Protestant Church (Offenbach am Glan)
 Protestant Church in Offenbach |
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| Basic data | |
| Denomination | Protestant |
| place | Offenbach-Hundheim , Germany |
| Building history | |
| architect | District building inspector Koch, government builder Bennstein (during the partial reconstruction) |
| start of building | around 1225 |
| Building description | |
| Architectural style | Late Romanesque, early Gothic |
| 49 ° 37 '28 " N , 7 ° 33' 1" E | |
The Protestant parish church in Offenbach am Glan is one of the most important architectural monuments from the time of the transition from the Rhenish late Romanesque to the Gothic . Originally it was a Benedictine provost church with a Marian patronage , which was subordinate to the Benedictine Abbey of St. Vincent in Metz until the introduction of the Reformation in 1556 . Its origin goes back to a foundation (1150) of the knight Reinfrid von Rüdesheim. The remains of the three-aisled Romanesque predecessor building were found in 1965 from this founding time.
Since the church belongs to the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland , it is officially designated as Protestant and not as Protestant, as is customary in the Evangelical Church of the Palatinate (Protestant Regional Church), which is adjacent to the south of the Glans .
Building history
1st construction phase (around 1225 to the middle of the 13th century)
The first construction phase dates from the period from 1225 to the middle of the 13th century, in which the main apse with choir bay and its two side apses were built in one go. A clearly visible construction seam runs between these oldest parts of the building and the younger transept , extending from the southern to the northern transept front wall. The main apse is larger than the two lateral side apses, with the northern side apse standing on a slightly sloping terrain and thus set higher. It is directly adjacent to the choir bay of the main apse. The southern side apse is separated from the choir bay of the main apse by a small sacristy-like room. The exterior of the three apses is uniformly structured by five-stepped buttresses . The apses and the choir yoke were built by the same construction team as the late Romanesque-early Gothic eastern parts of the collegiate church in Pfaffen-Schwabenheim . The Romanesque-Gothic transition style can also be observed at the Marienkirche in Gelnhausen . All three churches are on the trade route from Metz to Leipzig .
2nd and 3rd construction phase (around 1250)
In the 2nd and 3rd construction phases, the southern and northern cross arms were built. The transept and the choir bay have the same ridge height . The southern arm of the cross is square and protrudes over the nave. There is a three-part staggered window in the gable wall. What is striking here is the shape of the upper whorl , which is composed of the capital of the lower half of the column and the base of the upper half of the column . The north arm of the cross, begun soon after 1250, stands out for its uniform, two-lane tracery windows . A round arch frieze forms the upper end of the walls.
4th construction phase (before 1300)
The nave and the west facade were erected in a fourth construction phase up to around 1300. It originally consisted of four rectangular bays and was closed in the west by a portal studded with figures. The original extent of the nave can be seen through the stump of a bundle pillar, which is now a few meters in front of today's west facade. Only the southern aisle bay remains from the original nave.
5th construction phase (early 14th century)
The octagonal crossing tower was erected in the last phase of construction at the beginning of the 14th century. This is indicated by the elaborate tracery windows that were built into the tambour of the crossing tower to illuminate the crossing .
Partial demolition and reconstruction in the 19th century
In the years 1808–1810, the dilapidated nave was demolished except for the eastern yoke of the southern aisle . As a result, the crossing tower no longer had an abutment in the west and there was a risk of further structural damage. Therefore, under the direction of the district building director Koch from Saarbrücken, two of the original four main aisle and an eastern yoke of the north aisle were reconstructed from 1892–1894. The current main nave thus includes the entire east travée and an additional main nave yoke, creating a floor plan that roughly describes a Greek cross . The west facade of the main nave was freely supplemented in 1894 based on motifs from late Romanesque architecture.
Interior
Because of the shortened reconstructed nave, today's church interior looks almost like a central building . The crossing and the southern cross arm are square. The northern cross arm is shortened to a rectangle because of the rising terrain. The main apse and the previous Romanesque building have an axis that is strongly shifted to the south. In the north-west corner of the north arm of the cross there is access to the attached stair tower. In the main apse there is a simple block altar.
Notable examples of the harmonious merging of Romanesque and Gothic style elements are the bundle pillars of the crossing , which have Gothic chalice and bud capitals as well as Romanesque figure and cube capitals, as well as the late Romanesque three-part staggered window in the south and the large Gothic tracery window in the north transept wall .
Exterior
East-facing basilica with a three-aisled nave , octagonal crossing tower and three east-facing apses , each of which is formed from five sides of the octagon. The middle main apse is extended by a choir yoke . The components appear to be loosely assembled, but not organically connected to one another. The building appears monumental due to its mass, the largely undivided walls and the multi-stepped buttresses .
Origin and appreciation
The building illustrates the process of integrating French-Gothic forms and Gothic construction principles. The massive exterior has largely unstructured walls, with the components and structural elements only loosely put together. Despite irregularities in the floor plan , the interior is designed much more uniformly. Gothic construction principles are clearly recognizable, which together with Romanesque elements contribute to the richness of the spatial image. The Metz mother monastery of St. Vincent and the Church of St. Segolena are mostly named as models, although both buildings are more recent.
literature
- Georg Dehio : Handbook of German Art Monuments , Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, Munich 1984, (p. 784–787; p. 817/818)
- Ev. Parishes of Niedereisenbach, Offenbach, Wiesweiler (ed.): The abbey church in Offenbach am Glan in its vicinity, 2nd edition 2009