choir window, which was destroyed in the war, was replaced by a window designed by Adolf Saile , who had made the glass windows in the aisle between 1948 and 1949. The rich neo-Gothic and Art Nouveau-like furnishings of the church, which had survived the war, no longer corresponded to the taste of the time and was mocked as the "hunter's room" due to the pine-cone-like ornaments. The decorations of the gallery were therefore removed and the wooden ceiling created in 1900 was covered with a simpler wooden ceiling construction. The font from 1901, which also no longer corresponded to the taste of the time, was supplemented by a third font.
In 1979 the church received a new two-manual organ with 24 registers.
Renovation in 1991
During a renovation in 1991, the style features created by Heinrich Dolmetsch in 1900 were remembered and they were largely restored. The crucifix was hung over the chancel again, and the baptismal font from 1901 was used again. During the renovation, the number of seats was reduced to approx. 550. In addition, the choir received the “morning window” by the artist Raphael Seitz and the west gable the “evening window”, also designed by Seitz.
The ZDF Christmas service of 2013 was recorded in the Pankratius Church and seen by around a million viewers when it was broadcast on Christmas Eve.
photos
Side portal of St. Pankratius with the coat of arms of David Kollenberger
Look into the choir
Berlichingen epitaph in the tower
Window on the north gable
Rectory of the Pankratius Church
Individual evidence
literature
- Julius Fekete et al .: Monument Topography Baden-Württemberg Volume I.5 Stadtkreis Heilbronn . Edition Theiss, Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3-8062-1988-3 , pp. 167-169.
- Manfred Tripps : The Protestant town church St. Pankratius zu Böckingen , Halle an der Saale 2001
- Helmut Schmolz , Hubert Weckbach: Heilbronn with Böckingen, Neckargartach, Sontheim. The old city in words and pictures. Vol. 1: Photos from 1860 to 1944. Anton H. Konrad Verlag, Weißenhorn 1966
- Helmut Schmolz, Hubert Weckbach: Heilbronn with Böckingen, Neckargartach, Sontheim. The old city in words and pictures. Vol. 2: Photos from 1858 to 1944. Anton H. Konrad Verlag, Weißenhorn 1967
- Eugen Knupfer (edit.): Document book of the city of Heilbronn . Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1904 ( Württemberg historical sources . N. F. 5)
- Description of the Oberamt Heilbronn . Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1901/1903
Web links
Coordinates: 49 ° 8 ′ 1 ″ N , 9 ° 11 ′ 40 ″ E