Paulus Church (Bad Kreuznach)

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Pauluskirche and Pauluskapelle Bad Kreuznach
Pauluskirche at night

The Pauluskirche is a church building in Bad Kreuznach . It is located on the Wörth, an island nearby , in the middle of the city center between Kreuznach's old town and the new town .

history

The pre-reformation church

Gothic part of the Pauluskirche

The original building was built between 1311 and 1332 on the initiative of Johann II , Count von Sponheim . Originally conceived only as a chapel, a three-aisled Gothic church with a transept and roof turret over the crossing was built . Based on the patronage of the former parish church, it was consecrated to Our Lady , St. Kilian and St. Martin . The approval for the consecration of the church was given in 1332 by Baldwin of Luxembourg , who as Archbishop of Trier exercised the administrative rights of the Bishop of Mainz at that time. As celebrations of consecration these are from the 15th century celebration of the birth of John the Baptist and the feast of his beheading handed. As a result, the church was the beneficiary of numerous donations, and around 1340 the church was laid out on the Wörth. Since the building from 1332 did not yet have a west end, the Gothic choir, which has been preserved to this day and which was intended as the burial place of the Sponheim counts, could be added to the church after 1400 without major renovations. Due to an extensive Seelgerät foundation by Countess Elisabeth von Sponheim-Kreuznach , the Carmelites of the Schwarz monastery have been reading a daily commemorative mass for the count family in the parish church since 1431 .

The establishment of the city as a condominium in 1437 also had consequences for the church on the Wörth. In the political tension between the Margraves of Baden and the Count Palatine of Palatinate-Simmern , the city and especially the municipality, due to their border location, repeatedly found themselves in conflicts that hindered development. In addition, the church has often been affected by floods since its early days, which caused great damage around the spring of 1458 and to which numerous altars fell victim. As a result, construction work also ceased, beyond repair work and some renovations in 1516, no late medieval interventions in the building fabric are documented.

From the Reformation to the destruction

Although already from 1521 to 1523 numerous of the historically most important reformers gathered in Ebernburg, which is only a few kilometers away , the Kreuznach town church stuck to the Old Believers.

The Lutheran-Calvinist quarrels

The church visitation carried out after Ottheinrich took office in 1556 led to the introduction of the Reformation in accordance with the provisions of the Augsburg Religious Peace . In fact, however, can only with the overthrow of the old Plebans of existing and establishment leiningschen court preacher Christoph Stolberg be any question in the fall of 1557 by a Protestant church. After the turn of Frederick III. to Calvinism In 1563, which Stolberger followed with the community, the secularization of Kreuznach monasteries was promoted more strongly, which also considerably enlarged the area of ​​supervision of the church. As a result of the assumption of government of Ludwig VI , who was inclined to a strict Lutheranism . In 1576, Stolberger was also relieved of his office and the congregation was headed according to the later concord formula . After the death of Ludwig, the Calvinists got the upper hand again. Under Johann Casimir , the Lutheran preacher was deposed in 1585. When the pastor was filled, major conflicts arose, which also reflect the political division of the city. They agreed on a changing law, so that when the pastor was filled, Baden or the Electoral Palatinate should alternate. As a result of the conflicts that lasted until 1587, the Electoral Palatinate proved to be a stronger force. For the church on the Wörth, this meant that the Calvinist tradition could ultimately and permanently establish itself there.

The Thirty Years War and the time as a simultaneous church

The next turning point in community life occurred during the Thirty Years' War . Since Kreuznach had been the base of the Spanish troops under Marquis Spinola since 1620 , the Counter Reformation began to intensify . In 1624, the services of the Jesuits now resident in the city began in the choir of the Wörthkirche , which means that it now functioned as a simultaneous church. In 1626 the Calvinist religion was finally banned in the city, which led to the emigration of numerous parishioners. Only with the conquest of the city by Gustav Adolf in 1632, during which the church had probably suffered considerable damage, did the forced Catholicization end. All three denominations were now allowed in the city and were each assigned a church building. The Wörthkirche went to the Calvinists. However, after the imperial troops had conquered the city in 1635, the Jesuit service began again in 1636 in the choir of the church building. Only in 1652 did the church return to the sole use and property of the Reformed community after the Kreuznach comparison of religions .

Bloom of the town church and destruction by the French

As a result, the Wörthkirche was the only Kreuznach town church that was also of representative importance for the authorities. As a preaching church , it also received additional capacities in the course of the 17th century through the additional galleries. However, the flowering of the church came to an abrupt end in the Palatinate War of Succession . Bombardment and destruction of the neighboring Kauzenburg in 1688 was followed by a prolonged rage of the troops of Louis XIV and the burning down of the church in 1689. Only the choir could later be restored in such a way that it could be used as a chapel for the community again. The general decline of the city is also reflected in the use of the church building. The parishes had shrunk to such an extent that the church was used as a simultaneous church by Roman Catholics (in the choir) and the Reformed parish (in the separate nave) in 1698–1708 and 1721 alike.

From reconstruction to World War II

Tower of the Pauluskirche

Between 1768 and 1781, first the tower, then the main nave was rebuilt under the direction of Philipp Heinrich Hellermann . Because of its consecration to Peter and Paul in 1781, the church was named Pauluskirche.

In 1782 Johann Heinrich Jung-Stilling (1740–1817) was welcomed here by his friend, the Reformed inspector Daniel Ludwig Wundt (1741–1805), with his second wife Susanne (Salome) Maria (“Selma”) from St. George (1760– 1790).

The shift in political borders since Napoleon's conquests also had consequences for the Pauline parish. The final assignment of the territory to the Kingdom of Prussia also left the community under the Summepiscopat of Friedrich Wilhelm III. come. Accordingly, she was also affected by the royal unification considerations , which were positively received in the city. On Reformation Day 1817, the first unification festival on the left bank of the Rhine between a Reformed and a Lutheran congregation was celebrated, on the occasion of which a chain was stretched between the tower of the Pauluskirche and that of the Wilhelmskirche .

William Turner , sketch Kreuznach an der Nahe with the ruins of the choir of the Pauluskirche, 1844

On June 19, 1843, the superintendent Johann Wilhelm Schneegans (* July 14, 1776 Kreuznach; † August 12, 1858 ibid) married Karl Marx and Jenny von Westphalen . Due to renovation work, the location of the wedding was the Wilhelmskirche opposite .

The service took place in the nave at the time, while the choir was left to decay. With the help of English spa guests, reconstruction began in 1840 under the district architect Conradi , so that Anglican services were celebrated here between 1863 and 1914 .

In the Second World War , the failed attempt by the Wehrmacht to blow up the Nahe Bridge had fatal consequences. The entire explosive force of the attached explosives discharged in the direction of the surrounding buildings and covered the roof of the church.

The church since the reconstruction

The reconstruction took place from 1952 to 1954.

Current usage

Nave from the south

In addition to community operations, the Pauluskirche is used in a variety of ways for cultural activities; concerts by choirs and symphony orchestras take place there regularly. In addition to the choir of the Pauluskirche, the Bad Kreuznach Concert Society regularly organizes its oratorios here. The Michael Brotherhood, which is closely related to the liturgical tradition of the Anglican Church, is also at home in the eastern part of the Church. The building, with around 1200 seats, is the largest church between Mainz and Trier and, due to its close proximity to the superintendent of the church district An Nahe and Glan, plays a special role in evangelical life in the region.

Kantorei at the Pauluskirche

The choir was founded in 1956 by the church musician Wilfried Bergmann as a youth choir. In 1960 Dieter Wellmann took over the choir. From 1996 to 2015 the choir was under the direction of Beate Rux-Voss . She was followed by church musician Cindy Rinck until December 2019. The current cantor of the Pauluskirche is Carla Braun.

Organs

In 1714 the Reformed congregation in the Pauluskirche received an organ from the Hanau organ builder Johann Valentin Marckert (Marquardt).

Oberlinger organ, west side

Organs from the Windesheim company Gebr. Oberlinger Orgelbau were later installed in both the Pauluskirche and the Pauluskapelle . The large organ of the Pauluskirche, which stands on the rear choir gallery, was built in 1957 and has 43 registers in its 16 ′ housing prospect , distributed over three manuals and pedal . The neo-baroque organ case corresponds in the church interior to the baroque altar / pulpit ensemble opposite. The case frame and the cornices of the organ are made of solid walnut. The ornaments, carved by the Bad Kreuznach sculptor Karl Steiner and gilded with leaf, show vines and grapes. The wind chests were built from oak with pounded oak partitions according to historical construction. Organ builder Ernst Oberlinger designed the organ in neo-baroque style together with his brother Hermann, the Bad Kreuznach architect Karl Schneider and the then cantor of the Pauluskirche, Wilfried Bergmann.

New owl organ, east side

In 2012, behind the baroque altar / pulpit ensemble, a new instrument by Eule Orgelbau Bautzen (op. 668) designed by the then cantor Beate Rux-Voss was installed and inaugurated on May 28, 2012. It has two manuals and includes 40 stops with various playing aids:

Major work C – a 3
1. Drone 16 ′
2. Principal 8th'
3. Viola di gamba 8th'
4th Flute harmonique 8th'
5. Reed flute 8th'
6th Octave 4 ′
7th Pointed flute 4 ′
8th. Fifth 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
9. Super octave 2 ′
10. Fifth ( VA from mixture) 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
11. Mixture IV 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
12. Cornet I-IV 1 3 ⁄ 5  ′
13. Trumpet 8th'
II Swell C – a 3
14th Viola d'amour 16 ′
15th Violin principal 8th'
16. Salicional 8th'
17th Flauto traverso 8th'
18th Dumped 8th'
19th Unda maris (from c 0 ) 8th'
20th Fugara 4 ′
21st Flauto amabile 4 ′
22nd Nasard 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
23. Octave (VA from Harmonia aetherea) 2 ′
24. Forest flute 2 ′
25th Tertia 1 3 ⁄ 5  ′
26th Sif flute 1'
27. Harmonia aetherea II-III 2 ′
28. Trompette harmonique 8th'
29 oboe 8th'
  • Tremulant
Pedal C – f 1
30th Stand ( ext. ) 32 ′
31. Principal bass 16 ′
32. Violon bass 16 ′ wood
33. Sub bass 16 '
34. Octavbass (ext.) 8th'
35. violoncello 8 ′ tin
36. Bass flute (ext.) 4 ′
37. Octave (Ext.) 4 ′
38. Trombone bass 16 ′
39. Trumpet bass 8th'
40. Claironbass (ext.) 4 ′

A portable chest organ is also available for church music for playing the continuo at baroque concerts.

Trivia

  • From 1685 to 1689 Heinrich Horch was a deacon of the town church.
  • On May 2, 1929 Albert Schweitzer made a guest appearance in the church as organist with a program by Bach and Mendelssohn.
  • Since around 1960, local history literature has reported about a wedding of Karl Marx and Jenny von Westphalen in the Pauluskirche. According to research by Pastor Albert Rosenkranz , the Pauluskirche was under construction in 1843 because of a fundamental renovation. The place of the wedding was probably the Wilhelmskirche opposite.

swell

  • Ferdinand Wilhelm Emil Roth ( arrangement ): The Syntagma monumentorum of Domvicar G. Helwich (continued)… 5. Kreuznach. Descripta in Creutzenach the 2nd of October. 1614. a. In ecclesia parochiali S. Nicolai the 2nd of October. In: History sheets for the Middle Rhine Bishoprics 1 (1883/84), Sp. 41–44, esp. Sp. 42–44 ( digitized version of the Rhineland-Palatinate State Library, Koblenz).
  • Wolfgang Christoph Sixt (us): Creutznacher Reformirte-Historie (Hs. Around 1722; archive of the parish of Nahe and Glan, sign. A 12,3).

literature

  • Hans-Christian Brandenburg, Johannes Polke (Hrsg.): 425 year Reformation at Nahe and Glan. Writings of the Association for Rhenish Church History 74, Cologne 1983.
  • Ulrich Laux (ed.): Heilig-Kreuz-Kirche Bad Kreuznach: Festschrift for the consecration of the new Sandtner organ. Bad Kreuznach 1998, pp. 17-29.
  • Hein-Frieder Pfalz: Bad Kreuznach: City history 1789 to 1871. Contributions to the history of the city Bad Kreuznach, 2. Bad Kreuznach 1991.
  • Albert Rosenkranz: History of the Evangelical Community of Kreuznach , Bad Kreuznach 1951.
  • Johann Philipp Roos : Correction of the first history of the city parish church on the Wörthe zu Creutznach . Emmerich Joseph Henß, Kreuznach 1814 ( digital copy of the State Library Center Rhineland-Palatinate Koblenz)

Web links

Commons : Pauluskirche  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Cf. Eberhard J. Nikitsch: Bad Kreuznach, Evang. Pauluskirche, No. 110 † , DI 34, 1993 ( German inscriptions online at www.inschriften.net).
  2. ↑ Regest of a lapel of Provincial Petrus de Nova Ecclesia, Prior Gobelinus von Heimersheim and convent of the monastery for Elisabeth's heirs Jakob I von Baden and Friedrich III. von Veldenz from 1439 ( digitized by Regesta Imperii Online).
  3. ^ Theodor Julius Ney:  Wundt . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 55, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1910, pp. 126-130.
  4. ↑ Heinz Monz: Karl Marx . Trier 1973, p. 351.
  5. ↑ Allgemeine Zeitung of June 9, 2011
  6. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from November 15, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / pauluskantorei-kh.de
  7. ↑ Allgemeine Zeitung
  8. ^ Website of the Pauluskantorei , accessed on January 26, 2020
  9. ^ Cf. Johann Georg Spieß, Philipp Hieronymus Andreä, Valentin Marquardt: The disposition of the organ. Kreuznach 1714. In: Philadeius Veronensis (= Jakob Reysing): Apologia Seu Vindiciae Justissimae Pro Augustissima Domo Austriaca. Or: Obliged-lawful defension of the most luminous Ertz-Haußes Austria . Eysenbarth, Augsburg 1730, p. 176 ( Google Books ).
  10. ↑ Allgemeine Zeitung of June 9, 2011
  11. ↑ Described are - despite the different heading - the grave monuments existing in 1614 in today's St. Paul's Church.

Coordinates: 49 ° 50 ′ 39.7 ″  N , 7 ° 51 ′ 24.6 ″  E